Why should I use an Online Conveyancing Solicitor?

QLAW has redefined ‘convenience’ – we’re everyone’s local solicitor!

So you’ve found your dream home. And now you need to choose a conveyancing solicitor. What do you search for? ‘Online conveyancing solicitor? Or, ‘solicitor near to me’. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of both to help you to decide what conveyancing solicitor is best for you!

What is an online Conveyancing Solicitor?

Well, that’s a big question, right? Or is it? Qlaw started out life as a ‘local’ practice back in 2005! But, we began our life with one thing at the heart of everything we do – the needs of our clients. And, after becoming one of the UK’s first ever fully paperless solicitor’s practice, we soon embraced the digital experience for our clients too.

What do I want out of my Conveyancing Solicitor?

We’ve asked (clients) and you told us in a resounding voice! You want to know what’s going on – simple! No hiding away – TOTAL transparency. And that’s the key! Moving house is stressful enough. So that’s kind of the main aim of our digital conveyancing service. For you to be in control. For you to always know what is going on. And for you to be able to ‘self-serve’ with digital interaction with us rather than faffing around with paper and snail mail.

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Should I choose a Conveyancing Solicitor near me?

Your shout. All we ask is that you compare like with like, AND critically ask yourself what sort of firm you want to work with (culturally – what does the firm stand for). By definition, a solicitors practice ‘near to me’ may well be slow on the uptake of IT and all that goes with that in terms of giving you access to them. Indeed, its all well and good having them close to where you work or live, but that’s no good when their offices are only open 9-5 Mon-Fri!

When is my Conveyancing Solicitor open?

QLAW’s digital conveyancing experience starts the moment you ask us for a quote. And, don’t think we’ve taken human beings out of the process at your expense – quite the reverse! Our online quoting system is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week so you aren’t kept waiting on the phone to speak to someone even to quote – its digital, its instant, and its 24/7!

Access to your file 24/7

Having obtained your digital quote (full breakdown to the penny of what you will), you then simply click to go and you are up and running. Taking the human out of that process is NOT a negative – it puts YOU in control, and means things progress at your pace. In what other digital consumer place can you not open up your own account?! Solicitors don’t need to be different. So, you are up and running, and from there on in you can see your file 24/7.

How do I provide my ID to my Conveyancing Solicitor?

Choose a traditional conveyancing solicitor and they will be sending you lengthy letters, and asking you to turn up at their offices or another solicitors to physically show your ID (passport and/or driving licence for example). Not with Qlaw! We have biometric ID which uses the same recognition technology as the cutting edge internet banks. Your ID is done in minutes – all on your mobile and without leaving your home or office. How much time and neck ache does that alone save you? A couple of hours at least!

Why don’t more Conveyancing Solicitors use Client APPS?

That’s for them to answer. BUT, it may of course be that they don’t feel confident enough in their service levels to allow their clients to ‘keep tabs/ on them? We are! And more than that, our aim is that neither you nor your estate agent have to ever ask us for an update because we know we’ve been keeping you in the picture.

How will my Conveyancing Solicitor keep me up to date?

Our industry leading client APP pushes the boundaries of legal services. We don’t just include broad (and frankly relatively meaningless milestones (eg ‘we sent you a letter last week’)! Our APP is the whole package, and includes:-

Biometric ID – no coming to our offices with your passport
24/7 access – real time access to your WHOLE FILE
Smart Forms – digital interaction with smart forms (no paper and no printers and no post)
Messaging – in built WhatsApp style messaging so emails are a thing of the past
Milestones – yes and a pretty key stages section along with blog posts and videos, summarizing where you are at in your conveyancing journey, but then also giving you as much detail as you want explaining the nuts and bolts of what’s happening

Talk to your solicitor from the comfort of your home.

Cultural differences in Solicitor Practices

So as we said, we were one of the first law firms ever to go paperless – back in 2008! That tells you a huge amount about the culture of our firm. It is in our DNA to question things. To progress, and to do things because they make sense in the modern world. Sadly, all too many law firms are still doing things the way they’ve always been done and they’re light years away from delivering a service that is in line with the modern digital world we now live in.

What is convenience?

Perhaps we still perceive convenience as local? But ask yourself this. What good is it having a solicitors practice down the road if they are not the right cultural service fit for me? Moreover, what is convenient – leaving home to take your ID to your solicitor, or using your phone for a couple of minutes to take advantage of our cutting edge ID technology? That’s just one example of the conveyancing transaction of course. Those convenience savings are there for you throughout your conveyancing journey.

Are Online Solicitors real solicitors?

Yes! We started out life as a ‘local firm’ all those years ago – its just that we’ve asked clients what they want and responded to it by developing our digital offering. That has transformed our business from one that looked at after local clients, to one welcoming new clients to the firm weekly from all over the UK and beyond. So yes, we are real solicitors! Yes we are regulated by the SRA. And yes you get all of the protection as a consumer that comes with that. HOWEVER, you also get a business that is passionate about customer service in a way we think you will struggle to find elsewhere. And that’s perhaps the most important ‘real’ thing we’d like you to think about.

Digital Content – there for what you want, when you want it

Check out our property blog articles and FAQs on our website. We challenge you to find a more helpful conveyancing website – anywhere! And think about it, we’ve invested in all of that content for one reason and one reason only – YOU! Knowledge is power. And, by making your conveyancing journey a clearer one, we make it a happier one for you too.

ECO Credentials

So for well over a decade we’ve been worried about our carbon footprint. In 2008 we went fully paperless – not a note pad or PostIt note in site. The profession thought we were playing with black magic and after months of our transformation getting out we found ourselves emblazoned across the legal and business press in the UK and abroad.

And it doesn’t stop there. Low energy lighting, recycling office waste, we’ve covered off everything we can to ‘do our bit’ for the environment. We’ve even introduced a ‘paper levy surcharge’ where clients can not or will not utilise any part of the digital service and insist on paper documents being produced needlessly!

It’s a Hells Kitchen thing!

Think of us like a restaurant. We’re SO proud of the food we cook that our kitchens are all glass and we want our diners to gaze in on our expert chef’s as we do a great job. That level of transparency is sadly all too rare in the legal profession. And, we reckon its perhaps the singularly most important thing that underpins what makes Qlaw the online solicitor for everyone everywhere.

It’s a Human thing

I mentioned above that we haven’t introduced digital (online) conveyancing at the expense of human beings. What I meant by that is this. We actually introduced a whole new layer of colleagues in our conveyancing team back in 2020. So far from cutting staff for IT, we boosted staff! We initially took on former BA customer service employees – whose sole job was/is to keep clients and estate agents up to date. Our hope is that you never have to call us because we always have you 100% on it in terms of where your transaction is at. They’re your very own ‘personal shopper’ to hold your hand throughout the conveyancing journey. Our clients have left us in no doubt that adding to the team with our ‘customer services’ colleagues was a stroke of genius (if we do say so ourselves).

Shop around – like for like….!

So, when you ask yourself ‘should I use an online solicitor’ – ask yourself these questions. And, ask them of each firm you get a quote from:-

Do they have a client APP (and if so what features does it have)?
Will I be able to do everything from the comfort of my home or work (eg ID)?
Will I have my very own customer services liaison member (as well as a conveyancing solicitor)?
Is that firm SO confident in their service that I can look at my conveyancing file 24/7?
What do their customers say – check out our TrustPilot ratings!

Want to speak to an Online Conveyancing Solicitor?

Perhaps best of all – put us to the test! Get an online quote. Or, if you would rather speak to a human being we do that too! So reach out. We’d love to hear from you.