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Paying solicitor their remaining fees

Sareteegee
Sareteegee Posts: 27 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi All,

We are near to completion and are wondering if one can pay remaining solicitor fees with their help to buy isa bonus? Could I request them to just take the money when the bonus comes in or would they expect it from money we already have?

Thanks in advance :)

Comments

  • mortgageFTB
    mortgageFTB Posts: 249 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    When I purchased a house a few years back, the solicitor required all balances due, prior to completion (I.e. including their fees)
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,277 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    You'd better pay up everything before completion. The solicitor is also working for the lender. They might be obliged to the the lender about your debt to them.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • bowlhead99
    bowlhead99 Posts: 12,295 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Post of the Month
    Sareteegee wrote: »
    Hi All,

    We are near to completion and are wondering if one can pay remaining solicitor fees with their help to buy isa bonus? Could I request them to just take the money when the bonus comes in or would they expect it from money we already have?

    Thanks in advance :)
    The free money is on condition that you spend it on the purchase price of a property. The solicitor will claim it from the scheme and give it to the sellers of the property which will reduce the amount of money that you need to give to the seller yourself at completion (i.e. you use less of your own funds, and/or a smaller mortgage, to pay the seller for the balance of the property, after already giving them a deposit at exchange).

    You can't use the bonus to pay your solicitor fees, moving costs etc. The bonus money will all be going to the vendor, so you need to give your solictor enough cash from your own pocket to pay their fees and expenses before completion happens.
  • whatdoyouthink...
    whatdoyouthink... Posts: 125 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    My solicitor included the HTB ISA in my completion statement meaning I ended up paying them less than I thought I would. A good solicitor will manipulate the money so it can be used for fees.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Solicitors will typically prepare a statement taking account of all the money coming in and out, and just ask you for the net balance required - easier for them than having to pay money back to you afterwards.
  • kingstreet
    kingstreet Posts: 38,750 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    bowlhead99 wrote: »
    You can't use the bonus to pay your solicitor fees, moving costs etc.
    In practical terms, this is actually happening every day. Rules or no rules, the bonus is going into the pool of funds for completion which in many cases is paying solicitor fees alone.
    I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.
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