First Time Buyer - Legal Fees

Mike84_2

Hi,

Me and my girlfriend are buying a property for the first time and we have had a quote from the solicitor for the legal fees.

The property value is £167,500 and the quote is as follows:

Legal fees for conveyance £425 + VAT
Legal fees for searches £60 + VAT
Completion Fee £30 + VAT
Electronic ID Check £10 + VAT

Other possible costs

Bankruptcy searches £20
Stamp Duty £1675
Land Registry fee £200

TOTAL £2,517.76

We have also got to pay £280 for third party charges.

Are these costs the norm or am I being overcharged. Also, what does the land registry fee cover and do I have to pay it.

When normally do all these charges have to be paid and could I pay the stamp duty myself because I have heard I have upto 30 days from completion to pay this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Mike84

Johnnywelsh_2

Hi mate, I'm a first time buyer and buying a property at £91,000 and I'm paying £590 after VAT just so you can use it as a comparision. I phoned around quite a few solicitors myself and was quoted around £750 to £800 but this firm was recommened to me by my mortgage advisor at the bank so it might be worth asking them if they know any good solicitors that are a good price in the area.

I can't remember all the fees I was quoted for but some of them are
Land registration (£120)
Transfer fee (£30)
Bankruptcy check (£2-3)
Coal mining check (cant remember)
Enviromental check although she said this was optional and only recommended if in an industrial area.
Don't think I had to pay stamp duty because house was under some threshold value.
Legal fees were £325+VAT

If your having a mortgage I believe they'll be getting a surveyor in too which you'll have to pay for to see if the property is worth what they're lending you. The house might come with a HIP too which takes away alot of things that need checking if it's under 6 months old. If the mortgage is getting it surveyed wouldn't understand why you'd want to do it again unless you wanted a more indepth check if you had any concerns.

Take the info with a pinch of salt I'm a first time buyer myself and this is just how I understand it all to happen from information I've been given

baz01

just had 4 quotes through. £150,000 house.

this was the most expensive quote and the cheapest was £200 less.

Solicitors Fees - £400
Local Search - £97.40
Water & Drainage search – 40.89
Coal Mining search - £39.50
Environmental search - £48.99
Bankruptcy search £2.00 per name
Land Registry search - £4.00
Land Registration Fee - £200.00


The total for legal costs plus all searches, excluding SDLT will be £902.78.


if the house has a HIPS pack, then some searches do not need to be carried out, as long as the HIPS pack is not older than 3 months.


hope this helps

Mike84_2

Thanks Baz and Jonny,

The house is a new builld so will there be a HIPs pack?

Do you or does anyone else know what the £280 third party charges will be for?

Cheers

baz01

sorry, not sure about the HIPS pack or the third party charges. this wasn't mentioned on any of my 4 quotes

VIGILANT22

Mike84 wrote: »

,

Do you or does anyone else know what the £280 third party charges will be for?

Cheers

Land Registry Fee....The Land Registry is a government department which looks after the registers of all registered properties in England and Wales. It charges a fee for transferring the register to the new owner. This fee is charged according to property price.

Re the 3rd Party Fee, the easy way to resolve is a quick email to solicitor...You must also remember solicitor's fees vary in different parts of the country..I'd say you fees are reasonable

Mike84_2

Thanks Vigilant,

I'll get on to the solicitor and post some feedback.

Thanks,

Mike