Break Down of Exchange Costs.

Grz.26

I wonder if you guys could help me with regards to Exchange, and the transfer of funds to my solicitor, and in particularly the break down of costs.

My solicitor said to me that if the HIP is over 4 months old they have to raise new searches. Is this correct?

I have a land registry search fee - £20.
H M Land Reg Registry Form - £200
Stamp Tax Land Tax Return Fee - £57.50
Bank Telegraphic Transfer Fees - £89.70
Electronic Client ID Fee - £10

I phoned up my solicitor and he briefly mentioned what they are for, and I am phoning up again tomorrow. But just for a heads up does anyone know what these are for, because my legal fees have just doubled.

Kind Regards

Grz.

Debt_Free_Chick

Grz.26 wrote: »

I wonder if you guys could help me with regards to Exchange, and the transfer of funds to my solicitor, and in particularly the break down of costs.

My solicitor said to me that if the HIP is over 4 months old they have to raise new searches. Is this correct?

I have a land registry search fee - £20.
H M Land Reg Registry Form - £200
Stamp Tax Land Tax Return Fee - £57.50
Bank Telegraphic Transfer Fees - £89.70
Electronic Client ID Fee - £10

I phoned up my solicitor and he briefly mentioned what they are for, and I am phoning up again tomorrow. But just for a heads up does anyone know what these are for, because my legal fees have just doubled.

Kind Regards

Grz.

This is a common misconception. Your "legal fees" cover only the time/work that the solicitor does. In addition, you have disbursements - these are "third party" costs that the solicitor simply passes on to. For example, the fee for the local authority is not "your solicitor's fee" - it's the LA's fee.

Check the fee estimate you said - it should mention that you will pay disbursements in addition to the fee quoted in the estimate.

I'm not sure about the fee for the Land Registry Return - that could be an additional fee that you pay your solicitor to complete the form on your behalf. However, it's optional, in the sense that you can complete the form yourself, but it's a daunting task. You might want to take a look at the form and decide whether it's worth paying your solicitor to complete this or whether you're prepared to do it yourself.

Re the LA search - this is in your interests. Without a current search, you have no idea if there are any new issues that have cropped up since the HIP search was done. Look at the HIP search to see what the search covers (e.g. planning applications; proposals for new roads, road widening etc). The vast majority of buyers would actually want this up to date search before they commit to completing the purchase.

HTH

Grz.26

Thank you very much Debt_Free_Chick. Much appreciated.

tek-monkey

I feel your pain, my solicitors fee is £500 but it will cost me £860. She did make me aware of this before anything was agreed though, and gave me a list of everything she would be charging for.

PasturesNew

The costs of buying a house are similar to me doing your shopping. I will tell you I will charge you £10 to go and get your shopping ... but then I'll present you with a bill for the parking meter outside the shop and all the goods I purchased on your behalf. When I get in the shop I might find they're out of the wine you wanted, so phone you to ask you if you want an alternative ... and charge you another 20p.

The solicitor pays a lot of fees and charges on your behalf to speed up the process. Mostly solicitors will ask for a sum on account (money up front) before they start because they will be paying out money on your behalf. They don't get this money, they pay out as much as they're getting in mostly.

WillowCat

I suspect you fell into the trap of using a "cheap" conveyancer, who then loads the extra charges to push up their fee.

For instance, I use a local firm who are charging me £595, but they only charge:

Land registry search fee £4
Bank telegraph transfer fee £25 (this is for one transfer, if more are needed this would be extra)

They don't charge extra for submitting land registration forms or stamp duty land tax forms. Nor do they charge an "electronic client id fee", whatever that is....

superfran_uk

Just be aware, the more you phone/email your solicitor the higher the charges are likely to be if you have a normal solicitor that charges by the hour rather than one of these 'all in, no house no fee' companies!

Richard_Webster

All these figures should have been in the original estimate sent to you - or in its "small print".

The £200 Land Registry Fee is standard for the price bracket £100,001 to £200,000.

The £20 land Registry Search is a bit steep. Searches cost £4 per title and would be double if there were two titles (which sometimes happens). If they include Bankruptcy searches at the Land Registry these are £2 per person buying, but you still struggle to get to £20.

The charge for completing the Stamp Duty Land Tax Form is pretty average if a charge is going to be made for this (I've seem reference to £75 + VAT elsewhere). I don't like making this extra charge but as long as the solicitor can show he mentioned it in the estimate then he can charge it.

The £89.70 for electronic transfer is really high. How many are they going to do? Is there a mortgage to pay off on a sale as well as a purchase? Typical figure is £30 plus VAT per transfer but some solicitors charge £25, others £40 plus VAT.

The bottom line always is to check the small print before you instruct a solicitor.

Grz.26

Thank you for all your replies. Very helpful. Being a FTB I have leant a lot. I have been bombarding my solicitor, so maybe thats why its so much. I have paid my deposit and fees this morning, very painful, so should exchange today, and complete next Friday. I may write a letter to Solicitors asking why Land Reg fee is so much, and also Electronic transfer too.

Thanks for you help and advice again.

Grz.