On Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 9:50:45 AM UTC+1, Adrian wrote:
On Wed, 15 Jul 2015 08:18:46 +0000, AnthonyL wrote:

For a variety of reasons I've got to being a pensioner and have never
bought a house through an agent in the UK.

I've just had an offer accepted on what appears to be a well presented
and maintained 1960's extended (floor level only) bungalow.

Yes there are lots of websites but I'd appreciate some of this groups
experiences especially with solicitors and surveys plus anything else
you'd do differently if you had known what you know now.

Whatever you do, don't go with the EA's "recommended" solicitor. The EA
works for the vendor, and their pet solicitor will be kicking them back.

Get recommendations from friends/neighbours for who they used.

Note: these days there are specialist conveyancing firms, that are often better value than a general purpose solicitor. More likely to get a fixed cost service from them. Some are online based. Always read reviews of course.

In one case, I found the estate agent recommended a conveyancing firm under their own branding, and it actually was good value (kickbacks withstanding!), and less hassle since the EA and conveyancing firm had a hotline to each other and access to the same computer system.

Simon.