First time buyer trying to find a decent/cheap solicitor

Contemplates

I'm trying to complete my first house purchase, and am really astonished at how expensive it is for even the first time buyer to complete the purchase. I thought that with the rising house prices, and all of the various schemes around that the government would have had the decency to do something about the stamp duty they expect us to be able to pay??!!! I was doing the rounds of solicitors offices today to try to get a decent and most affordable quote for the solicitors fees, only to be faced with a ridiculous stamp duty and solicitors fees totalling £3K in nearly each office I visited!! Fair enough almost £2K was duty, but I didn't think it would be as much as over £1K in solicitors fees!! I'd need to get a free bottle of champers at the handing over of the keys!!! Anybody know any solicitors who don't 'stick the hand in'??? Sorry for the long post!!!

wifeforlife

P McGurgan at Gus Campbell Solicitors Portadown

Cath

ginger_nuts

Gr Inghan in Lurgan charged me 1/2 %

Stamp duty and land reg are not negotiable

ballyblack

decent and cheap?

You are asking quite alot to get these two qualities in a solicitor??

Contemplates

Yes, I know its near impossible, but at least I'm not looking for honesty!!

Thanks 4 ur suggestion Ginger nuts, I've just got a quote from Ingrams and they are the best so far. I'm still looking tho!!

belfastgirl23

Sean Murphy on the Shore Road in Belfast is very good and was the cheapest quote I got at any rate.

leftieM

The cheapest I got was Brian Campbell at Campbell and Caher who charged about £850 for sale and purchase. Unfortunately it all fell through and he didn't charge us a fortune for his work to that point (I think it around £70 plus whatever he'd spent on searches etc - £300 in total).
He was pretty on the ball too I thought compared with the expensive lax person we used the first time we bought (she was a friend of my SIL - never think someone is going to give you good service just because they have some social connection! We ended up having to move our stuff into the house before completion because we were going away to my brother's wedding and despite knowing this the bloody sol hadn't sorted the paperwork on time. At least the vendor was agreeable.)

motorguy

How about decent, FAST & cheap?

A lot of solicitors are reactive not proactive, and drag their heels at every opportunity.

Campbell & Haughey, lurgan. It will most likely be Martin Campbell himself who will deal with you - 02838 325335.

Cant rate them highly enough.

SaveMeTheMoney

It's true that there are some rogue elements out there working as solicitors, but the truth is 99% of them do a good job and don't take the hand!

You should be complaining about estate agent's fees - they are more than double solicitor's fees and what exactly do they do for their money? At least your solicitor is doing a job for you and completing the legal necessaries as well as dealing with everyday phonecalls and question from you, not even to think about their 300 other clients whose file should be the solicitor's number one priority!

Contemplates

Too true SMTM, estate agents fees are ridiculous too, but I just dont understand why solicitors are allowed to get away with charging on a percentage basis the same way estate agents do!!I do agree that both are as bad as each other! I finally have made my choice, and it's all thanks to ginger-nuts! Much appreciated...definitely the best value for money!!

CL

I got a really competitive quote from Halifax for conveyancing. Half the price of some solicitors I called.