Does this seem ok for a quote from the EA?

parkrunner

Daughter is bying a seven year old flat and is a first time buyer, do these figures from the EA look about right for the value of the property? Thanks, any questions and I'll try to find out.

https://imgur.com/a/E8Hp13R

Slithery

Why would the vendors EA be doing your daughters conveyancing?

G_M

Your daughter should find her own conveyancer. I'm a great believer (not everyone is) of using a local firm you can pop in to.


But not one recomended or chosen by the estate agent. Especially when buying, as the EA acts for and is paid by the seller not the buyer.

steampowered

The fees look rather high to me.

Is this a conveyancer who was referred to your daughter by the EA? The normal advice is to steer clear from EA referrals. EAs will typically refer to the conveyancers which pay the highest commission, not those that provide the best service.

It looks like your daugher is being asked to cover a £599 broker fee. It looks like this is the backhander being paid by the conveyancer to the EA for making the referral.

Your daughter should get some quotes from independent conveyancers/solicitors. Either call round local firms or use an online comparison website.

davilown

If she’s just purchasing that’s a really expensive quote - should half that.

Go local and on recommendations

D_M_E

It looks like they are also charging vat on the backhander as well, not to mention that they have hidden the vat element in the middle instead of putting it as the final item before the total.

As already said by others she should find her own solicitor - the charges would likely be around half or less than what's detailed in your image.

kinger101

Run away. Has she already seen the broker? I've never used one, and it's not really necessary unless you have something unusual about your finances or the property (self-employed, debt history, flat above commercial premises). A bit of googling tell you what multiples lenders go to.

Also - you don't need a will to buy a property.

AnotherJoe

OP, great post, you've probably saved your daughter about £2k as a result once she finds a conveyancer that isnt a shyster and doesn't bung in unwanted and unneeded costs..
I see the broker may be one of those "dodgy" lifetime fee companies there was quite a lot of controversy about a few years back when a firm of conveyancers refused to honour one, but as said does she even need to pay a fee?

kinger101

I hope the vendor negotiated the EA's fee down. 1.75% plus VAT!

parkrunner

Thanks for all the replies, I'm going with her to EA tomorrow as the offer has been accepted so will help her to look around.

sillyhilly

Take a quick look at comparison sites if you're not particularly interested in going local:

https://www.reallymoving.com/quote-forms/conveyancing