How do i find a good solicitor?

happytails

Got offer accepted on house last week, need a solicitor/conveyancer - this is first time i have bought a house so not sure.

Our mortgage advisor is going to give us details of the firm they go with but obv wanted to check out others

Rough quotes he gave were

£240 survey
£200 if no hip in place at house - if it is we get it back
£1100 (or there abouts) solicitors fees

These are all to be paid before/at completion, is this about the going rate?

House bought for £92k - Deposit 10%

Thanks xx

WestonDave

Looks a bit pricey to me given that there is no stamp duty on a house at that price - obviously depending on location - I'd expect solicitors fees to be nearer £800 all in.

It really depends what you are looking for - agents tend to suggest big "factory" style operations that will pay them a fee for the referral. Often these places will be highly automated and therefore cheap, but the downside is often that you don't have a specific contact point and never speak to the same person twice.

A well respected local firm might have specific local knowledge and give you a specific person you can gain a rapport with, but sometimes they are more expensive.


Those are of course massive generalisations and there are probably as many happy customers of panel solicitors as there are unhappy customers of local firms. If you can find a personal recommendation from someone you know and trust that's often a good way to proceed. Bear in mind this is a large transaction and you want good advice - there is no point saving a few quid on legal fees if they don't offer additional advice which in the long term saves you a fortune.

Doozergirl

£1100 is normal if it includes everything = searches, land registry fees, CHAPs fees etc. They usually add up to £500 and the solicitors fees around £500 +VAT on a purchase at that price.

I agree with WestonDave, do find out if they are a large conveyancig style firm (often recommended by the larger chains) or a smaller, local firm (more likely recommended by local independent agents)

The best thing is always to go from a recommendation.

cattie

Recommendation is always the best way to go, so ask around from friends, collegues & relatives.

If no recommendation then shop around as solicitors legal charges can vary greatly. Before chosing solicitor, try to speak to him on the phone beforehand. A good one will take the time to explain the process to you & give you indication of the likely cost, followed up by a written quotation. How they treat you on the phone will give you a good idea as to the customer care you are likely to receive once you've instructed them.

When shopping around for a solicitor it's the solictor or legal fee that you need to compare as all other charges will be pretty standard, no matter which company you chose to go with.

Richard_Webster

When shopping around for a solicitor it's the solictor or legal fee that you need to compare as all other charges will be pretty standard, no matter which company you chose to go with.

Yes, but watch out for:

SDLT form completion fee (you still need the form completed even though SDLT payable!)
Acting for lender fee
Professional Indemnity Contribution
Fee for completing in less than 3 weeks form exchange,
Etc.,
Etc.

If it is a house rather than a flat and a HIP with up to date searches, I would have thought a total figure of around £800 was reasonable.

chickmug

Richard_Webster wrote: »

Yes, but watch out for:

SDLT form completion fee (you still need the form completed even though SDLT payable!)
Acting for lender fee
Professional Indemnity Contribution
Fee for completing in less than 3 weeks form exchange,
Etc.,
Etc.

If it is a house rather than a flat and a HIP with up to date searches, I would have thought a total figure of around £800 was reasonable.

Richard what about when it is a leashold does this add much to the buying or selling. My daughter is selling a £100,000 leasehold flat, one of four in which she has an equal share of the management company who own the freehold. About to get quotes.

Richard_Webster

Typically a flat will cost anything between £50 and £200 plus VAT more. Add on might be more for buying than selling as there is more work. Some solicitors have an extra "leasehold" fee for this but I simply charge more to start with if I know if is a flat.

The fact that the it is a residents' management company owning the freehold should simplify things - you hopefully won't have to pay the horrendous fees some managing agents charge for providing information, copy insurance details, etc - sometimes over £250. Buyer's solicitors will still supply a questionnaire that they will want the management company to completee so usually your daughter would do it and get one of the other flat owners to sign it!

If she wants me to quote she can no doubt find my website!

typeractive

I'm in the process of finding a solicitor also. Recent quote on a recommendation from my mortgage advisor is:

Fee - £345
Land Registry search - £3.00
Land Charges Search - £1.00 (per person)
Telegraphic Transfer Fee - £26.45
Registration Fee - £60.00
Total - £435.45

In comparison to the property you are looking at I think that sounds pretty good. Is there something missing from my quote?

Richard_Webster

typeractive wrote: »

I'm in the process of finding a solicitor also. Recent quote on a recommendation from my mortgage advisor is:

Fee - £345
Land Registry search - £3.00
Land Charges Search - £1.00 (per person)
Telegraphic Transfer Fee - £26.45
Registration Fee - £60.00
Total - £435.45

In comparison to the property you are looking at I think that sounds pretty good. Is there something missing from my quote?

Yes it is. Apart from the fact that there is no such registration fee as £60 (the fees were changed today) it does look cheap - but have you read all the small print and "terms and conditions"?

typeractive

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the reply. You are correct the fee has changed to £80 as of yesterday (well certainly between the time I got my quote). I also got another quote and they have price matched it. Now it totals just under £400 - which I'm very pleased about. This also includes doing a little extra work as the house is not a straight forward sale (basically the property is sold as seen, yet classed as uninhabitable by the lender as there is no boiler for hot and cold water, the kitchen also only consists of a sink! - so I need to install a boiler prior to sale as the vendors are not willing to do the work - full stop! obviously I require a bit of legal help to ensure I can get access and agree nobody will jump in with a higher price etc - it's a company selling the property so hopefully they will be more honourable, they've been pretty fair so far with everything else).

I haven't read the small print as I've just had the quote emailed / spoke on phone to solicitor (not receptionist). Out of interest, what should I look for in the small print?

Cheers
:beer:

Richard_Webster

I haven't read the small print as I've just had the quote emailed / spoke on phone to solicitor (not receptionist). Out of interest, what should I look for in the small print?

Have a look at my post #5 in this thread!