Onate’s Tips for Choosing the Right Solicitor
One of the key aspects to ensuring property and lending transactions complete efficiently is making sure that you have engaged a solicitor that suits your needs.
There will be solicitors with experience in alternative lending and others without that familiarity. This can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful transaction.
Here are some of our tips to consider when choosing a solicitor:
1. Choose a solicitor with the right expertise
Choose a solicitor that specialises in property lending and conveyancing. Ensure that they have completed similar types of transactions previously with alternative lenders, executed through a company structure (SPV). For example, if you have used a solicitor previously to draft your Will or for family law matters, they may not have the right expertise to represent you when it comes to property lending.
2. Look for recommendations
Leverage your contacts and establish who might be in a position to suggest a solicitor for your requirements. Recommendations from friends, family or colleagues can also help you to make an informed decision. People who know or have worked with good solicitors are often happy to refer them to others.
3. Ensure the solicitor has capacity
At Onate, we like to close deals swiftly. You want to be sure that your solicitor has capacity to carry out the work required and that your requirements are high on their priority list. If you have chosen a sole practitioner that works across various legal areas, they may not have the resources to get what you need done. This can impact speed and efficiency in executing documentation. Mid-size firms often have a larger workforce and a higher workload capacity.
We like to hold all-party calls to close deals in order to ensure a swift transaction. We recommend broaching this with your solicitor at the outset. If they are too busy to join an all-party call, they may not have the capacity to get a deal done quickly (less than two weeks).
4. Agree the fee from the outset
Ensure you know the full cost of the solicitor’s services from the beginning so you don’t get a surprise at the drawdown stage. That said, solicitors with the above experience and capacity are likely to be more expensive than general practitioner solicitors - this is an investment worth making.
5. Don’t delay
Speed is key when getting these transactions across the line. Having a solicitor in place and ready to engage with the lender and their legal representation as soon as possible means the process runs more efficiently. Legal delays can cause knock on delays to the whole transaction.
Once you have engaged your solicitor, ensure the property deeds and associated information pack are sent to Onate’s solicitor immediately. It means our solicitor can raise any questions early. Your solicitor (or accountant) will also need to set up an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) in a matter of days.
For more information about how our lending process works, visit https://www.onate.com/blog/our-lending-process-and-how-it-works
