Changing Solicitors?

emahjayn

Hi,

FTB looking for some advice here, basically, I made an offer on a house and the estate agent rang to say I needed a solicitor and mentioned the name of two they usually deal with to me, she quoted both of them as being '£400 plus VAT' rather naively and with the advice of my parents, I chose the one closest to home and that was that.

A couple of days later, a letter arrived from the solicitor with expected costs of "£400 plus £75 plus disbursements" which then totalled £730!!

I mentioned this to my Uncle who when buying a similarly priced property to my own paid around £400 to a local solicitor, which is a massive difference!

Basically, what I'd like to know is, how easy would it be to change solicitor? Can I even do that without penalty? I haven't signed anything for either solicitor but would they charge me for the initial letter.

I apologise for my naivety, and am very thankful for any advice you can give!

nidO

If you haven't yet instructed a solicitor to do anything for you and have just received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you.

However, without knowing any circumstances of either your or your uncle's properties, the £400 total figure he's mentioned to you is suspiciously low. I'd be very worried that your uncle hasn't read his paperwork properly and that his bill is (was?) going to be that £400 and then also plus disbursements, which are (usually) fixed required costs that will not really vary between solicitors.

Generally speaking, the figure you've been quoted from your solicitor is more realistic than the one your uncle has quoted, especially if you're both referring to using actual local solicitors rather than battery-farm conveyancing firms.

Kynthia

Disbursements will cost the same wherever you go as they are not money the solicitor makes but are fees that you are paying for to third parties for the searches and stamp duty if applicable. The only bit of the cost that will differ is the fee the solicitor makes, and that doesn't usually vary by very much and it doesn't always pay to go with the cheapest firm.

Eponym

That's very low! I've just had quotes from two local firms (waiting for a third to come back to me) for FTB, no stamp duty, and I was quoted £1050-£1100! Those consisted of base fees of around £450 and then all the searches and other disbursements on top.

loubel

emahjayn wrote: »

A couple of days later, a letter arrived from the solicitor with expected costs of "£400 plus £75 plus disbursements" which then totalled £730!!

As you haven't instructed them yet you can just let them know you're going elsewhere. However, £475 plus VAT and disbursements is very cheap! Have you got some quotes from other firms? It's most important that you go with a firm you are happy with, and price shouldn't be your only deciding factor in this.

DaftyDuck

I wouldn't, as a rule, use a solicitor recommended by the EA, who is (edit: that's the EA... most solicitors will be professional here ) not interested in your well being in the slightest.

It's worth visiting a few solicitors' offices and getting a quote. You get to see the office, meet the receptionist (if they have one) and possibly briefly meet the solicitor you will use. See what paperwork they can provide swiftly... terms & conditions, costs, sheet of helpful notes...

Compare costs carefully on a like-for-like basis BUT remember... the cost of the solicitor is minute compared with the cost of the house, so get a good solicitor, or one you feel comfortable working with.

If all goes as smooth as silk, a cheap solicitor will be as good as any. If the proverbial brown stuff hits the rotating airy thingy... THAT'S when it's worth having an attentive, friendly, reliable solicitor... and not one who values his recurring relationship with the EA as much as his one-night-stand with you.

If the solicitor who worked for your uncle did a good job, then I'd strongly think of going with him. You are not yet signed up with the agency's solicitor.

emahjayn

Thanks for all your help, I contacted the solicitor my Uncle recommended and they are quoting £662 with disbursements.

This does sound so much cheaper than some of the quotes you've mentioned, I can only assume it's part of the North/South divide and because the property i'm buying has no stamp duty.

lee111s

I paid about £790 all in when I bought a house with no SDLT.

TBagpuss

As others have said, the disbursements will be the same regardless of which solicitor you use -and DaftyDuck is spot on !

goodluck with your purchase.