£5000 Solicitors Fee is this too hight?

MovingForwards

annetheman said:

A reverse question that would help, as I'm terrified of this happening on my new build, leasehold, shared ownership - myriad of additional costs...

Can anyone say how much above the amount quoted at the beginning they have been charged after a purchase?

Quoted - £1115 all in, paid that on completion. Would have been extra charges if I used a H2B ISA. I was given a full breakdown when I asked for quotes from all the firms.

OP needs to double check all the paperwork he was given when s/he asked them to take on his case and see what it says. Some of them charges I would be rejecting, unless there was reference to extra charges in the quote or T&C's; if so I would be disputing them. 

trex227

annetheman said:

A reverse question that would help, as I'm terrified of this happening on my new build, leasehold, shared ownership - myriad of additional costs...

Can anyone say how much above the amount quoted at the beginning they have been charged after a purchase?

Big thing would be to ensure the fees for the legal work associated with new build, leasehold and shared ownership are included in your initial quote. Most firms will charge a separate fee for new build and leasehold and some for shared ownership (though a lot of firms will deal with shared ownership as part of their leasehold fee). Ask, if they are required, if the legal work your solicitor will do for a notice of assignment or deed of covenant is included. Go through the additional fees in the terms and conditions and try to work out if any could apply to you.

As it’s new build check the Land Registry fee is correct as it’s double the fee than for an existing property (technically a non new build property gets a discount on the fees, but a fair amount of quotes I’ve seen just include the reduced fee not taking into account higher cost for new build).

With leasehold properties though you have the landlords/managing agents fees that can add a lot- £625 of OPs bill are these fees. They are the same regardless of what firm of solicitors you use. Get your conveyancer to tell you what these fees are so you’re not surprised at the end.

[Deleted User]

Also some shared ownership transactions charge the rent and service charge for the month of completion and also the full following month within the legal bill. 
Doesnt happen with all housing associations but something to be aware of

csgohan4

OP, the fees could have been 10K and you would still have to pay, you agreed to it and work to go ahead, I assume you read the small print on extra charges?

Mickey666

Was the original quote for their fee of £xxxx PLUS disbursements?
That’s how my solicitor quotes have been structured over the years.  Many of those ‘extra’ costs are for things paid out by the solicitor on behalf of the client and won’t be known precisely at the time of their quote so are typically specified as ‘plus disbursements’.  It would be for the client to discuss the likely costs of disbursements before appointing the solicitor.

pinkteapot

When you get quotes from a solicitor they’ll tell you the price for their legal fee then they should list out all the additional fees. If not clear, check whether everything is included, and whether VAT will be added on top. 

AskAsk

2nd_time_buyer said:

AskAsk said:

you can get quotes like this where the fixed fee covers very little and everything is extra.  they are often solicitors that are recommended by estate agents who gets a kick back from them.

they normally come to £3k for simple transactions and increases with queries and additional work.  sounds like you have been hit by one of those.

The irony is that you need a solicitor to check over the terms and conditions of the solicitor.

if there is a list of additional costs for specified then you should always avoid those quotes as they can add on virtually everything, like submission for stamp duty, taking photocopies, answering enquiries from the other side, etc

solicitors always have a caveat that if there are a lot of additional enquiries they will charge for extra time spent on the transaction.  my solicitor luckily never add on extra fees for this even when they are faced with long lists of enquiries.  guess i should stick to using them.

Marvel1

From_Cordoba said:

Guys I'm asking  your pesonal opinion. Would you be happy in paying £5K in legal fees inc Searches. Is this something you've heard? my expectation was around  £2K for a £600K property. 

No chance.

pinkpiglit

Absolutely nothing to add on fees.  But I'd be more worried about the fact it could be a leasehold property managed by Homeground !     So many horror stories out there about this ManCo... I'd be running a mile!  (Sorry I realise that's not helpful in the slightest)

whirlyhead

pinkpiglit said:

Absolutely nothing to add on fees.  But I'd be more worried about the fact it could be a leasehold property managed by Homeground !     So many horror stories out there about this ManCo... I'd be running a mile!  (Sorry I realise that's not helpful in the slightest)

I haven't had any issues with Homeground. Now Simarc - they are a nightmare, and Mainstay are total pillocks.