Conveyancing - Help Please

lee636

Hi all,

I've just obtained a conveyancing quote from a very local solicitor and wanted an outside opinion if something is glaringly wrong with it. Im not too fussed if something is a few quid more than the average but more so if something just overpriced dramatically etc. All prices below have inc VAT.

Firms charge: £895
Land Reg fee: £280
Land Reg search fee: £4
Local search fees: £83
Bankruptcy fees: £2 pp
Land transaction return: £90
Chaps fee: £42
Minor disbursements not expected to exceed £25

Total: £1423

Their original online quote gave me figures but didn’t mention anywhere regarding adding VAT so ive now received their letters stating their prices with the old added plus VAT next to a few of the charges.

Any time spent for replies etc would be gratefully received as always!

ruthtc

hi lee

we've just completed house purchase and paid £840 for everything (all the land registry stuff, tt fees, searches, id checks etc and vat) - from a 'bricks and mortar' solicitor in liverpool, not an online one, so £1400 seems a little pricey.

was a solicitor my dad had come across - not at all local to us or where we were buying, so we did debate between the local one (£300 more expensive) or this one but in the end went for the cheaper one.

Thought she was very good, quick response to emails/calls etc and didn't feel like corners were getting cut.

hope that's helpful - might be worth getting a couple of quotes

Eric1

lee636 wrote: »

Firms charge: £895

seems expensive, but perhaps because of the purchase price

lee636 wrote: »

Minor disbursements not expected to exceed £25

should be included in 895, and "not expected" is not something I'd want in my contract.

lee636

We did think that maybe the purchase price £249,950 was something to do with having a slightly higher legal fee.

Ive just had a quote from a recommended firm, quite local (short'ish drive):

Costs :

Our Professional Charges (to include acting for your lender £525.00 Plus VAT
Standard Leasehold/Managed Freehold Properties Supplement Costs (if applicable) £150.00 Plus VAT
Telegraphic Transfer Administration Fee £35.00 Plus VAT

Disbursements :
Stamp Duty £2,499.50
HM Land Registry Registration Fees £280.00
On Account (pre-contract searches) £300.00
Land Charges / Land Registry Search Fees (approx) £10.00



Were FTB so the stamp duty is nonsense, the only thing that worries me on the above is the £300 pre-contract searches (which ive asked for a further breakdown).

Other than that it comes out at roughly the same as our local one.

Thanks thus far for the input!

G_M

This will help you compare. If items are missing/not specified (eg SDLT form), get confirmation they are included in the basic professional charges fee and will not be extra.

Fatenbread

Only the solicitor's own fees are variable - the disbursements are paid to the various local authority / regulatory services and are pretty much fixed (though get a detailed breakdown of what has been paid where)

These fees seem OK, considering it includes VAT. Where is it local to?

I paid £750 ex VAT to buy my house (in London) to my (central London) solicitor, but only paid about £400 for the purchase of my in-laws' flat (to a regional solicitor tied to Halifax bank). Whether the difference is worth it depends on the complexity of the purchase and whether you think there may be any funnies for which local knowledge would be preferable.

Fatenbread

lee636 wrote: »

Were FTB so the stamp duty is nonsense.
[/QUOTE]

Stamp duty is a tax payable (by the buyers) based upon the purchase price of the property. So not nonsense, I'm afraid.

lee636

Fatenbread wrote: »

lee636 wrote: »

Were FTB so the stamp duty is nonsense.
[/QUOTE]

Stamp duty is a tax payable (by the buyers) based upon the purchase price of the property. So not nonsense, I'm afraid.

Thanks FB.

Why would i want a seller payable item on my breakdown, how will that affect me?

All im worried about is a solicitor that sends through their final invoice which says something regarding Stamp Duty and quotes the fact it was on the original breakdown you agreed to sir. If it doesnt concern me as such then i dont see why its on there.

lee636

Fatenbread wrote: »

Where is it local to?.

They are Surrey based.

lee636

lee636 wrote: »

Disbursements :

On Account (pre-contract searches) £300.00

Ive since found out that the above charge (£300 for the searches) is the following:

Environmental Search a Planning Search and a Chancel Repair search and if there is no HIP we carry out a Local Authority and Drainage Search.

There is a HIP in place already and i believe its under 6 months old. Ive had a quick look on www.homecheck.co.uk and all of the searches come to around £100-£150 in total.

Am i missing something obvious?

Thanks again!

Fatenbread

lee636 wrote: »

Fatenbread wrote: »

Thanks FB.

Why would i want a seller payable item on my breakdown, how will that affect me?

All im worried about is a solicitor that sends through their final invoice which says something regarding Stamp Duty and quotes the fact it was on the original breakdown you agreed to sir. If it doesnt concern me as such then i dont see why its on there.

The buyer (ie you) pay the stamp duty. There's no getting away from this (other than buying a cheaper house - the threshold is around £200k).