Conveyancing fees

class2ldn

Hi guys. Just had an offer on a house accepted, now trying to find a solicitor. Had a quote from an estate agent ( I know lol) but they've detailed all the fees and it seems fairly reasonable tbh but just wondered if someone could give me some advice as to whether there's anything missing from the list.
Bit worried about doing the online comparisons as you don't know who you are getting.

Details

Purchaser conveyancing legal fee. £499. Vat £99.80

Mortgage fee £ 75. Vat £15

ID fee £6.00 +1.20 vat per person
Bank transfer fee per person £39.00 + 7.80 vat
Sdlt fee £60 + 12.00 vat
Pre completion searches £8.00 + 0.00 vat
Search pack £255.00 + 51.00 vat
Stamp duty land tax £2420.00 + 0 vat
Hm land registry fee £135.00 + 0 vat

Total is 3497 + 186.80 vat so 3683.80.

What do you think. Does this cover it all and does the price seem ok?
Can't seem to find it much cheaper anyway.

Many thanks

class2ldn

Just having a search, the cheapest I can find is around 3250 but these are firms up north and we are in sussex. Just emailed some other places for quotes.

HappyMJ

class2ldn wrote: »

Hi guys. Just had an offer on a house accepted, now trying to find a solicitor. Had a quote from an estate agent ( I know lol) but they've detailed all the fees and it seems fairly reasonable tbh but just wondered if someone could give me some advice as to whether there's anything missing from the list.
Bit worried about doing the online comparisons as you don't know who you are getting.

Details

Purchaser conveyancing legal fee. £499. Vat £99.80

Mortgage fee £ 75. Vat £15

ID fee £6.00 +1.20 vat per person
Bank transfer fee per person £39.00 + 7.80 vat
Sdlt fee £60 + 12.00 vat
Pre completion searches £8.00 + 0.00 vat
Search pack £255.00 + 51.00 vat
Stamp duty land tax £2420.00 + 0 vat
Hm land registry fee £135.00 + 0 vat

Total is 3497 + 186.80 vat so 3683.80.

What do you think. Does this cover it all and does the price seem ok?
Can't seem to find it much cheaper anyway.

Many thanks

Seems way too high for me. I would assume many of those charges should be included in the £499 charge.

alchemist.1

You might want to remove Stamp Duty from your quote. Its a tax you pay not a legal fee.

The quote is about right considering what a good solicitor will charge you. Put it into perspective, you are buying a property close to £250000

class2ldn

Yeah well that's what I thought. We are first time buyers so not too clued up on what they should and shouldn't charge.
I've asked for quotes from local ones but being the weekend alot of them are closed. Like I say the cheapest I've seen is about 3-400 cheaper but I'd rather pay more and have a local solicitor in case of any issues. I much prefer face to face then talking over a phone.

alchemist.1

Just make sure when you are getting a quote that they include everything so you get a fair comparison.

Sometimes you will get a quote with a low base fee i.e. 200 plus vat but they will charge for additional elements such as ID checks, archiving fee etc. In the end it will amount to more.

class2ldn

Yeah. I've noticed on some they have a bankruptcy check which isn't detailed on the one above. That would be an additional charge I guess

alchemist.1

Not necessarily. It might be part of the mortgage fee/searchs they are charging. Just need to double check.

G_M

class2ldn wrote: »

Details

Purchaser conveyancing legal fee. £499. Vat £99.80 Not cheap but not expensive

Mortgage fee £ 75. Vat £15 reasonable

ID fee £6.00 +1.20 vat per person standard fee
Bank transfer fee per person £39.00 + 7.80 vat expensive. Most banks charge £25-30
Sdlt fee £60 + 12.00 vat Rip-off! this should be part of the service included in the £499 above. Any conveyancer charging separately should be shot.
Pre completion searches £8.00 + 0.00 vat standard fee
Search pack £255.00 + 51.00 vat depends on local authority, and which searches you choose: are they listed?
Stamp duty land tax £2420.00 + 0 vat depends on price paid
Hm land registry fee £135.00 + 0 vat standard fee

Total is 3497 + 186.80 vat so 3683.80.

Go into a local solicitors, meet the solicior, get a quote to compare, and see if you like the solicitor.

I assume it's freehold? If a flat or leasehold house, beware an extra fee later for dealing with the lease.

Also check the solicitor is on your lender's panel.

littlemissbossy

I am buying and selling, but just for your reference the fees for my purchase are £782.00 inc vat. We did request an extra search so the fee could be approx £50.00 on top of that

This is with a local solicitor who so far has been really good.

ARTiSAN

I agree with the post above .. you should remove the taxes, registry fees etc as these are fixed costs and not dependent on which solicitor you use.

Having sold a house in Sussex recently the fees proposed seem middle of the road. A friend of mine is using a solicitor recommended by her estate agent (why??) and it was a lot more.

As we all know its as much to do with the level of service and especially their speed of response. Can you get any recommendations for a local solicitor and then ask them for a quote?