Average solicitor's fees for conveyancing these days?

S

Sophia2457

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Hi

We've been in our house (3 bed semi d) since 1995 and it's valued at €550,000 approx.

There's a possibility I might get a job down the country in the near future and I'm trying to do my sums.

I know estate agents charge about 1% + VAT of selling price, then we have the horrendous stamp duty, but I have no idea what the going rate for conveyancing is these days.

Can anyone enlighten me and maybe give me a few tips?

Thanks¬
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

for a sale , not involving any searches or complications and where the solicitor did most of the work ,in effect, when you bought , the price is about €500+VAT+OUTLAYS for selling that house.

Any more and you are paying a premium for the job. If they won't play ball then find a solicitor who will. Its very easy money for them

A purchase would cost more because they have to check more stuff but not more than €1000+VAT+OUTLAYS in any case.

Outlays are stamp duties and stuff.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

By all means shop around. But the figures quoted above are a touch optimistic. I doubt you will get a solicitor to sell this house for €500 plus V.A.T. A possible exception would be if the solicitor was short of work (which could be for the reason that he or she has only recently set up). I suppose another possible exception could be if the solicitor is ultra efficient and has made a decision to compete very vigorously on price. However, I don't know any solicitors who make a habit of selling houses for a €500 flat fee. I am fairly sure that it is not possible for most solicitors to have a sustainable business charging that sort of a price (I do allow the possibility that some ultra efficient solicitors could have found a way, but I don't know any of them).

At around €1,000 - €1,200 plus V.A.T. you are at a price level occupied by many solicitors. At €500 plus V.A.T. you are unduly restricting your options.

At the risk of repeating myself, it is in my opinion best to use a solicitor you know and like, or (if you don't know one), a solicitor who is recommended by a family member, friend or colleage whose judgment you trust.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

Out of curiosity MOB. When you say "this house", is it based on there being a link (workload) between value of the property and the conveyancy fee?
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

I should perhaps have said "any house".

Regarding the link between property price and conveyancing fee, while percentage fees are far less common than they used to be, it is still the case that a solicitor is likely to charge a higher fee on the sale of a more valuable property. I do this myself, and am quite happy to justify it to the client in detail. Auctioneers, stockbrokers, banks and all sorts of other service providers do this too, but only the legal profession seems to catch serious grief over it
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

Thanks MOB.I am always bowled over by that charging system and am sure I'm missing something critical.

So hypothetically, if there are two similar houses at either end of a road, and for whatever reasons, one is selling at more than the other, then the seller with the dearer house will pay proportinally more for conveyancy, even though the conveyancy workload involved is the same, or is it?
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

If you are getting a new mortgage via REA the solicitor fee for the sale, irrespective of the sale price, is €950 + VAT and outlays.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

That's not strictly correct. What REA do is to cross-subsidise the solicitor's fees against the commission they earn from the mortgage provider. It is imho misleading to state that the legal fee is the net amount, as the solicitor ends up getting paid (perhaps significantly) more than the net figure.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

There are also lots of existing threads about solicitor fees for conveyancing, flat fee/"low cost" packages etc. that are worth searching out and reading.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

It is not misleading; on a SALE the fee is a flat €950 + VAT and outlay. It is not subsidised by commission in any way, shape or fashion.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

Presumably if they are getting a new mortgage it is for a purchase, not a sale?
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

If the clients are selling and buying and getting the new mortgage via REA they get the fixed fee conveyancing for the sale and either a commission refund or subsidised legals fees on the purchase.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

They need a new mortgage in ORDER to pay for the sale costs at those prices . €950+Vat+Outlays, pahhhhhhhhhh :(

Start at €500 + Vat + Outlay for the sale and ring around lots of solicitors (not dublin 2 ones I suppose but elsewhere ) telling them you have a deal like that BUT that they are closer to where you live , handier to get to, and that you will give the business if they match the €500 .

If one came in at €600+Vat+Outlays you may give them a convenience bonus as it were .

I assure you someone will play ball , all it takes is a few phone calls :D .

Tell us how it goes.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

So that's a legal fee given on the basis of being given the sale and purchase plus potentially a split commission on the purchase. I agree with Ubi- your original post was misleading.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

Sarah W said:
If you are getting a new mortgage via REA the solicitor fee for the sale, irrespective of the sale price, is €950 + VAT and outlays.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
Click to expand...

What is misleading about it???

Sarah
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

The legal fee is the amount that the solicitor gets paid for doing the work. If there is any level of cross-subsidisation involved, it is indeed misleading to tell customers that the legal fee is the net figure.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

I know I'm going off topic again, but I am amazed at the practice and furthermore acceptance of a fee which is proportional to the value of the property. At least it's transparently so.

Would love to see the reaction to a fee for (for example) a trade service being calculated as relevant to the value of a property.
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

ubiquitous said:
The legal fee is the amount that the solicitor gets paid for doing the work. If there is any level of cross-subsidisation involved, it is indeed misleading to tell customers that the legal fee is the net figure.
Click to expand...

The €950 + VAT is the net figure for the sale. No cross subsidisation. And we do not mislead clients. Ever.

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 
Re: Average solicitor's fees?

Sarah W said:
The €950 + VAT is the net figure for the sale. No cross subsidisation. And we do not mislead clients. Ever.
Click to expand...
If I want to sell my €5m house tomorrow

1. Is it €950+Vat+Outlays
2. Or €950+Vat and all outlays included in €950
3. What happens if I decide not to buy for a while while the market shills, say for 2 years . Will rea chase me for more money ???
 
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