Solicitors Fees Do These Sound Ok

JustTakeAllMyMoney

Well just got my final bill for solicitors for sale and purchase and it came in at £2.7k ! :eek:

I was charged £88 for the LTR (Land Transaction Return) thats what they send to the IR for the stamp duty, surely though the IR dont charge for it, and the cost of dealing with it should be part of the fee not seperate, were others charged for it ?

Also whats 'redemption', I was charged £88 for that.

Finally on the purchase I was charged £220 land reg fees and £198 for local authority, drainage and enviromental search, looking on the web that seems excessive to say the least.

Is my solicitor trying it on, sly she did send me the bill till today and competion is on the Friday, dont really have time not to kick up a fuse.

Bossyboots

It seems to be the norm these days to charge extra for the LTR. That is one way of keeping the initial quote down - it doesn't include everything you need doing. I have also noticed an increasing number of firms charging a separate item for photocopying.

Redemption is usually repayment of a mortgage. You will be charged solicitors fees for that separately from the quote given.

Your solicitor has no control over the amount of land registry fees or search fees. If you are concerned, ask for proof of the search fee or ring the council concerned yourself to check. There is a land registry fee calculator on line which I might be able to find again. If you post up the purchase price and any lease (if it is leasehold) it should be easy to work out whether the land registry fees are correct.

It is normal to send the bill and completion statement so close to completion but that doesn't mean you shouldn't query it.

JustTakeAllMyMoney

Cheer u put my mind at rest, I thought it was my solicitors revenge,

beaker141

I have just had a letter from Solicitor asking for £50+vat to fill this form in for me - I'm pretty angry about it.

In the quote I had it listed the stamp duty payable as a charge alongside their standard fees and the land registry charge of £220 etc, but not this one.

As this form is compulsory for every purchase I think it is a bit snide not being listed alongside it.

I think I shall call them in the morning and ask why it wasnt in the quote.

Rosie75

Can't buyers fill in the LTR form themselves? Or is it really complicated?

Keith

Bossyboots wrote:

I have also noticed an increasing number of firms charging a separate item for photocopying.

We have a seperate system which logs every piece of photocopying which is done in the firm, this means if your searchs are copied you'll be charged for that!

Bossyboots

beaker 141 - I would argue that as this was not listed separately, you are entitled to assume it was included in the original quote and they cannot charge you extra for completing it.

We are beginning to see now the downside of the constant drive by consumers for costs to be lowered. Years ago, you were charged a fee and everything was done for that fee. I don't agree with the days of paying a percentage of the house price for your conveyancing fees but costs have been driven so low now that the only way to make conveyancing work viable is to offer less services in the initial quote. That said, any quote given by a solicitor must be clear and certainly in beaker's case they have broken this rule so I would say tough on them.

I don't know what the rules are for licensed conveyancers who are governed by a different body to solicitors.

seven-day-weekend

When we sold our investment property last year, the solicitors fee was £617.13. This include £465 for the sale, £50 to arrange telegraphic transfer sof funds to C & G and to us, £12 for an Office Copy from the Land Registry, and £90.13 VAT.

The sale price of the property was £87500. Does it go on a percentage of the price? Our solicitor just told us how much it was going to be at the start, and the only extra was for the land registry thingy which he had to get extra.

clutton_2

"£198 for local authority" - i have often paid £150 - £200 for local authority search fees.