Do these fees sound ok?

Andrew_C_3

Currently trying to purchase a house approx £160,000 through Haart and have been contacted by Haart Legal with regard to solicitors fees etc. This is what has been quoted:

Quotation for legal services on your purchase at £160,000.00
Professional Fee £449.00

No move, no fee.

Leasehold Supplement £0.00

Additional cost associated with the legal work required for a leasehold property is applicable in the Professional Fee.


Disbursements
Professional Search Package (inclusive of V.A.T.) £249.00


Enquiries must be made with the Local Authority on planning permissions, planned roads etc. Additionally, searches must be made with respect of water, drainage and environmental matters. Additional specialist searches may be required depending on your property location (e.g. mining, brine, etc.) Your conveyancer will advise if these are applicable.

Bankruptcy Search Fee (V.A.T. Exempt) £6.00


The Bankruptcy Search is carried out by the conveyancer on behalf of the lender to check for bankruptcy against each individual.

Land Charges Search (V.A.T. Exempt) £6.00


Checks need to be made with the Land Registry to ensure there are no outstanding charges on the property.


Other Fees

Acting for Lender £115.00


Fee applied if your conveyancer is acting for your mortgage lender - only applicable if you are purchasing with a mortgage.

Telegraphic Transfer Fee £39.00


When funds are transferred to the vendors solicitors or to transfer any balance of proceeds to your bank, a telegraphic transfer fee is incurred for each transfer.

Stamp Duty Land Tax Return Preparation £75.00


Your conveyancer is required to submit a Stamp Duty Land Tax return form on your behalf.


Sub Total £939.00

Total VAT £118.67


Total (inclusive of professional fee, disbursements and other fees) £1,057.67

Government Charges


Charges will be made by the government in relation to you purchase. These are detailed below and should be included when you are budgeting for your move.

Land Registry Charges (V.A.T. Exempt) £150.00


The charge raised by the HM Land Registry to register the change of ownership. The fee varies with the purchase price.

Stamp Duty Land (V.A.T. Exempt) £1,600.00


Percentage of the purchase price. A Government purchase tax on most residential property over £125,000. Stamp duty may not be payable in the area where you are buying. Please visit www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/so for a list of exempt regions or await clarification from your conveyancer.

This 'no move, no fee' quotation is valid for 30 days (excluding disbursements already incurred). If the standard rate of V.A.T. is increased, the fee element of your quotation will be amended accordingly.

The quotation is based on the purchase price shown above and is subject to change if the purchase price is reduced or increased before instruction.

If the property is Leasehold, a supplement of £150.00 + V.A.T. is applicable.

Your Conveyancers standard Terms and conditions will apply.

I'd appreciate it if somebody could offer some advice/ tips on what to look out for and whether this is fairly standard/ expensive.

Thanks :beer:

Doozergirl

Most of it is standard but their actual fee of £449, when combined with the £115 for acting for your lender, is a bit steep, IMO.

At that price, I would expect a very high level of service and I'm not convinced that this call centre type conveyancing is able to provide that.

A recommendation is always best; ask around anyone you know that has bought already; I would be happy to pay extra if I felt I was going to get the service, so Money Saving shouldn't necessarily take precedence. When you have a bad solicitor you would gladly pay hundreds of pounds just to be relieved of the stress.

Doozergirl

Leasehold Supplement £0.00

....

If the property is Leasehold, a supplement of £150.00 + V.A.T. is applicable.

Eh? If they are adding that £150 on, then the fees are astronomic!

Andrew_C_3

property is not leasehold so that is not a problem. but you are correct about charging a 'acting for lender' fee, whats the difference betoween this and the pro fee???!!!

Deals_2

NBM in Chelmsford. they charge from £175 conveyancing + disbursements. they would definitely be cheaper than what you have been quoted. they advertise quite a lot in local papers.

Andrew_C wrote: »

Currently trying to purchase a house approx £160,000 through Haart and have been contacted by Haart Legal with regard to solicitors fees etc. This is what has been quoted:



I'd appreciate it if somebody could offer some advice/ tips on what to look out for and whether this is fairly standard/ expensive.

Thanks :beer:

KellsBells

Doozergirl wrote: »

this call centre type conveyancing is able to provide that.

A recommendation is always best; ask around anyone you know that has bought already; I would be happy to pay extra if I felt I was going to get the service, so Money Saving shouldn't necessarily take precedence. When you have a bad solicitor you would gladly pay hundreds of pounds just to be relieved of the stress.

I quite agree Doozergirl, but just wanted to say that the conveyancing is not actually carried out by a call centre - haart legal are purely a panel and if the op agreed to the fees, his case would be assigned to one of the panel solicitors.
This could be Shoosmiths, ELC, My Home Move or the like.

I would suggest to the op to get a few quotes from other conveyancers they may consider using, and then compare - you might just find a bargain.

Doozergirl

Thanks KellsBells. I do still question how personal or professional the service can be when you're not sure who you are dealing with. I am dubious and I haven't used as a result.