First time buyer - solicitor

ringo747 · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:06

I honestly know nothing about all this house buying thing but think we maybe have an opportunity for buying a new built place.

Question is, when I need to look for a solicitor what should I make sure is included in the price? Is this usually just a fixed price service or are there specific fees that I will need a price break down for?

With the mortgage deal we have been offered there are no valuation or survey fees. Will the solicitor charge for similar fees for certain types of checks/registrations?

Thanks

a1ex2001 · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:08

Go to a book shop by a book and do it yourself, solicitors make a hideous profit on house sales and 9 times out of 10 the work is done by an office lacky not a real solicitor as it is that straight forward.

ringo747 · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:15

I'm all on for saving money where possible but I couldn't be bothered with the hassle. It would be pretty easy for an amateur to mess it up and cause more trouble than its worth - no?

scorza · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:19

a1ex2001 said:
Go to a book shop by a book and do it yourself, solicitors make a hideous profit on house sales and 9 times out of 10 the work is done by an office lacky not a real solicitor as it is that straight forward.

Terrible advice. My Dad was a solicitor who did a lot of conveyancing, it's by far the most competitive sector of the market and as such margins are squeezed to the bone. If I'm about to invest a lot of money in a property purchase I'd want to make damn sure everything was above board legally, plus if you do it yourself and make a mistake, who can you sue? All I'll say was that the "office lackey" who handled my conveyance was damn useful in coordinating my first property purchase.

@the OP - at my Dad's it was a fixed price service. They won't charge you for a valuation or a survey because that's not part of a standard conveyance.

Unlight · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:22

a1ex2001 said:
Go to a book shop by a book and do it yourself, solicitors make a hideous profit on house sales and 9 times out of 10 the work is done by an office lacky not a real solicitor as it is that straight forward.

I would seriously advise against this, especially if you're a first time buyer.

Ask around family or friends for a recommendation on a solicitor. Having a professional, approachable solicitor will make the who transaction go a lot more smoothly...

Bear · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:23

It was a fixed fee when we bought our house. Although you dont have to pay a survey fee, that is just a bank check to see if your house is not about to collapse and is worth what you are paying for it.

To be safe, you should get a proper survey done to be on the safe side which you will have to sort out yourself via a surveyor.

Raymond Lin · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:25

a1ex2001 said:
Go to a book shop by a book and do it yourself, solicitors make a hideous profit on house sales and 9 times out of 10 the work is done by an office lacky not a real solicitor as it is that straight forward.

For the record, conveyancing is usually a fixed fee, sometimes as low as £400. No matter how complicated the deed, or how long drawn out the conveyance is. They check the contract for you and if they missed something you can sue them for negligence later.

Good luck suing the book.

ringo747 · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:29

Thanks guys. The house comes with a 10 year NSBC housebuilders cert so I'm guessing it can be used as proof that it 'shouldn't' fall down round us!

As far as I know the bank will pay for a valuation, and no arrangement fees are involved with the mortgage we were offered.

If I get a quotation for say £800 is that likely to be based around time only? Are there no other fees like land registry fees or anything that will be extra?

I just want to know what to expect really in terms of general fees in the whole process - I know I paid a holding fee for house, no arrangement, no valuation, and then solicitors fees. That should be it but don't fancy any hidden costs cropping up.

Raymond Lin · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:32

ringo747 said:
Thanks guys. The house comes with a 10 year NSBC housebuilders cert so I'm guessing it can be used as proof that it 'shouldn't' fall down round us!

As far as I know the bank will pay for a valuation, and no arrangement fees are involved with the mortgage we were offered.

If I get a quotation for say £800 is that likely to be based around time only? Are there no other fees like land registry fees or anything that will be extra?

I just want to know what to expect really in terms of general fees in the whole process - I know I paid a holding fee for house, no arrangement, no valuation, and then solicitors fees. That should be it but don't fancy any hidden costs cropping up.

£800 is their fees, you pay all disbursements, stamp duty if applicable, searches, land registry.

The solicitor wick tell you exactly what those are when you meet them.

ringo747 · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:36

Ah ok - that sounds like the stuff I need to find more info on then. Don't pay stamp duty on this place, not sure about searches/land registry.

Its on quite a large development, not building on a private site. Does that affect any of the above?

krooton · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:38

Our final bill from our solicitor was just under £960 for a FTB new-build.

They gave us a cost break-down, and it included local searches and the like.

Valuation, product, arrangement fees and the like were charged by our mortgage lender and added to the total mortgage amount.

Raymond Lin · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:40

You still have to register, but prob don't need to do searches if its a new build.

Most of thses disbursements are fixed, and at most you are looking at hundreds, not thousands.

ringo747 · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:42

Thanks chaps - much appreciated.

EdwardTeach · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:44

look for a recommendation from family or friends (or maybe colleagues). AS others have stated you should usually be able to find out the fees up front.

Stretch · 14 Jun 2010 at 14:55

a1ex2001 said:
Go to a book shop by a book and do it yourself, solicitors make a hideous profit on house sales and 9 times out of 10 the work is done by an office lacky not a real solicitor as it is that straight forward.

If you're serious about buying a house don't do this. For a start it will put many estate agents/sellers off and you'll be at an immediate disadvantage.

The final solicitor’s bill includes everything. The cost of the house, fees and stamp duty. You need to have ALL the money transferred to them (CHAPS) by completion date or the deal is off. They then purchase the house on your behalf.

The fees are normally £1,000 - £1,500 for a typical 3 bed house.

JBuk · 14 Jun 2010 at 16:55

I'm in the middle of buying a house and my solicitors fees are £620, there's other fees to pay such as local searches,etc so it will end up about £1k

the fees were actually reduced from £850 to beat a quote I had from another solicitor (K J Commons) who is now dead as he was one of Derrick Bird's victims :eek:

Knubje · 14 Jun 2010 at 17:02

I had this end of last year in buying my house.

Essentially, if it is freehold straight purchase with no lease hold or tenancies and the like, don't bother with a solicitor. Most of them over charge and you'll be receiving quotes in the £1000's.

I.E - If it is a straight forward purchase, look for a licensed conveyancer rather than a solicitor with a big name. I ended up paying around £800 after finding a company online that actually came recommended through a contact at work (our business used to lend them money). (HIP loan for solicitors/conveyancers).

The company was called Charta House, based in Plymouth. Always available by phone and have a simple website with updates. He did his job thoroughly (if not a little too thoroughly, my house/street has a common bit of land for residents and the documentation surrounding it is a little minimal. He kicked off to the max making sure it was all above board, we eventually sorted out after a bit of chasing up by me and the seller).

Other people I work with have used them and have had no problems either.

My advice is to get as many quotes as you can, online and with normal solicitors. There will be a big difference. I ended up going with this company mainly due to pricing (cheapest I found) and recommendation. When obtaining quotes ask for a break down on all costs.

Good luck!

ringo747 · 18 Jun 2010 at 12:47

Just a quick update to this.. I have had a number of quotes ranging from £1180-£1300 so not really much difference. Some of the professional fees are more expensive than others, but the guys with cheaper fees seem to have more 'additional fees' included like searches/more expensive land registry charges etc. I've no idea what all is essential and what is optional so I'm trying to narrow it down.

I think land registry, searches, and mortgage registration fees are the only things that really are needed - is this a fair assumption?