Conveyancing - What Cost?

It's been a while since we have moved so I have forgotten just how much solicitors fees should be for a move, conveyencing etc. and it looks like I may be moving very soon.

Anyone know how much I am looking at?

How long it should take?

Could I do it myself? If so how?

Should I use a local company?

Any other info would be lovely.

Cheers,
Kev

PM Ed http://forums.sv650.org/member.php?u=1060

Don't do it yourself ...

Cost depends on who much you are selling and buying at .... average is about £600 each way (minimum) ....

IMO use a local solicitor you can pop in to see, sign contracts, organise deposit, etc....

Originally Posted by LK-SV

Don't do it yourself ...

Cost depends on who much you are selling and buying at .... average is about £600 each way (minimum) ....

IMO use a local solicitor you can pop in to see, sign contracts, organise deposit, etc....

£600?? - not around here. Usually depends on what you're selling & buying for. For up to £250K we charge £475 + VAT, plus a completion fee of £30 + VAT which covers the bank charge for a same day transfer.

I've never understood why the bank charges anything, after all when you buyu anything on a card (credit card excepted) they don't charge a money transfer fee. Just more £££ for them.

And you don't need to use a local solicitor (which in the SE = expensive). So everyone should go with Ed

Ed- £475, is that for everything? Sale and Purchase?

Kev, I'll PM you.

Kev, this is what I recently paid for my Solicitors fees. A small fortune, even before you've stepped foot in your new property.

Professional Fees: £650.00
VAT on Professional Fees: £97.50
SDLT(Stamp Duty Land Tax) Completion Fee Inc. VAT: £58.75
Admin Fee for CHAPS Payment inc. VAT: £20.56
Stamp Duty Land Tax: 1% of Purchase Price
Land Registry Fees: £280
CHAPS Fee Paid to Bank: £12.50
Bankruptcy/Land Charges Search Fee: £4.00
Land Registry Search Fee: £4.00

Professional Fees: £650.00 - probably about right for south London, rather higher than I would charge - given that you bought between £200K and £250, our fee would be £475 - £499, depending how close you were to £250K.
VAT on Professional Fees: £97.50 - can't help that
SDLT(Stamp Duty Land Tax) Completion Fee Inc. VAT: £58.75 Your solicitor has charged you £50 to fill in an SDLT1. This is a tax return form, as the deal has to be reported to the Inland Revenue. It does take some time... I don't charge clients for this service.
Admin Fee for CHAPS Payment inc. VAT: £20.56 Reasonable, I think. We charge a completion fee of £30 to include the bank Chaps fee. I never understand why banks charge for chaps transactions - if you spend money on a card the transfer is instant and you don't get charged for it.
Stamp Duty Land Tax: 1% of Purchase Price - so you paid between £175K and £250K for your property. The government sets the rules...
Land Registry Fees: £280 - so you paid £200K or more for your property - this fee really is a rip off. If the LR doesn't like the application, they send it back. And if the solicitor made a mistake and the LR changed the register in reliance on it, and then had a compensation claim, guess where they pass it on to...
CHAPS Fee Paid to Bank: £12.50 - cheap. Note above comment.
Bankruptcy/Land Charges Search Fee: £4.00 - so you had a mortgage. This is to check that you aren't bankrupt or that nobody had issued a petition for your bankruptcy. It protects your lender.
Land Registry Search Fee: £4.00[/QUOTE] - this is because the title that your solicitor saw was dated with a particular date, and of course it's mmediately out of date. The search checks that there have been no adverse entries as from the date of the title, and gives a period of priority in which to register the deal - in particular, to register the mortgage so that you can't create a further mortgage that would take priority.

Originally Posted by Ed

£600?? - not around here. Usually depends on what you're selling & buying for. For up to £250K we charge £475 + VAT, plus a completion fee of £30 + VAT which covers the bank charge for a same day transfer.

My maths must be a bit out then ...

£475 + 17.5% = £558.12
£30 = 17.5% = £35.25
Total = £593.37

If thats not ABOUT £600 .... then I don't know what is !!!

KRH .... not thats each way ... and don't forget your stamp duty on purchase !!

....oh, and don't go with a solicitor JUST because they are cheap .... do you really want to lose your buyer because your solicitor was too slow ..... people change their minds, and peoples circumstances change ..... get it to exchange as soon as you can and relax .... got to be worth a few quid ....