When do solicitors ask for payment from a buyer?

davidmcn

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

- The solicitor/legal executive deducted the balance of their bill after Completion (in my case from the money left over after purchase of Current House - because of coming to cheaper house). They also deducted the money to cover my estate agent fees and paid it to my EA before forwarding "leftover" money back into my bank account.

Right, so actually the balance of your purchase price (and the whole of your solicitor's bill) was in their hands at completion, you didn't pay it to them afterwards.

agrinnall

If you have no money then you are not currently proceedable, so it's unlikely that Estate Agents would allow you to offer (and they may well be reluctant to even show you properties). I would wait until the probate sale has completed and you have the money before doing anything concrete.

As a cash buyer you will need to transfer money to your solicitor at the appropriate times - a small amount up front for disbursements (I paid £270), the 10% deposit a day or two before exchange and the balance a day or two before completion. In my case there was only 3 days between exchange and completion so I transferred all of it before exchange.

You may be able to use Faster Payments to transfer funds at no charge depending on your bank's payment limits and the amount to be transferred, but you need to ensure you start at least 2 business days before the solicitor needs the money. For either the full amount or the 90% balance I would recommend using CHAPS instead, it'll cost you £20 - £40 (generally a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of a house) but as long as the payment is made before your bank's cut-off time then the money will arrive at the solicitor on the same day.