first time buyer - advice required

spaceboy

How much do solicitor fees usually cost when you buy a house? It is best to go to a mortgage advisor?

ACG

Depends how much the purchase price is.

I would say upto £100k purchase, expect to pay less than a grand.

When we use our own solicitors i get a kick back, i know theyre not the cheapest but i know if there is a problem i can lean on them and they will get it rushed through. You might not be able to do that if you dont have the relationship. Only you can decide if thats worth paying a little more for.

I mention both options and leave it to the client to decide.

As for using a mortgage advisor, it depends on how confident you are and how much time you have. People argue you get a better deal going direct which is true for most people at the minute. However if you dont have the time to research or you have unusual circumstances then its probably a good idea to speak to an advisor to get a helping hand.

kingstreet

spaceboy wrote: »

How much do solicitor fees usually cost when you buy a house? It is best to go to a mortgage advisor?

Do you want to know only the solicitor's fees, or would you also know what the out of pocket expenses, such as the local search and land registry fees will be?

Typically, an average first purchase under £125k will see a solicitor's fee of around £600 including VAT with another £400 on top for local search, land registry fee, telegraphic transfer fee, drains search, environmental and a few other bits and pieces.

spaceboy

Is it the same in Scotland?

kingstreet

Yes. There's not a great deal of difference. You may pay a transcription fee for the HomeReport to be retyped for your mortgage lender, but this replaces the usual Mortgage Report & Valuation.