Conveyancing: Barnetts via Britannia, any experiences?

jalebi

Hi

I am first time buyer looking to go through Britannia for a mortgage. They have quoted me £846 for conveyancing (not including stamp duty) which is cheaper than I have been able to get locally. They use a solicitors firm from Southport named Barnetts.

I don't want to use online conveyancing as it scares me. So I have to decide on a local (more expensive) firm or going ahead with Barnetts. Please post about any experiences you have had with Britannia/Barnetts to help me make my mind up

Thanks all.

AMO

Does that conveyancing quote include stamp duty which will distort the figures as the solicitors collect that and put it into the quote.

However, £846, seems quite high. It usually costs more to sell than to buy. I would image buying to come in at around £400 and selling at £600.

Certainly I would shop around. For comparison, ask the estate agent to recommend someone - they'll get a commission if you go for them but at least you'll have something to compare.

kingstreet

What's included in the £846?

If that's the solicitor's fee plus VAT, that's a lot.

If that's the solicitor's fee plus VAT, plus local search fee, plus land registry fee, plus drains search, plus environmental search, plus telegraphic transfer fee AND they throw in completion of the stamp duty return, that's not a bad deal.

kingstreet

AMO wrote: »

Does that conveyancing quote include stamp duty which will distort the figures as the solicitors collect that and put it into the quote.

However, £846, seems quite high. It usually costs more to sell than to buy. I would image buying to come in at around £400 and selling at £600.

Certainly I would shop around. For comparison, ask the estate agent to recommend someone - they'll get a commission if you go for them but at least you'll have something to compare.

As the minimum amount of stamp duty payable is £1,250 it can't be included in a quote of £846.

AMO

kingstreet wrote: »

As the minimum amount of stamp duty payable is £1,250 it can't be included in a quote of £846.

Good point! Wasn't thinking straight! Seemed very high, so I figured something else was added. That other person's being taken for a ride.

jalebi

Thanks both for your replies.

I should have been a bit clearer in my original post. The £846 quoted isn't just the solicitors fees, it actually includes all the searches etc that you refer to kingstreet.

Compared to what I've been quoted locally, I'd agree it doesn't seem like a bad deal in terms of cost (cheaper by between £150 to £300). But, if/when I go ahead with purchasing, I want to use somebody who gets on with things quite speedily and who I can keep in touch with easily to see how it is all progressing. I'm hoping somebody out there has been through Britannia/Barnetts and can share how things went for them.

kingstreet

I would personally not use a warehouse-type operation for my purchase. Local representation and knowledge is better when you're buying. I have experience of Barnetts for remortgage business and they were perfectly proficient in dealing with those cases, and I would be happy to use them again.

I usually obtain three quotes from local firms close to the location of the purchasing client and advise them to speak to the individual they will be dealing with to get a feel for the service and the firm, as well as the cost involved.

The firms I use always quote a fixed fee and set out all the disbursements. They don't quote separately for SDLT return or any other additional cost - these are included in the headline fee.

As long as you obtain "like for like" quotations and don't find a firm which hides its additional fees in the disbursements list you should be fine.

asandwhen

I have just gone through a re-mortgage and gone with Britannia who used Barnets but was free for re-mortgage - to be honest I had to do quite a bit of chasing up and make some calls to my previous mortgage company to get details for Barnets ... All things that they should have been doing.