Conveyancer charges for remortgaging

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82008343#Comment_82008343

I'd slightly disagree in that predominately it is the customer that has decided that the prices is the absolute priority, rather than service, quality, perks etc and so vendors have simply responded by squeezing suppliers etc because people will switch to save pennies.

Its a wide problem and far from contained to financial services

Saitob

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82008135#Comment_82008135

hello, I'm new to this, it's only my second remortgage ever, hence me asking for experiences. If i was to engage my own legals wouldnt the provider still employ their own?

Saitob

"At the end of the day you are going to be paying everything the conveyencer charges your new lender, its just a question of if its an up front fee or hidden in the interest rate etc"

Haha, that's kind of how i was thinking, that they've chosen the conveyancer and we get to pay. Obviously as the customer and them as a business I'd be expecting them to make a profit but i naively thought that would be through the interest charges. I see now that there are always separate charges that need paying then maybe they could be more upfront with them

Saitob

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82008343#Comment_82008343

Thank you for providing your experience.

Yeah i agree that they should be more open with charges, even if there was a price "from" based on a basic remortgage, but maybe that's too fraught with potential problems that's why it's left as it is.

ID check. transfer funds in. Transfer funds out. Sending some formal letter... Seems like the bare minimum

ACG

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82008380#Comment_82008380

I remember finding out a lender a few years ago agree free legals and paid the conveyancer £30! I am not kidding when I tell you that I ended up doing some of the legals! The lender did not realise what they had agreed to and ours was the first case under this new agreement they had made that went to offer.

Needless to say they stopped it after about a month and made a new agreement with the conveyancer as it became a major problem for them.

I think lenders are generally paying £50-100 to provide free legals. Thats not the customer, thats the lender driving down prices for profit. Ultimately you can only get the price down so low before something gives - which in this case is a conveyancer charging peanuts and banging costs on top for the customer.

If the lender cant provide free legals for a cost they are comfortable with its really simple - either do not offer them or offer cashback instead.

Blaming the customer feels a little like victim blaming. Its not a customers fault who maybe remortgages to a new lender 2-5 times in their life that they did not know about this.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82008520#Comment_82008520

Thats £30 more than we used to pay the lawyers under our Motor Legal Expenses cover, in fact we could have given the policy away for free and still made a profit on it.

Circumstances however are more complex because if they do a Fast Track or Multi-Track case they get a success fee from the defendant but when doing a tiny job like just recovering the excess they dont get paid a penny by anyone, in fact technically they have paid for the opportunity to do it for free as they effectively buy postcode sectors.

I disagree, it's customer behaviour that drives these things, last time my parents got a mortgage they drove into town, went to their building society and was told what the cost was going to be. Since then many now use brokers, now results are given in a standardised way to be able to compare and contrast.

I would be willing to put a reasonable amount of money on the fact that the majority of people go for the cheapest option and the overwhelming majority go for one in the top 3 to allow for those who have a real hatred for a particular bank.

When price is king businesses look at the ways to make things cheaper. Things like mortgages will be viewed on an economic basis therefore considering the time value of money so costs them today have more impact that interest payments they may get in 20 years time.

ACG

I agree, price does drive decisions.

If a lender is prepared to pay £250 cashback or offer free legals in which they pay a conveyancer maybe £100. Why not pay a conveyancer £150-200 and get a better service for them and their customers? Its still cheaper than paying £250 cashback.

But ultimately if the only way you can offer free legals is by allowing the firm to add fees on for things that anyone would expect to be included (ID check for example) thats not free legals and it is miss selling in my opinion. Nobody will ever get free legals as an ID check will always need to be carried out.

Saitob

Thanks guys, if the problem can't be solved, at least you've calmed me down a little! Here's hoping for greater transparency in future

Jemma01

I have a different case to you but it did make me think. My bank HSBC wanted their own conveyancer *for a fresh mortgage*, I wanted people I can research and trust to work for me, not the bank not the agent. I was however told upfront that if I wanted my own conveyancer I will have to pay the bank £350 so that HSBC hires someone to look out for their best interest! Why can't they pay for their own like I'm paying for mine? They're benefiting from the mortgage too, they charge interest. Giving the mutual benefit, why can't we pay for our own conveyancing?

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82010111#Comment_82010111

Is this on a purchase or a remortgage? On a remortgage I would be happy to use the lender’s conveyancer as you already own the property, so there is little to personalise. If it’s a purchase, do HSBC have a list of people they are happy to use?