Selling property - solicitor fees

Tiglet2

diystarter7 said:

propertyrental said:

One can't really comment without a breakdown of the quote.

There was a thread here very recently from a buyer who'd been quoted £350 odd! He was miffed because the final bill had multiple 'extras' (completing the SDLT form etc etc) which pushed the price up enormously, so n these days of competitive conveyancing you have to read the small print.

Do your quotes include SDLT for example/

Hi

The SDLT is always separate to the fee as the solicitor does not know how much the property will sell for

You are spot on, we do need a breakdown of fees.

However, for those that feel 2k plus vat is high, I'm a million per cent certain they have no idea re solcitors costs that are office based where you can go and meet and get real papers work ie hard copies and emails

Do you have a mortage as that adds a bit

However, to me it looks ok - just seek several like for like quotes and dont go for the cheapest without checking them out as some can potentially lose you a sale.

2k seems about right plus vat, plus the stamp and it does seem high if you lack experience in buying/selling or not done so for years but almost everything is sky high prices


NB: We have only used local, well not so local solicitors and or ones recommended by EA having done our own research but never an online or newer lot.

diystarter7 said:

SDLT_Geek said:

diystarter7 said:

propertyrental said:

One can't really comment without a breakdown of the quote.

There was a thread here very recently from a buyer who'd been quoted £350 odd! He was miffed because the final bill had multiple 'extras' (completing the SDLT form etc etc) which pushed the price up enormously, so n these days of competitive conveyancing you have to read the small print.

Do your quotes include SDLT for example/

Hi

The SDLT is always separate to the fee as the solicitor does not know how much the property will sell for

......


Do you have a mortage as that adds a bit

.......

But OP is selling, not buying!!

Good evening

Did you not note the poster I quoted that mentioned "SDLT" and I was referring to that? I was clearly coreecting that poster that the stamp is priced separately as they raised that question.

Thanks

@diystarter7 see the bits in bold

SDLT wouldn't have been mentioned in the quote as it's a sale, not a purchase.

There would only be a TT/CHAPS fee for redeeming the mortgage on completion and possibly a fee for obtaining a redemption statement, though that is usually included.  

You may have been replying to the quoted poster, but it wasn't clear that you were correcting them, instead creating more confusion.

I think the fees at £2k are on the expensive side.  The solicitor has probably added on substantial fees for dealing with leasehold and the share of freehold, liaising with the freeholder/management co. 

You may be knowledgeable about a lot of things, but it's clear you don't work in conveyancing.

EssexHebridean

@Tiglet2 thanks - hopefully that is the SDLT mix up put to bed, I too had visions of the perhaps not experienced OP panicking that they had stamp duty to pay on a sale! 

There would usually be additional fees for dealing with a freehold/leasehold issue, but they’re not generally going to push the overall quote that high in my experience. Extra fee for getting the lease from HMLR if the OP doesn’t have it…and the extra title docs as well of course, but again nothing substantial.

Not sure we can get to the bottom of whether it really is expensive without seeing the quote though to establish what is included. 

Noneforit999

We sold about 6 months ago, based in the South East and it was £1250 from a local conveyancing firm.

I got 4 quotes, all around the same price.

OP - I would shop around. Granted things have gone up a little but I can't see how yours is twice what mine was 6 months ago

GoogleMeNow

hadid21 said:

I'm sorry for bumping the thread, but how much do solicitors charge rn?
(the property is near London)

Might have been better to start a new thread, but here goes!

You could google a few solicitors local to you as well as some online ones and request an emailed quote from them.  It only takes a few minutes to fill in a few details and the quote will be with you very shortly.  That's likely to give you a better understanding than us randoms on here telling you what we paid!

What you have to be aware of is that the quotes won't always be detailed and they will usually indicate that there will be further fees added if there is additional work to be done, on top of the initial quote.

If you are buying as well as selling, then that is classed as two transactions and therefore your quote will be higher than a single transaction.

Sale fees are usually lower than Purchase fees, because the due diligence involved is much higher on a purchase.

The cheapest quote will be for a totally freehold property (i.e. no management company involvement), with no lender involvement.

The price of the property will also have a bearing on fees.  Quotes will be adjusted higher for freehold with a management company, leasehold plus share of freehold and leasehold.  Dealing with a lender (either to redeem a charge or because you need a mortgage for a purchase) will also add to the quote.  Dealing with a management company, freeholder/landlord similarly will be higher.  Selling or purchasing an unregistered property will also incur higher fees.  Similarly, if the solicitor has to deal with your LISA provider or a HTB equity loan which needs removing from the title etc etc, more fees will be added.  Dealing with an auction house will also add further fees.

As an example, recent quotes I've had for the sale of a freehold bungalow with no charge on the title and selling for £350k, have ranged from £1203 (local solicitor but heavy on the online presence), £524.40 (well known online warehouse), £1232 (another local firm) and £1438 (local firm with a great reputation).