Conveyancer or solicitor/fees

TF03

Hi all

So very close to having an offer accepted on a house! Yay! Mortgage currently being sorted.

But I'm kinda at a loss and the conveyancing stage now so after some advice.

Firstly is there a benefit of using a solicitor over a conveyancer or visa versa? I've read that solicitors tend to be a bit more pricey and may have other cases on the go as well.

Secondly, is there a benefit of using a conveyancer/solicitor that is local to you apart from the obvious "it's easier to see them face to face/give them paperwork by hand". Is it advisable to use a local one if you can?

Thirdly, the fees. We used a solicitor based near us to purchase our leasehold flat which we are now selling. Looking at the breakdown of the fees for a sell/purchase do these seem reasonable as they look a bit on the pricey side to me.
They did make a few errors last time we used them like really simple mistakes in letters/contracts that we picked up and had to get changed so hence why I'm looking around now. But is it better the devil you know? They are quite nice people and I've read some horror stories...They also already have all the info about our flat we are selling if this makes for an easier transaction?

Their price breakdown
Your Sale (leasehold)
Sale Price £180,000
----
Our Legal Fees
£900.00
VAT on our Legal Fees (payable at the applicable rate - currently 20%)
£180.00
Land Registry Fees (Official copies etc)
£30.00
TOTAL
£1,110.00
As you are selling a leasehold property, please also budget around £200 for the landlord/managing agents fees for providing the management pack. Further details will be provided once known.

Your Purchase of TBC (freehold)
Purchase Price £315,000

---

Our Legal Fees
£925.00
VAT on our Legal Fees (payable at the applicable rate - currently 20%)
£185.00
Search Fees (allow)
£300.00
CHAPS Transfer Fees (to send cleared funds to the Sellers!!!8217; Solicitors on completion)
£36.00
Land Registry Fees (if the whole of a registered title and we are able to submit the application through the Land Registry portal otherwise the fees are £270)
£135.00
TOTAL £1581.00
*£7331 including £5750 stamp duty

Thoughts kindly appreciated

TF03

G_M

1)
Solicitors have a much broader professional training than Liecenced conveyancers. Stands to reason - solicitors are qualified to do criminal work, contracts, company law, etc etc as well as conveyancing.


Licenced Coveyancers only train in ..... conveyancing. Hence tend to be cheaper.


In terms of expertise, a LC will spend 100% or their working life doing conveyancing. A solicitor might do the same (many of them specialise) or might have less experience in conveyancing if they do other work as well.


2)
I'm a great advocate of using a local firm so you can speak face-to-face if issues arise. And for convenience of fast delivery of paperwork - eg same day hand delivery.


Others disagree, and in 90% of cases where there are no issues, there's no need for face-to-face.


3)
I've seen cheaper and I've seem more expensive!

Does your purchase involve a mortgage? If yes, check
a) the solicitor is on th lender's legal panel and
b) whether the quote includes acting for the lender


I'd also double-check the small print to ensure it includes completing the SDLT return.

TBagpuss

Whoever does it will have other cases on.

The cheaper the person you use, the more likely they are to have very high volumes of other cases, as that is one of the ways that the 'conveyancing factories' keep their prices low.

There are benefits to using someone local - you can ask about for friends and family's experience of them, you can go in if there is something which needs to be signed or produced at short notice, and they may be more knowledgeable about which searches etc are really necessary in your area.

A *good* conveyancer or legal executive may be just as knowledgeable as a solicitor, and many firms of solicitors employ licensed conveyancers or legal executives so the individual you deal with may not themselves be a solicitor. One advantage is that solicitors firms are very strictly regulated and in most cases, much more concerned about their reputation and quality of service. (individual firms will differ of course)

You are also likely to have a single person who will deal with it all the way through, whereas the big online suppliers seem to have high turnover of staff so it can be hard to get hold of someone, or to know who to try to get hold of!

The costs don't look way out to me, but it is worth you getting a couple of other quotes.

kingstreet

TBagpuss wrote: »

many firms of solicitors employ licensed conveyancers or legal executives so the individual you deal with may not themselves be a solicitor

Yep. True dat.

kingstreet

TF03 wrote: »

Your Sale (leasehold)
Sale Price £180,000
----
Our Legal Fees
£900.00

Your Purchase of TBC (freehold)
Purchase Price £315,000

---

Our Legal Fees
£925.00

That is a lot around the West Midlands. I can think of several firms of solicitors who will come in at at least £500 less.

I expected the purchaser to pick up the cost of the Management Company's pack for the leasehold?

Tiglet2

I expected the purchaser to pick up the cost of the Management Company's pack for the leasehold?

No. It is the seller who has to provide the pack. The Management Company will not speak to either the buyer nor their solicitor as they have no contract with them. Even though some sellers make a fuss and say that they already have a lot of Management Company information, the buyer's solicitor will not accept any paperwork provided by a seller, only that provided by the Management Company which is part of their due diligence.

TF03

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone. It's nice knowing that at least we are in the right ballpark anyway!