solicitor fees

plzsm

hello
we are buying a new house and just got the quote from the solicitor
seems very high to me, can anyone let me know if these fees are appropriate (its a new build)

Fee £595
Vat £89
Local Search £85
Offical search £6
Bancrupcty search £4
Telegraphic transfer £51
Land Registry fee £280
Housebuilders solciitor documentation fee £100
Photocopying £63
stamp duty land tax £115

Total £1389

am i being ripped off ?

_Andy_

I'll do the photocopying for £50 for you

belfastgirl23

Get a quote from another few solicitors. I found that they varied by about £200 here in Belfast...I'd also advise asking friends to recommend solicitors. In particular ask people who might deal with solicitors professionally. I found mine because he had acted against my brother in a professional capacity and my brother had been very impressed by his tenacity (although it was a pain in the neck for him at the time )

redsclubbedup

ive just got a mortgage with brittania, and am using their in house service, its not set in stone, but the estimate for the solicitors bill from them is £400

plzsm

thanks for this, seems very high doesnt it
anyone know what
Housebuilders solciitor documentation fee £100
stamp duty land tax £115
are?

Wutang_2

plzsm wrote: »

thanks for this, seems very high doesnt it
anyone know what
Housebuilders solciitor documentation fee £100
stamp duty land tax £115
are?

It doesnt seem that high for a purchase, 400 sounds right for a remortgage. And if you want to know what the solicitors are charging you for - why not ask them?

bingibongi

You should ask the solicitors what their bank charge them for a telegraphic transfer fee - £51 sounds abit high - they can only charge you what their bank charges them - they arent allowed to make a profit on that item.

Seperate charge for photocopying is also abit high - you should be able to get a flat fee to include that from other solicitors.

Mind you new build documentation is awful so I think the actual fee of £595.00 sounds reasonable.

lozandcraig

Hi There
We have just paid 972.23 for or fees and to be honest we couldnt find it much cheaper so may be worth havin a look about 1st
hope this helps
stana

jessbob

plzsm wrote: »

hello
we are buying a new house and just got the quote from the solicitor
seems very high to me, can anyone let me know if these fees are appropriate (its a new build)

Fee £595
Vat £89
Local Search £85
Offical search £6
Bancrupcty search £4
Telegraphic transfer £51
Land Registry fee £280
Housebuilders solciitor documentation fee £100
Photocopying £63
stamp duty land tax £115

Total £1389

am i being ripped off ?

Their fee is the £595. the telegraphic transfer fee seems high (its normally around £30 plus VAT); photocopying charge is HORRENDOUS. The £115 for completion of the Land Tax Form is also high. the rest are what the Solicitors have to pay out on your behalf . the housebuilders solicitors doc fee of £100 is the builders solicitors fee for preparation of the Transfer deed, so this would be payable whichever solicitors you chose.

You should definitely ring around other solicitors for quotes. Whilst there £595 fee sounds reasonable, it is not so when you add the further TT fee, photocopying fee and Land Tax form completion fee (which adds up to an additional £229 on top of their costs)

When you ring for quotes, make sure that they list ALL their disbursements, so they do not hide any fees like to Stamp Duty completion fee etc