Are my solicitors over charging me?

TBG01

TripleH said:

Agree with not using recommended solicitors.

We stopped a purchase because our solicitor was raising serious issues about the lease on the property and that they had doubts the 'promised' amendments would materialise. The agent was pushing for us to exchange and again the changes would be made.

Vast majority other buyers (to best of my knowledge) used the recommended conveyancer.

Sounds like the Solicitors were the ones acting in your best interest, yet you decided to listen to the party that has the most to gain from you exchanging as it pretty much guarantees their commission.

AdrianC

TripleH said:

The agent was pushing for us to exchange

The agent is employed by the vendor. They are not your agent.

csgohan4

+! to using your own solicitor which you screen yourself

TAS2

Tiglet2 said:

Legal Costs

Our Fees - £1450.00 (covered by developers)

Fees for Mortgage work - £250.00

Fees for HTB work - £150.00

VAT Thereon £370.00

Subtotal

2220.00

Below are the expected disbursement and extra charges 

Bank Transfer Fees x 3 (exchange, completion, SDLT) - £144.00

UK Identity Search per person - £78.00 

Property Searches (approx) - £240.00

SDLT Submission Fee - £120.00

Subtotal

£612.00

In addition the government will charge a Land Registry fee of £270

The developers solicitors will also charge a fee for drafting contract and lease documents and this is expected to be £300

Stamp duty - £240

The costs are on the high side.

Fees for mortgage work is high.  My firm would charge about £100.

HTB work is also high.  My firm charges £50.

The bank transfer fees are about right - my firm charges £45 per transfer.

How many people are buying the property and/or gifting funds for the purchase?  My firm charges £12 per person, so £78 seems hefty.

Property searches are about right - basic pack if you are getting a mortgage is Local Authority Search, Water & Drainage, Environmental and Chancel Repair.

The SDLT submission fee is high - my firm charges £45.

The Land Registry fee is correct.  The property is a new build and will be a transfer of part.  A new title will need to be created out of the original title.

Charging an extra £300 for the developers solicitor to draft the contract is also hefty, in fact I've not come across a developer charging a buyer before.

It would appear to me that the £1450 that the developer is paying on your behalf is nothing more than an incentive to get you to use their "recommended" solicitor, but you are not really saving anything because they are quoting hefty fees for everything else.

Thanks so much, can I please ask what your firm is called?

TAS2

AdrianC said:

All sounds fine... BUT... personally I'd pay the £1,500 myself and use a different solicitor.

There's a reason that developers cosy up to solicitors, and it's not your best interests.
The solicitor is the ONLY person in the whole purchase process that's on your side.
Their job is to scrutinise the vendor's paperwork, and help you ensure you're getting what you think you're getting.
Why would you use one that's best mates with the vendor?

There's been a thread here in the last few days where a new-build developer's "recommended" solicitor sort-of-forgot to mention that a big chunk of land wasn't part of the plot, and it's almost certainly access for a future phase of houses.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6294784/odd-boundary-help-linden-homes

If the vendor is not only pointing you towards their lad, but actively paying him...

Thanks Adrian, this is such a good point, I never thought about it that way, I was just happy about the savings. 
I'm having to save a huge chunk of the deposit in 7 months before the development is completed and these additional costs have meant I it will be extremely difficult to save, which is why I was eager to have solicitor fee paid for

But I guess it's not worth it if they won't be doing their job properly 

Thanks again 
T

TAS2

Thank you for all your posts, I'm so glad I wrote on here as no one else has warned me about using the developer's solicitors! But it makes sense that there may be a reason behind the deal they're offering 

 Are you allowed to recommend solicitors on here? If so, does anyone know a well priced one?

Or a site that can help me find one?

Thanks
T

MaryNB

TAS2 said:

Thank you for all your posts, I'm so glad I wrote on here as no one else has warned me about using the developer's solicitors! But it makes sense that there may be a reason behind the deal they're offering 

 Are you allowed to recommend solicitors on here? If so, does anyone know a well priced one?

Or a site that can help me find one?

Thanks
T

I can't recommend any in your area but when you do ask for a quote make sure they account for everything relating to your purchase so you can make an accurate comparison. Things like dealing with HTB, gifted deposits, and new builds are often charged as extras. If you do know anyone personally who purchased recently ask them if they'd recommend their solicitor.

Make sure they can act for your lender as well. Just tell them who your chosen lender is when you ask for the quote.  

TBagpuss

TAS2 said:

Hi All,

Just hoping someone might be able to help me with this 

I'm looking to buy a new build property for £304,800 in London, off-plan and on the Help to Buy scheme for first time buyers. I was initially told by the developers that they would cover the solicitor fees of up to £1,500 which is great, however when I asked they didn't tell me about all the other fees below:

Legal Costs

Our Fees - £1450.00 (covered by developers)

Fees for Mortgage work - £250.00

Fees for HTB work - £150.00

VAT Thereon £370.00

Subtotal

2220.00

Below are the expected disbursement and extra charges 

Bank Transfer Fees x 3 (exchange, completion, SDLT) - £144.00

UK Identity Search per person - £78.00 

Property Searches (approx) - £240.00

SDLT Submission Fee - £120.00

Subtotal

£612.00

In addition the government will charge a Land Registry fee of £270

The developers solicitors will also charge a fee for drafting contract and lease documents and this is expected to be £300

Stamp duty - £240

Can someone please tell me if this sounds right? 

Thank you!

T

In addition the government will charge a Land Registry fee of £270

The developers solicitors will also charge a fee for drafting contract and lease documents and this is expected to be £300

Stamp duty - £240

these are money that your solicitor will be collecting from you and paying to third parties on your behalf, they will be the same whoever you use,

Bank Transfer Fees x 3 (exchange, completion, SDLT) - £144.00

UK Identity Search per person - £78.00 

Property Searches (approx) - £240.00

SDLT Submission Fee - £120.00

Subtotal

£612.00

these are again pretty standard. Things such as ID search may vary slightly depending on what company is used, similarly, the cost of transferring the fees is a bit on the high but it is normal to charge  .

Then the actual legal costs - I'd agree with previous posters that they are a bit on the high side - it is definitely worth getting a few more quotes. Make sure that you explain when asking for a quote that it is a new build and that you are buying off-plan and using Help to Buy, as those things will affect the price.