£2,800! Is it all necessary??

goonernumber1

Hi. Have put in an offer on a place and it has been accepted, so had to go through the solicitors etc. Our mortgage broker said that there was one local that a lot of his client used so we went with it. Just got the quote through the door and it looks a bit high to say the least. This could in fact be perfectly normal, as we (me and girlfriend) are complete amateurs at this type of thing but I thought I'd seek the advice of you guys! Thanks in advance for your replies..

So.... Here goes... We are based in essex by the way..

£643.50 - Legal fees on purchase
£32.50 Bank fee
£6 final search.
£34.08 Environmental search
£172.50 - Local Authority Search Fee
£1350 - Stamp duty
£150 - Land registry fee
£176.50 - lenders legal fee
£58 - Inland revenue fee
£100 - dealing with leasehold

lynzpower

Does look fairly standard to me Im afraid, altho a more trained eye will be along soon x

blue_haddock

goonernumber1 wrote:

Our mortgage broker said that there was one local that a lot of his client used so we went with it.

Could just be me but i'm always wary when someone like a mortgage broker recommends a solicitor. He may be the local guy who everyone goes with or he could be the brokers best mate who bungs him fifty quid for everyone he puts his way.

Stephen_Webber

Remeber your stamp duty is a tax paid to the government and is not part of your lawyers fees, so he's not really charging you £2,800.

Stephen

booey_2

Mine says

professional fees £647.88 (inc vat)
Bank fees £41.13 (inc vat)
local search £170
enviromental search £39
drainage search £39.95
bankrupcy search £2
land registry search £4
land registry fees £60
chancel repair search £11.75 (I have no idea what that is)

total £1,015.71

I'm only buying a cheap place so no stamp duty.

It seems to be roughly the same as mine.

meanmachine_2

The sooner these solicitors are off-shored to India the better....

Yes, depressingly, this is about right for the "services" of a solicitor.

And now you can see why governments love high house prices.

More tax for them - to squander...

EDIT: by the way, what was the place on the market for? If you could have got it for 125K as opposed to 135K, you would have saved yourself stamp duty.

sarah_elton

Looks about right, but get three solicitors quotes (most will quote you over the phone then just provide in writing if need be), and if at all possible use one recommended by friends or family as good. You can't beat having a solicitor you know to be good. I used a great one in Chelmsford if that's the right part of Essex for you.

sashacat

those solicitor's charges are exorbitant...mine are about £360 plus disbursements, which seem to be all of the unavoidables like searches...try to get a solicitor in a small town...we use one in Wigan even though we don't live there...they are much cheaper than city firms

easilyamused

Just had my solicitors estimate charges through. They're as follows:

Stamp duty: £1350
Land registration fee £150
Local Search fee £95
Mining Search fee £24
Drainage search fee £35.25
Land Registry search fee £4
Land charges search fee £2
Bank transfer fee £35.25

She's given me the option of having a formal environmental search for £34.08 or not. Suggested I could look at the environment agency website to check for flood risks or https://www.homecheck.co.uk to look at general environmental risks.

lynzpower

I had a solicitor in another town and they were excuse my language f***** 5***

They sent me other peoples deeds, birth certificates, and banking details. Nothing EVER went through recorded delivery. When I challenged them about it they said " oh well you know what its like theres bits of paper flying about everywhere here" Me- :eek: PUlled out of that one pretty sharpish after losing 350 which they completely refused to refund, even when I got trading standards involved. I gave up in the end due to all other pressures. Shall I say who they are? Dunno about the rules on that.

I then got a solicitor recommended through my broker and she was worth her wait in gold. Even though I was as skint as I ever thought possible I bought her the biggest bunch of flowers I could afford when she exchanged/completed for me on the same day. Happy to recommend her she was absolutely superb, thorough and professional throughout. ( and no shes not a mate )

sarah_elton

easilyamused wrote:

Just had my solicitors estimate charges through. They're as follows:

Stamp duty: £1350
Land registration fee £150
Local Search fee £95
Mining Search fee £24
Drainage search fee £35.25
Land Registry search fee £4
Land charges search fee £2
Bank transfer fee £35.25

She's given me the option of having a formal environmental search for £34.08 or not. Suggested I could look at the environment agency website to check for flood risks or https://www.homecheck.co.uk to look at general environmental risks.

Erm, unless she's doing it for free you've missed the actual conveyancing charge off that list....