Solicitors fees when buying and selling a home

darrenbilly

My mum and dad are selling our current home and purchasing another. They are not too sure of how the whole legal side works. The estate agent has recommended a solicitor that will handle the buying and selling of the properties, at a cost of £2100. This includes the following services: Legal fees for purchase - £575 + £115 VAT
Additional fees: Admin fee for completing SDLT (what is this?) £75
Telegraphic Transfer fee on purchase - £35 (plus VAT)

Payments due to 3rd parties: Land Registry/Bankruptcy searches £5
Land registry fee £270
Search pack £250 (what would this be?)

This company offers a No Purchase Fee guarantee which means we will only be charged disbursements.

The company is Advantage Property Lawyers.

Legal fees for sale: £575 + VAT

Agreed additional fees: Telegraphic Transfer Fee £35
On Line ID Check £10 + VAT

Payments to 3rd Parties: Office copy entries £6.

Is this everything that is required by a Solicitor in this instance? What are the prices like, are they normal? Can anyone suggest a reputable company that does the same/more for less money? Is it possible to find a company that will offer the same for less money. We pretty much need the no sale no fee guarantee, you never know what may happen.

Any questions, please ask. We want to get this right!

Thank You

BitterAndTwisted

They should consult a conveyancing solicitor or two in their local area for a quote. The recommended conveyancer will attract a finder's fee for the agent which is the sole reason why they have suggested your parents use them.

Yorkie1

Slightly pedantic point, but the company is regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers, so they are experts in this field but are not actually solicitors.

Those quotes sound slightly high (e.g. completion of the SDLT form - best practice is not to itemise it separately, and if it is itemised, it is often around the £50-55 mark from what I recall about other posts on here). I agree with B&T that your parents should ask around for recommendations for other local solicitors or licensed conveyancers.

WHITEyy118

I've read that about 5% of house purchase covers all the extra costs. IMO this is the very max and 2-3k for solicitors sounds about right.

I've had two quotes from local solicitors/conveyancers at roughly 2.5k which seems reasonable.

But I definitely agree with the 2 above and that recommended solicitors are far from recommended, more like a simple name drop. And I've also been told little add ons such as no sale, no fee are just a ploy. Fair enough they may be handy in a few instances but if anything personal recommendations and speed/efficiency are far more important.