Fees for deed of variation

ddeblasio

Hi everybody,

we are in the process of buying a first (and last) floor flat in London. After a few negotiations we managed to agree with the co-freeholder on a price to pay for the acquisition of the underroof space that is currently a common area, together with the flat. Now the sellers' solicitors are drafting a deed of variation for the loft space and they're charging us £400+VAT for it, and our solicitors are also charging us £350+VAT to register such variation.
Thing is we're not sure whether we have to pay both the solicitors or just one of them could do the job for less. We checked with them but of course both said that drafting a deed of variation is a demanding task, exactly like checking it before it's registered (not sure about this, as we're not asking to totally rewrite the lease).

My question is: in your experience do you think we are being treated fairly or are we paying too much?

Any help, feedback is very much appreciated

Many thanks

Daniele

clutton_2

when i had to write a Deed of Variation on a flat i bought - my solicitor charged me £250 and i had the pay the leaseholders fee of about £250 (in 2005) - so what you are being asked to pay could be normal - it depends on the terms of the variation and how many times the solicitors send it backwards and forwards between each other

Fire_Fox

Buyer's solicitor acts in the buyer's best interests, seller's solicitor acts in the seller's best interests. Hence you need two solictors to ensure fair play all round. Presumably you know absolutely nothing about deeds of variation, so trust the professional who does.

Richard_Webster

I agree these fees appear reasonable. Some solicitors might be a bit cheaper, others more expensive, but it is certainly in the right ball park.

mustang1

I would say that you need to be careful on this one and double check with the solicitors. You can not deal with extending the area of the property held under a lease by way of a deed of variation. This will effectively be what is known as a "surrender and regrant" of the existing lease and can have stamp duty land tax consequences.

You should be having a separate lease granted to you of this roof space which can essentially be on the same terms as the old lease so shouldn't involve too much extra drafting as it will just be a case of using the old lease and then adding in any other relevant provisions. You will have to pay stamp duty on the amount paid for this additional space

The fees will probably be a little bit more than the figures you have quoted but at least it will all be done properly!