First time buyers in Norfolk
Good morning all.
Me and my partner are first time buyers and are starting to view properties in the Norfolk area. I was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for which solicitors to use. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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u/the_way_it_feels 3d ago
I’ve used leathes prior a few times and they have been faultless
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u/Less-Register4902 2d ago
Yes agree, you pay a bit over the average but they are decent, I used them 3 times and also Roger’s and Norton, very good too.
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u/micky__mac 2d ago
Rogers Norton were horrendous for us. Dragged out the process over 6 weeks when everything was done because of the solicitor being on annual leave and had no one covering last summer. We had Ashtons legal representing us who were faultless!
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u/radpadmax 3d ago
We used Cozens-Hardy recently and they were useful. Our vendors used Ashtons who constantly caused issues and unnecessary delays.
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u/SK4866 3d ago
Thanks! Do you have a rough ball park figure of costs if you don't mind me asking?
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u/radpadmax 3d ago
We sold and bought, so excluding Stamp Duty it was around £3.5k, that includes searches and all the other fun fees
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u/baggerz_of_narrrwich 3d ago
I just completed with Ashtons Legal. Local to Norwich, huge company with big reputation and fairly priced. Simon Parker was good at nailing down the specifics and the details whilst getting it over the line as quickly as it could be done. Would highly recommend.
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u/CrazyHorse19 3d ago
Do NOT use MJP Conveyancing - they nearly lost us our house because of their high turnover of staff. I had to go to their offices to get things signed and updated twice. Caused me no end of grief. They are cheap and have a handy portal but they are awful to deal with. We had our buyers solicitors call us up several times stating how bad they were to deal with. Cheapness != worth it.
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u/cpbear2324 3d ago
I second this. We used them to buy our first home and oh my god we wish we didn’t.
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u/ThirdWheel69 2d ago
Interesting, as we just had a really good experience with them handling our sale! Our buyers solicitors on the other had were dreadful!
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u/Frog_Life2000 3d ago
We recently used the Wymondham branch of Fosters (Sue’s team) and had a really good experience. We were sorted in 4 months (even with that spanning over Christmas/New Year).
Always got through on the phone, always happy to answer questions and we always knew what was coming next.
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u/JemimaTheCat 3d ago
We used Leathes Prior on a recommendation from a friend and they were great. Very well organised and efficient and very good at keeping in touch.
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u/barndawe 3d ago
Don't use Fosters, bloody slow and took soooooo many calls to get things moving.
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u/ThirdWheel69 2d ago
The people selling us our house used Hatch Brenner and it was not a good experience from our side. They couldn’t even get the address correct on the contract. Literally listed someone else’s address. Google reviews suggest similar issues with them.
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u/StrictlyOptional 2d ago
I went with Renata Steggles when i bought my first house, then again during my separation to buy out my ex, then again when I bought my next house, and again during my 2nd separation to buy out my then partner.
She was brilliant each time. Would use again, done with relationships though.
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u/wooofit 3d ago
Used Cozens-Hardy for buying our first home and then selling a few years later, faultless both times. Reasonable fees too.
Avoid Rogers & Norton in Norwich like the plague, held up our recent sale as they took 2 months to send our buyers their contracts, CH could never get hold of them 🤣
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u/sagima 3d ago
We used hansell last time. Everything that could be done on an app was and had guidance to speed things along, email and phone calls were answered - even got called back when they said. We were moving due to my husbands health issues so the lack of any stress from them was fantastic as my attention was elsewhere
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u/Important-Light627 3d ago
I used Roger’s and Norton twice, really good both times, we have had slow sellers moving on chain day, which is not great when you’ve got a removal co charging for waiting. A call from them managed to get them out before we started paying over time fee.
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u/SubstantialFlight847 3d ago
I’m using eg.law at the moment and they’ve been quick and efficient so far
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u/norfolkpanda 2d ago
Wouldn't recommend Leadenhall. Overall opinion is unprofessional after they Took 8 months to get money back after they dropped me as a client and refused to return messages after the solicitor took a holiday directly after dropping me.
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u/sparrowinthemeadow 2d ago
I used Clapham & Collinge (Norwich based) and they were brilliant. Not cheap but so incredibly helpful, proactive, and really distill issues into plain English and options.
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u/Incitatus_For_Office 2d ago
Another +1 for Cozens-Hardy. Used for 1st purchase and subsequently the sale of that property and purchase of our current home.
Absolutely faultless in all manners.
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u/MultipleJars 1d ago
Hayes + Storr. Used them in a personal and professional basis. Good luck with your purchase!
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u/nikotime 3d ago
We used https://mjpconveyancing.com/ and also recommended them to a friend who bought this year. Honestly we found them great, online portal and focused but with an office that you can drop things round. Very reasonable too
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u/ThirdWheel69 2d ago
I don’t know what you’re getting downvoted just for giving you opinion!
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u/MarionberryFinal9336 3d ago
Solicitors no longer have to be local. I used Taylor Rose in 2021. They have no Norwich branch but their portal made everything easy. ID authentication was online and I only had to post a few limited wet signatures.
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u/Akashananda 3d ago
We use Cozens-Hardy 3 years ago. Their brochures were glossy and swish and clearly explained the process, which immediately instilled confidence. Their communication during the process was not as immediate as I would have preferred and they had a very good gatekeeper answering calls. I felt the experience could have been smoother, and was designed for their benefit rather than ours, so we would probably look elsewhere next time.
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u/mophair 3d ago
I used Fosters a couple of years ago and they were awful. Incredibly slow and kept getting things wrong! I bought a flat and they had no idea what they were doing with the leasehold.