Is this solicitor's quote reasonable?

MoneyEM

I just had an offer accepted on a 180k 1 bed flat in Kent. I have been sent this quote from the estate agent for the conveyancing. I was just wondering if this was reasonable or on the expensive side? Also, is this a comprehensive list of all the fees that I will have or is there anything else that I will have to pay for separately? These figures are also not excluding the extra amount which will be charged when applying for a mortgage.

Total cost £2482 (£1382 excl. stamp duty)

Breakdown:
£745 legal fees
£50 Prep of legal indemnity insurance policy (covenants, planning & alterations)
£35 prep & sending of bank transfer fee
£40 prep & submission of online land registration
£1100 stamp duty
£95 land registration fee
£195 searches (local authority, planning, flood & environmental)
£7 land registration search fee
£2 bankruptcy search fee
£213 VAT

Mulder00

Does it include or exclude VAT?

It seems slightly more expensive than we paid recently - we paid £500 for the professional (legal) fees (ex VAT), £150 (ex VAT) for all searches, also £35 for transfer admin fee. And then we had £35 fees that you don't have (money laundering checks and a sellers banking check).

ThePants999

A tad on the high side, but not unreasonable - I'd pay that for a *good* solicitor.

always_sunny

why don't you get 3 free quotes online to compare? https://www.reallymoving.com/
Most solicitors also have online quote facilities...

walwyn1978

ThePants999 wrote: »

A tad on the high side, but not unreasonable - I'd pay that for a *good* solicitor.

This, basically. We paid slightly over that in legal fees etc last time we moved, but it was worth it - the solicitor came highly recommended by friends and in a difficult purchase she got it through, resolved issues when the vendor was messing around to spite his former partner and got the whole thing done as quickly as possible. The previous time I went cheap, and got what I paid for - a ponderous service where I had 5 different people 'dealing' with me none of whom seemed to know what to do. On paper it was a far simpler transaction than the last one yet took almost twice as long due to their errors and habit of taking long weekends away from the office.

Get multiple quotes, and talk to others. But the cheapest deal isn't always the best deal.

MoneyEM

Mulder00 wrote: »

Does it include or exclude VAT?

It seems slightly more expensive than we paid recently - we paid £500 for the professional (legal) fees (ex VAT), £150 (ex VAT) for all searches, also £35 for transfer admin fee. And then we had £35 fees that you don't have (money laundering checks and a sellers banking check).

sorry I had forgotten to add the VAT, yes the figure includes £213 of VAT.

ahh okay, i definitely think it would be worth me looking around because mine seems quite a lot more expensive than yours and it was the one that the estate agent wants me to use... so they are biased anyway...

marksoton

MoneyEM wrote: »

ahh okay, i definitely think it would be worth me looking around because mine seems quite a lot more expensive than yours and it was the one that the estate agent wants me to use... so they are biased anyway...

:wall::wall::wall:

Woah! Stop right there. And go elsewhere!

walwyn1978

Game changer. I would pay a lot more money to avoid a solicitor 'recommended' by the EA. Go elsewhere

G_M

MoneyEM wrote: »

I just had an offer accepted on a 180k 1 bed flat in Kent. I have been sent this quote from the estate agent for the conveyancing.
Find your own conveyancer. Do NOT be taken in by "It's quicker." or "It's easier".
Only believe the agent if he says "We'd prefer you to use this conveyancer because then we get paid a commission /introduction fee/ some other benefit."

I was just wondering if this was reasonable or on the expensive side?
Expensive
Also, is this a comprehensive list of all the fees that I will have or is there anything else that I will have to pay for separately?
below
These figures are also not excluding the extra amount which will be charged when applying for a mortgage.
of course - it's a conveyancing quote.

Total cost £2482 (£1382 excl. stamp duty)

Breakdown:
£745 legal fees a bit pricey but not too much
£50 Prep of legal indemnity insurance policy (covenants, planning & alterations) this should be included in the £745. Rip off charge
£35 prep & sending of bank transfer fee OK if this is what the bank charges them. Varies from £25 - £35
£40 prep & submission of online land registration this should be included in the £745. Rip off charge
£1100 stamp duty I thought you said above it excludes stamp duty....?
£95 land registration fee if this is what the fee is, OK. You can check here
£195 searches (local authority, planning, flood & environmental) OK - depends on the LA
£7 land registration search fee OK
£2 bankruptcy search fee OK
£213 VAT

Does the £745 include preparation and submission of the SDLT return to HMRC? It should. If they charge separatelt for this - rip off.

I assume also there is a need for an indemnity insurance (since the quote includes arranging this). The policy itself will have a charge assuming one is required.

MoneyEM

always_sunny wrote: »

why don't you get 3 free quotes online to compare? https://www.reallymoving.com/
Most solicitors also have online quote facilities...

Thank you! I have never heard of this site and when i put in my details it came up with £820 which is a saving of more than £500! And it had great reviews with people saying they were attentive to questions and efficient... thanks very much

MoneyEM

G_M wrote: »

Does the £745 include preparation and submission of the SDLT return to HMRC? It should. If they charge separatelt for this - rip off.

I assume also there is a need for an indemnity insurance (since the quote includes arranging this). The policy itself will have a charge assuming one is required.

They have included stamp duty in their figures but obviously this will be payable and the same for every company so £1342 is the actual cost they are charging for their services.

I think I have gathered from this site that I will not be using them for my purchase. But your answer has been very helpful in what to look out for and what extra charges are added on which shouldn't be

In what situations would I need an indemnity policy?