Offer Accepted - Solicitor & Surveyors

DettaWalker

Hi,
I've read the house buying tips and the mortgage guide. I read there that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my prospective solicitor on this he said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal/


Also he's given me the following price break-down which I find a bit expensive given they won't even survey the place:


Is it me or is this a bit expensive:


Local Authority Search, Environmental Search
Drainage & Water Search & Chancel Repair Search £146.50
Bankruptcy Search £4.00
HMLR Priority Search £4.00
Stamp Duty £9,030.00
HM Land Registry fee £270.00
Solicitors fee for Telegraphic Transfer
(inc vat @ 20%) £36.00
Solicitors fee for completing Stamp Duty
Return (inc vat @ 20%) £90.00
Conveyancing Fee (inc vat @ 20%) £660.00

TOTAL £10,240.50




I've asked him to explain what the Conveyancing Fee is...


We are first time buyers and want to get things right but not overpay. The property is in Reading and I understand we don't need to use a local solicitor. Can anybody recommend a good solicitor that's cheaper maybe and handles surveys for us?


Also - how to find a good surveyor?

googler

Well, the Lion's share is the Stamp Duty, and your solicitor can't change that. Subtract that and you have £1,210 all in, including VAT, which doesn't seem too prohibitive....

The Conveyancing Fee is, I would imagine, the fee for the conveyancing work involved. Everything else listed is all stuff that they have to submit to others, check with others, in addition to the core conveyancing tasks .... like drawing up a contract, checking title deeds, etcetera

da_rule

The conveyancing fee is basically the solicitors charge. The other two solicitors charges are for the electronic transfer of money (which the solicitor has to pay for) and for completing the Stamp Duty form. This form can be completed by you but it can be tricky so it is advisable to let the solicitor handle it (he's the one with liability insurance if he messes it up).

The search fees look pretty standard.

Unless the firm is a specialist conveyancing firm then they may not a surveyor they can put you in touch with. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. If you are getting a mortgage then you could contact your lender to see if (a) they require a survey and (b) whether they have a list of approved surveyors. It can be easier for you to arrange the survey yourself, other wise you have to pass information through the solicitor, and the solicitor is unlikely to do this for free.

As googler said, once you subtract the stamp duty the price isn't that bad.

DettaWalker

googler wrote: »

Well, the Lion's share is the Stamp Duty, and your solicitor can't change that. Subtract that and you have £1,210 all in, including VAT, which doesn't seem too prohibitive....

The Conveyancing Fee is, I would imagine, the fee for the conveyancing work involved. Everything else listed is all stuff that they have to submit to others, check with others, in addition to the core conveyancing tasks .... like drawing up a contract, checking title deeds, etcetera

Yes - we did take stamp duty out of the cost when comparing solicitors - we're being cheap for the £660, that seemed a bit much! But if that's normal I guess we'll pay for that.
We had a surveyor quote who couldn't do simple maths and told us the stamp duty on a 400,000 property is 16,000...(3%).. uh no..

Thanks for explaining the conveyancing fee.

And thanks for the RICS da_rule, checking it out now

da_rule

Don't forget that the £660 is after VAT. This is therefore £550 before VAT. If you are comparing solicitors fees make sure you are comparing like for like (including/excluding VAT etc).

TBagpuss

Solicitors are not surveyors so it would be very unusual for them to arrange the survey. You usually have the option of upgrading your mortgage valuation to a home-buyers report or full survey if you wish (which is something you arrange via your mortgage lender) or you can arrange it separately yourself.

The solicitor may be able to give you details of local surveyors for you to contact if you wish.

As others have said, the only parts of that list which is the solicitors's costs is the £660 and the £90 for the Stamp Duty return - all the rest are disbursements to 3rd parties which will be the same whoever does your conveyancing.

£550 + VAT looks very reasonable to me.