Buying flat awful experience

F37A

EssexHebridean said:

F37A said:

UnderOffer said:

So that 3.5k is everything up to searches (i.e no searches were carried out). 

You spent 3.5k on a failed purchase? I don’t think the issue is a leased flat, but the solicitors you’ve chosen. 

But given the level of corruption with leasehold it is reasonable to go for a good solicitor. Look at all these people on unsellable ground rent flat purchases or cladding problems as mortgage prisoners - I don't want to end up like that.

Higher fees do not necessary mean “better”. Look for a High Street firm that is part of the “Conveyancing Quality Scheme”.make sure that the solicitor you instruct is experienced in leasehold. (And indeed that they know when searches need to be done!) 

Thanks will have a look. I appreciate that having the presitge of "a name" may not be mean I get best service.

EssexHebridean

F37A said:

EssexHebridean said:

user1977 said:

I agree £3.5k sounds an absurdly high fee, especially for a transaction which didn't get that close to completion, and presumably for a property at a relatively modest price level.

It is - it’s the sort of fee I’d expect to see being charged by a “prestige” central London firm who don’t really want that level of “small fry” business and hope that the prospective client will go away when they see the cost. (And generally, where the recommended several quotes are obtained prior to instructing, that’s exactly what would happen when client sees that actually, “Groats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks & Partners” in the local high street, who their best mate used when they bought and said were great, would charge fees of around a third of that level!). Not all clients are particularly desirable for larger firms or those who market themselves as “prestige” - and the OP would be unlikely to create lots of lucrative future business for them at a level they would want. 

Like everything in life - it comes down to choice. If someone wants to buy a Porsche to drive to Tesco once a week, then if they can afford it, great, but they shouldn’t kid themselves that they are getting value for money. And, allowing that they know in advance how much the Porsche will cost to buy compared to a Ford Fiesta, they also know ahead of time quite how poor that VFM actually is. 

I wonder what a reasonable rate is for a solicitor to do conveyancing on flat in london for around 250k purchase

Just for legal fees alone, without additional fees and disbursements, I’d suggest you should be looking at somewhere around £1k for a high street firm (that actually wants your business) that is accredited to CQS. 

OP, I say this kindly. Having read through some of your other threads I think it would be a very good idea for you to seek help from a trusted friend or family member with experience of having previously bought property. You appear to be constantly falling into the trap of throwing money at things or “being taken for a ride” by various people (including agents - as a buyer you shouldn’t be paying agent fees as it is the seller of the property that pays these) and I think having someone along side you to offer guidance and help you avoid the risk of potential scammers might be a very good idea. 

GDB2222

There’s quite a bit you can do yourself before instructing solicitors:-

Download property title from LR - so you can check lease length.

Ask for service charges info from the seller. Some may put a gloss on it, but few will lie through their teeth. If in doubt ask for documents to show what is being paid.

Speak to the managing agent and find out what major expenses are planned.

You can also get a copy of the lease from LR, but you have to write in for that. 

Obviously, ask at the beginning for EWS1 and cladding information.

If you’re buying a standard sort of flat in a town, the searches are unlikely to show anything untoward, although it can happen. 

I’d be interested to know what turned up on the flat you were buying that was so significant? 

F37A

EssexHebridean said:

F37A said:

EssexHebridean said:

user1977 said:

I agree £3.5k sounds an absurdly high fee, especially for a transaction which didn't get that close to completion, and presumably for a property at a relatively modest price level.

It is - it’s the sort of fee I’d expect to see being charged by a “prestige” central London firm who don’t really want that level of “small fry” business and hope that the prospective client will go away when they see the cost. (And generally, where the recommended several quotes are obtained prior to instructing, that’s exactly what would happen when client sees that actually, “Groats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks & Partners” in the local high street, who their best mate used when they bought and said were great, would charge fees of around a third of that level!). Not all clients are particularly desirable for larger firms or those who market themselves as “prestige” - and the OP would be unlikely to create lots of lucrative future business for them at a level they would want. 

Like everything in life - it comes down to choice. If someone wants to buy a Porsche to drive to Tesco once a week, then if they can afford it, great, but they shouldn’t kid themselves that they are getting value for money. And, allowing that they know in advance how much the Porsche will cost to buy compared to a Ford Fiesta, they also know ahead of time quite how poor that VFM actually is. 

I wonder what a reasonable rate is for a solicitor to do conveyancing on flat in london for around 250k purchase

Just for legal fees alone, without additional fees and disbursements, I’d suggest you should be looking at somewhere around £1k for a high street firm (that actually wants your business) that is accredited to CQS. 

OP, I say this kindly. Having read through some of your other threads I think it would be a very good idea for you to seek help from a trusted friend or family member with experience of having previously bought property. You appear to be constantly falling into the trap of throwing money at things or “being taken for a ride” by various people (including agents - as a buyer you shouldn’t be paying agent fees as it is the seller of the property that pays these) and I think having someone along side you to offer guidance and help you avoid the risk of potential scammers might be a very good idea. 

Thanks I'll consider a different solicitor. Also appreciate your honesty. Yes I did get shafted once by an agent on deposit. I'm so desperate to buy a property I have had personal problems which has made process a bit more difficult in addition to limited budget but on top of that the situation is unprecedented - one of the worst FTB markets in living memory / worst housing crisis and liz truss antics on top so can't be too harsh on myself Reality is even trusted people don't have time to help as life a bit difficult for many. Bottom line is i've learnt the hard way now. Abuse of FTBs is a whole line of business for companies

macman

OP I'm bemused by some of your comments. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with buying a leasehold property, and if you want to buy a flat outside of Scotland in the UK, then leasehold is invariably what you'll be buying. It may or may not give you the option to own a share of the freehold. Most houses in central London and the West End are leasehold, but it doesn't seem to deter people from spending upwards of £10m on them, The point is simply to ensure that the lease is good. Any competent conveyancer can do that. If you employ an 'international firm' of solicitors to do a simple leasehold conveyance then of course you are going to be charged the earth, because they are usually only doing that sort of work for high wealth private clients. And there is certainly no guarantee of quality service either, as most of the legwork will be done by paralegals, not qualified conveyancers. 
Putting in quotes that high is their polite way of saying 'we'd really rather not bother with this', but you didn't seem to take the hint.

Emily_Joy

Oh dear. We have just looked at the solicitors on Lloyds panel - almost any of them would charge less than £3.5 for a house purchase double your flat price and that would include searches and disbursements!

Some time ago I needed to fix an electric bike which was not very popular in the UK. I wrote to a few local bike shops asking for a quote and the quotes came back at around £2.5K (almost the price of a new bike). I then turned to a forum dedicated to electric bikes for help. One very kind guy wrote to me saying that if I bring the bike to him he can fix is for £200! The lesson learnt: people give outrageous quotes because they do not know how to do the job and expect to spend hours at your expense educating themselves on how to do the job.

coypondboy

do not buy a leasehold flat at the moment as thousands about to hit the market as 3.5 million flat owners caught up in the cladding crisis can now get mortgages and will be selling up.  A friend of mine in London lives in a block of 300 and 200 of them will belisting on rightmove in March just imagine how that will affect prices.

GDB2222

coypondboy said:

do not buy a leasehold flat at the moment as thousands about to hit the market as 3.5 million flat owners caught up in the cladding crisis can now get mortgages and will be selling up.  A friend of mine in London lives in a block of 300 and 200 of them will belisting on rightmove in March just imagine how that will affect prices.

Why is that happening right now? What has changed?

coypondboy

The big 6 lenders will now allow mortgages without the ne3d for surveys so unlocks the flat market 

F37A

macman said:

OP I'm bemused by some of your comments. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with buying a leasehold property, and if you want to buy a flat outside of Scotland in the UK, then leasehold is invariably what you'll be buying. It may or may not give you the option to own a share of the freehold. Most houses in central London and the West End are leasehold, but it doesn't seem to deter people from spending upwards of £10m on them, The point is simply to ensure that the lease is good. Any competent conveyancer can do that. If you employ an 'international firm' of solicitors to do a simple leasehold conveyance then of course you are going to be charged the earth, because they are usually only doing that sort of work for high wealth private clients. And there is certainly no guarantee of quality service either, as most of the legwork will be done by paralegals, not qualified conveyancers. 
Putting in quotes that high is their polite way of saying 'we'd really rather not bother with this', but you didn't seem to take the hint.

I'm bemused by your comments. You probably own one of course your going to say there's nothing wrong with a leasehold. Leasehold is corrupt to the bone if you can't see that then your either one of the those ones profiteering from it.