The fees for buying a home is the biggest scam known to man.

Peter999_2

UnsureAboutthis said:

It's important not to just look at the fees. Also look at the reviews as well as how long this company has been operational. Along with that, for me anyway, they have to have a physical office.
As others have posted correctly, like any business, they can set their own fees.
A business is there to make a profit.

Do not forget, if the conveyancer runs off with your money, ie outright fraud, there is a compensation scheme but I'm not sure what is the max you can recover and how long it takes. If the company is owned by more than one person/conveyancer and they all run away with you money, I'm not sure how that will pan out. This is one of the main reason I only use very well-established lot.

Haha, this is what I was so paranoid about.   My purchase was a cash purchase (divorce) and I was really worried for time between me sending them the money and completing.     I chose a relatively small company to handle it as they were very good with a sale I had a couple of years previously.    I did check they were members of the SRA and they will pay up to £2 million compensation if they run off with the money - I wouldn't like to go through it if it actually happened.

Saying that, I just checked the SRA register and my converyancer has closed in May 2025.   I presume that they have maybe retired.

dreaming

SneakySpectator said:

dreaming said:

 So you buy a property baed on the fact that the seller actually owns it (and is who they say they are), with a contract that a solicitor "whips up", and you hand over all that cash? What happens when you find the property is built on mining land and has the potential for major subsidence, or on a flood plain, or the seller heard about a proposed road being built through the back garden? 

Would my solicitor actually notify me about anything like this though? Because then they'd know I'd back out of the deal which means they have to refund a chunk of the money I paid them because I have a no deal no fee thing in place. 

Of course they would, that is their job after all - remember estate agents work for the seller, solicitors work for the purchaser. You could always do your own conveyancing if it irks you so much to pay someone else to do it. You will need quite a chunk of free time and patience to fill in the various forms etc. and then the ability to interpret the results and know when/if to ask follow up questions. If you do this incorrectly/miss something and things go wrong after the purchase then you will have no legal comeback (as you would with a legitimate conveyancer), but you can comfort yourself yourself knowing how much money you have saved. If you are requiring a mortgage to complete the sale then this option won't be available as the finance company will most certainly require the use of a solicitor - which will cover them as well as yourself.

grumpy_codger

Bonniepurple said:

OP, none of those checks and costs (bar Stamp Duty) are mandated by the government.  They are there for the owner’s information and protection-and that will usually involve a mortgage company.  ...

Really? Even source of funds checks? AML checks are imposed by the government. The owner just wants the money and doesn't care where it comes from. 

sheramber

BridgetTheCat said:

Peter999_2 said:

It is very backward in the UK when it comes to buying a house.    

Not the uk - just England and Wales. It’s usually much faster and easier in Scotland. My parents’ house sale took 3 weeks from putting on the market to money in the bank.

I have sold four  houses in Scotland and paperwork was completed within 4 weeks. 

Entry can be later than that , by agreement, but once missives are signed sakes are complete.

Three I moved house  right way . One was three months later by agreement
by both of us.

 Buyer was renting and rental contract finished in three months and we were moving when I retired three months later.

 

grumpy_codger

SneakySpectator said:

dreaming said:

 So you buy a property baed on the fact that the seller actually owns it (and is who they say they are), with a contract that a solicitor "whips up", and you hand over all that cash? What happens when you find the property is built on mining land and has the potential for major subsidence, or on a flood plain, or the seller heard about a proposed road being built through the back garden? 

Would my solicitor actually notify me about anything like this though? Because then they'd know I'd back out of the deal which means they have to refund a chunk of the money I paid them because I have a no deal no fee thing in place. 

Well, AFAIK, very few solicitors work on this basis. Normally you pay for the work already done if the deal collapses. As chains collapse very often in UK, 'no deal no fee' means higher price that may partly explain your frustration.

grumpy_codger

dreaming said:

SneakySpectator said:

dreaming said:

 So you buy a property baed on the fact that the seller actually owns it (and is who they say they are), with a contract that a solicitor "whips up", and you hand over all that cash? What happens when you find the property is built on mining land and has the potential for major subsidence, or on a flood plain, or the seller heard about a proposed road being built through the back garden? 

Would my solicitor actually notify me about anything like this though? Because then they'd know I'd back out of the deal which means they have to refund a chunk of the money I paid them because I have a no deal no fee thing in place. 

Of course they would, that is their job after all - remember estate agents work for the seller, solicitors work for the purchaser. You could always do your own conveyancing if it irks you so much to pay someone else to do it. ...

And how are you going to DIY AML checks?  Somebody posted here recently about their experience when the seller's solicitor insisted on AML report and all solicitors refusing to do AML check alone - they all wanted to do a full pack.

DullGreyGuy

SneakySpectator said:

I've just had a breakdown of the conveyancer fees and my god what an absolute joke. You basically pay a fee for every single element of buying a home.

File opening fee, search fee, ID check fee, electronic transfer fee, source of funds verification fee and there's like 6 others I can't even be bothered to list. 

I actually believe conveyancer fees are part of the government agenda to milk as much money as humanly possible from people wanting to exchange property.

Why can't it just be like buying a car? You go and inspect it, maybe hire a professional to give it the once over if it's an expensive car, agree a price with the seller, do a standard online check on the government database to make sure the guy actually owns the car, hire a solicitor to whip up a quick exchange contract and job done. 

It's utterly insane how much baggage is involved in buying a home. I wouldn't mind if it was a half million pound home but people buy cars that are 3x as expensive as my flat without needing all this extra crap.

What a joke. 3 days into the process and I'm already stressed, I can only imagine how much is involved when a company buys land to build something... Jesus Christ.

You arent obliged to use a conveyancer, though will have to pay for your banks lawyers if you need a mortgage and dont have your own/won't be doing any checks. 

If you do want to use a conveyancer then there will be a combination of paying for their time, and reimbursing them their costs. As they are a branch of a law it will all be split out. 

In principle when you are buying a secondhand car you are also paying for what they paid for the car, what they paid to get minor issues fixed, the sales guys salary, the rent on the building they use, a share of their electricity bill etc just its all hidden and wrapped up into a single price. 

dreaming

grumpy_codger said:

dreaming said:

SneakySpectator said:

dreaming said:

 So you buy a property baed on the fact that the seller actually owns it (and is who they say they are), with a contract that a solicitor "whips up", and you hand over all that cash? What happens when you find the property is built on mining land and has the potential for major subsidence, or on a flood plain, or the seller heard about a proposed road being built through the back garden? 

Would my solicitor actually notify me about anything like this though? Because then they'd know I'd back out of the deal which means they have to refund a chunk of the money I paid them because I have a no deal no fee thing in place. 

Of course they would, that is their job after all - remember estate agents work for the seller, solicitors work for the purchaser. You could always do your own conveyancing if it irks you so much to pay someone else to do it. ...

And how are you going to DIY AML checks?  Somebody posted here recently about their experience when the seller's solicitor insisted on AML report and all solicitors refusing to do AML check alone - they all wanted to do a full pack.

I did not say that DIY AML checks could be performed - the OP was talking mainly about the conveyancing side and comparing it to buying a car. If he is a cash buyer maybe he could meet the seller in a supermarket car park and hand over the cash in used fivers (posted very much tongue-in-cheek as the seller would then have to account for the cash). I was being a little sarcastic (which obviously doesn't come across as I forgot to put "lol" or a smiley) but I have known people do their own searches to reduce costs but it is rarely a time saver and does require some expertise. I know all about AML - apart from working in finance for many years before I retired (and having to regularly go through competency based training), I am also gifting my daughter some money to help with her purchase and have had to provide proof of where the funds have come from. That was fun as I have savings accounts with several banks and paperless statements but have managed to satisfy all the checks.

Exodi

Of all the valid things I can think about to complain about the UK house buying process, e.g. the significant length of time it can take, the fact prospective buyers have to each pay to survey a property, how the purchase isn't binding in any way until right at the end, etc - the last thing I would complain it about is the relatively minor costs of purchase or that there is too much diligence being performed in one of the single biggest transaction of my lifetime. 

I'm just looking at the statement for my last purchase of the fees you take issue with, telegraphic transfer fee (£36), charges for AML check's (£12 pp) and maybe SDLT admin fee (£3.60) = £63.60 in total. Considering the size of the transaction I'm not losing sleep over it.

SneakySpectator said:

Why can't it just be like buying a car? You go and inspect it, maybe hire a professional to give it the once over if it's an expensive car, agree a price with the seller, do a standard online check on the government database to make sure the guy actually owns the car, hire a solicitor to whip up a quick exchange contract and job done. 

As an aside, it was quite amusing you follow your rant about the house buying process with the most bizarre recount of the process to buy a car.

What is this 'standard online check on the government database to make sure the guy actually owns the car'?. You can use the government vehicle enquiry service to tell you basic details about the car if that's what you mean, but that doesn't tell you who owns it. Then you recruit a solicitor (?) to whip up an 'exchange contract' (whatever that means)? Personally, I find it's easier to do the quick 2 minute online form for a change of ownership (or filling in the V5 if you're old-fashioned): https://www.gov.uk/sold-bought-vehicle

And in your whole description of buying a car, you haven't checked whether there's any outstanding finance on the car/can't confirm whether it is has been written off/etc. I think maybe you've confused the 'standard online check on the government database' with a HPI check people routinely perform from private companies.

Sorry, not to detract from your points about excessive fees in the house-buying process, I just found it quite odd.

sheramber

SneakySpectator said:

dreaming said:

 So you buy a property baed on the fact that the seller actually owns it (and is who they say they are), with a contract that a solicitor "whips up", and you hand over all that cash? What happens when you find the property is built on mining land and has the potential for major subsidence, or on a flood plain, or the seller heard about a proposed road being built through the back garden? 

Would my solicitor actually notify me about anything like this though? Because then they'd know I'd back out of the deal which means they have to refund a chunk of the money I paid them because I have a no deal no fee thing in place. 

No fee applies only to the professional fees.

Any refund will depend on how much you paid them and how much the disbursements up to that date

Conveyancing Searches

Property Surveys

Land Registry Fees

Of course, the fees on a successful  sale may be higher than a conveyancer who does not offer no sale, no fee.