solicitor doing both sides of conveyancing?

I'm buying a house and the vendor has asked whether we would consider using the same solicitor. According to her this would speed up the whole transaction and the solicitor will match the lowest price we get elsewhere. Has anyone heard of this happening before, my first instinct is that it smells very fishy but the solicitor involved is quite respected so I was curious as to whether this is a common practice?

The same firm can act for both vendor and buyer, but not the same solicitor AFAIK (I am open to correction).

It can speed up the process, but there are still no guarantees. Banks and other parties can still cause delays.

Its not common, its not recommended. Use your own solicitor to advise you independently.

mf

Use your own solicitor. I had cause to be delighted with mine when purchasing an apartment that went from a run of the mill deal to very complex issues.My solicitor just told me that's whaty she was getting paid to handle and took care of all the issues. I know they get a lot of bad press but God was I happy I had my own advise

Definitely use your own solicitor otherwise there would be a conflict of interest - I wouldn't go within the same firm either.

It is not unusual for this to happen and it will speed up the process if everything is straightforward but for the sake of a few days I would go to a solicitor who has been recommended to you by family and friends. If the vendor is that anxious to complete the sale then his own solicitor should have everything in order already and the only delays you would experience are overnight posting of documents. (usually next day anyway with the Document Exchange system solicitors use). You need to know that your solicitor has your back!!!!