Solicitors fees when buying

bigbeff

Hi,

I am looking at buying a property in the near future (if we can afford it!) and I was wondering if anybody has an idea of how much we should put aside for solicitors fees? I understand it will vary from property to property, but a ball park figure would allow me to try and see what would be appropriate.

Thanks

Jeffrey_Shaw

Please tell us:
a. the type of property (house/flat);
b. whether it's newly built or 'secondhand';
c. the purchase price;
d. whether or not it's in England & Wales; and
e. whether you'll be a first-time buyer.

bigbeff

probably a 2 bed flat

sonastin

as a really rough ball park, budget on a couple of grand.

Make sure when you are comparing quotes that you compare like-with-like. They will all quote "fee+disbursements" but some put things into disbursements to make their fee look smaller.

DVardysShadow

sonastin wrote: »

They will all quote "fee+disbursements" but some put things into disbursements to make their fee look smaller.

Agree. Some put 'completion of SDLT form' as a disbursement. It is not, it is a fee item. Use this as an indication that the solicitor is not being straight with you.

bigbeff

Thank you. As I say, we are literally only just starting to consider what we could afford, so it is in very early stages

Property would be in Uk, probably "second-hand" and I am guessing about £160,000

I will look out for them putting things on disbursements - simple question, what is difference between a fee and a disbursement?

sonastin

"fees" are their costs for doing the work.

"disbursements" are what other people charge, e.g council fee for searches, management co fees for transferring flat leases, etc.

The grey areas are things like bank transfer charges - some say that is an overhead of doing business, others charge you directly. An the most unscrupulous try to charge you a premium on top of what the bank charges + a charge for filling in the paperwork to order the transfer!

GlynD

bigbeff wrote: »

Thank you. As I say, we are literally only just starting to consider what we could afford, so it is in very early stages

Property would be in Uk, probably "second-hand" and I am guessing about £160,000

I will look out for them putting things on disbursements - simple question, what is difference between a fee and a disbursement?

You need to state what town you're thinking of buying in. Fees vary wildly in some cases.

bigbeff

Thinking of buying in Brighton

GlynD

bigbeff wrote: »

Thinking of buying in Brighton

In that case I can't be of any help. I'd only be guessing. Someone else will come along though.

Jeffrey_Shaw

The largest disbursement (if applicable) is always SDLT. However, a first-time buyer is exempt.
The next largest is almost always the HMLR fee. For a purchase price of £160 000, this item will be £200.