Conveyancing - Search costs

savageHK

We are in the process of buying (FTB). The mortgage we have chosen includes free legal fees (to a point).

We have now had contact from the solicitor (appointed by Nationwide via LMS) and their costs for searches appear to be £300 which they require upfront. Is this reasonable? In our area a "Full Official Search Report (Con29R and LLC1)" is available from the Council for £75.60.
A Chancel search isn't included but indemnity at £14-odd is instead.

The detail on the free legal fees is:
"Nationwide will pay the basic fee for the legal work involved in a standard property purchase and any additional legal fee if the property is leasehold or commonhold. The offer of free legal fees does not include any payment for the costs that the conveyancer must pay to a third party such as local authority or other search fees, Stamp Duty or registration fees payable to the Land Registry. The offer also does not include the charge, plus VAT, payable to the conveyancer to deal with the settlement of any Stamp Duty and the submission of the Stamp Duty Land Tax form."

Richard_Webster

You need to ask the solicitors what other searches are included in the £300.

However, you may find that for ease of administration they simply have a standard upfront figure that they require from you. In some areas the local search can be nearly £300 and in some places there could be extra ones needed such as mining searches, particularly in Cornwall.

If they do not spend it all they will not need quite as much later on when they are asking you for the deposit and any balance of money needed to make up the difference between the price and the mortgage etc.

If Nationwide limit what they will pay for it is an open invitation to the solicitor to dream up extra things to charge you for such as completing the SDLT form.

Jellybean_Jo

I'm paying all my legal fees myself, but I also had to pay £300 up front.
However, before asking for this money, they provided me with a breakdown of the different costs and what they were for. They will then deduct the £300 from the final bill. Do make sure you're getting a breakdown of costs even if Nationwide are paying part of the costs, as Richard says it is an invitation for them to add silly charges!

G_M

The only thing I'd add is a quesion: does N/Wgive you any choice of solicitor? If you can choose your own (perhaps from a N/W panel?) then you can shop around and get full quotes before deciding, and thereby ensure that dodgy 'extras' like completing the SDLT form are included in the quote, not added on to your bill.

sjlou

Heres a guide to approx prices for buying a property...

As mentioned above, get a full break down of what is included for the £300.


Basic Fee £300 - £1200+VAT
Land Registry Copies £4 - £8
Bankruptcy Search £2 - £4
Local Authority Search £100 - £200
Drainage/ Water Search £30 - £40+VAT
Chancel Repair Search £10+VAT
Environmental Search £30 - £35+VAT
Location Specific Search (eg Mining) £45 - £75+VAT
Land Registration Fee (Property £200-500k) £40 - £700
Telegraphic Transfer Fee £20 - £30+VAT

savageHK

I think they are charging for completing the SDLT form.
It came with a request for us to fill in our NI numbers and sign! I'm certainly not going to sign a blank form an post it back...
There was a vast pile of paper which I will read through again tonight in full detail.

Richard_Webster

The only thing I'd add is a quesion: does N/Wgive you any choice of solicitor? If you can choose your own (perhaps from a N/W panel?) then you can shop around and get full quotes before deciding, and thereby ensure that dodgy 'extras' like completing the SDLT form are included in the quote, not added on to your bill.

Most solicitors are on the Nationwide panel, and most people do just that, but don't then get the "benefit" of the "free" legal costs.