First time buyer, no clue what I'm doing. Mortgage broker or not?

Fire_Fox

There always are ... ask for a full quotation (not an estimate) from each solicitor.

pie81

Be careful. "Disbursements" are things like search fees, these are considerable (£100s). Many sols, like Dee & Griffin it seems, will not include these in the "headline" quote - others will - indeed some will even include stamp duty which isn't strictly speaking part of the legal fees. So you need to be sure you are comparing like with like.

Ask all sols you are considering for a full breakdown of their fees and ALL charges they expect to incur. The same charges should appear on each sol's breakdown as they should be doing the same searches, enquiries etc.

Oh yes and ask if they will do no sale no fee (many will these days, though some put a limit of 2 or 3 failed sales then they will charge). Also ask if their quote is FIXED.

Really, you need to stop worrying about seeming rude. Just say "Thanks, but I've decided to use my own solicitors and broker." End of.

blizeH

Many thanks guys. To be honest I'm thinking of avoiding Dee and Griffin almost purely because of the way they try to conceal the fees, it just doesn't seem particularly honest.

The other place quoted a total of £3,300 including £2,250 stamp duty - which is verging on the side of being slightly expensive, but I appreciate them breaking down every single cost (although the lady said something about checking if there are any compulsory fees to pay local churches in the area, £16.50 - surely a wind-up?!) and generally seeming a lot more up front about it all!

The broker thing is a bit silly now. I've told them 4 times I don't want one! Tomorrow I think I'll have to make it bold in my e-mail

Fire_Fox

Stop e-mailing the estate agent, only answer queries relevant to your purchase and ignore the pushy sales tactics. Occasionally there will be really random clauses in property deeds like 'pay the church £1' so it is good that was mentioned, seems very up front and above board.

blizeH

Thanks Fire - I must say the general impression I got from them was excellent, the lady was incredibly nice and seemed very honest & helpful - but unfortunately it's her last day tomorrow so I couldn't really judge the situation too well based on that!

I do have to e-mail the estate agent one last time at least though, since for some reason they still haven't cancelled my bloody booking with that broker (which incidentally would have been tomorrow morning if I hadn't pushed him back when he tried to rush through a proper booking)

Fire_Fox

Stop e-mailing the estate agent! You have cancelled the booking repeatedly, it's hardly your problem if they can't get their act together to pass the message on. They won't learn to stop harrassing poor FTBs if you are too nice.

bitsandpieces

blizeH wrote: »

Many thanks guys - I'm going to send the estate agent an e-mail later saying that I'd definitely prefer not to use the mortgage broker, but the solicitor I'm still a bit unsure of - I appreciate your concerns, like you said if you get someone impartial I'm sure there will be a lot of benefits, but in the same respect I also think maybe there will be slightly less hassle involved if they're directly in contact with the estate agent?

If the solicitor is good, they will be more than capable of communicating with everyone they need to. If they're carp, it will be an almighty pain. This is the case whether or not you use the estate agent's solicitor.

As far as life insurance - nothing unethical about taking out a mortgage without it (as long as you're within t&c of mortgage). If you don't have any dependants, you might take the line that - if you go under a bus tomorrow - you don't care whether there's insurance to pay the bank off. OTOH, if you have dependants you may want insurance for their benefit. Critical illness cover is a slightly different thing. Whatever you go for, though, you should get the best price you can - not necessarily from this broker.

Yorkie1

blizeH wrote: »

The other place quoted a total of £3,300 including £2,250 stamp duty - which is verging on the side of being slightly expensive, but I appreciate them breaking down every single cost (although the lady said something about checking if there are any compulsory fees to pay local churches in the area, £16.50 - surely a wind-up?!) and generally seeming a lot more up front about it all!

Your quote sounds about the same as mine for FTB conveyancing; my stamp duty is just under £2,000 and the overall quote came in at about £3,300.

The church thing isn't a wind-up. Basically, there's something called chancel liability which goes back centuries and means that if major repairs to the church are needed, owners in a particular area local to the church can be sued for the money. There have been a couple of particularly huuuuuuuge bills and court cases in the last few years. If you're in an area of chancel liability then the extra fee is likely to be an insurance premium in the event of you being required to stump up for the church.

blizeH

Many thanks guys, sounds like they are quite thorough then! Quite a big plus in my books, liking that. And the price doesn't seem bad at all with everything included.

Just had a really nice surprise after requesting and looking at the HIP - the council tax is a lot cheaper than I was expecting! Or it would be, if I was looking at a smaller house in a completely different area. D'oh - the EA has only gone and sent me the wrong HIP!

I have a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun...

Fire_Fox

Please keep us posted on the progress of the sale, and good luck.