# Average solicitor's fees for conveyancing these days?



## Sophia2457 (1 Jul 2006)

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¬


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## Guest107 (2 Jul 2006)

*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.


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## MOB (2 Jul 2006)

*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.


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## SineWave (2 Jul 2006)

*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?


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## MOB (3 Jul 2006)

*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


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## SineWave (3 Jul 2006)

*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?


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## Sarah W (3 Jul 2006)

*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


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## ubiquitous (3 Jul 2006)

*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.


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## Vanilla (3 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

For more information on 'low cost conveyancing' and the above see

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=22688

For what it's worth it is likely that you will be quoted in or around €950 as a legal fee from solicitors who are not tied in with REA.


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## ClubMan (3 Jul 2006)

*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.


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## Sarah W (3 Jul 2006)

*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


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## Vanilla (3 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Presumably if they are getting a new mortgage it is for a purchase, not a sale?


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## Sarah W (3 Jul 2006)

*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


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## Guest107 (3 Jul 2006)

*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  .

Tell us how it goes.


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## Vanilla (3 Jul 2006)

*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.


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## Sarah W (3 Jul 2006)

*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



What is misleading about it??? 

Sarah


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## ubiquitous (3 Jul 2006)

*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.


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## SineWave (3 Jul 2006)

*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.


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## Sarah W (3 Jul 2006)

*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.



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

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## Guest107 (3 Jul 2006)

*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.


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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## Sarah W (3 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

It's none of the above as we don't do standalone sale conveyancing. We would be happy to put you in touch with a panel solicitor to negotiate a fee directly.

If you were buying another house as part of the transaction it would be no. 1.

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## MOB (3 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

This discussion has gone slightly off topic, into areas which are covered on other discussions.

If I might summarise, for the benefit of the original poster, the position on likely legal fees for the sale of her house:

1. REA will arrange legal fees of €950 + V.A.T. + outlay on a sale if you are also mortgaging with them;

2.  This rate (in my opinion) is highly competitive, but is pretty close to what available in the general legal market (i.e. without necessarily going throught REA.)

3. 2Pack states that a fee of €500\600 (+ V.A.T. + outlay) is relatively easily achievable in the marketplace for legal services.  I am frankly dubious.  I have studied the ecomonics of running a conveyancing practice (my own) and I do not see how adequate service and adequate profitability can happily co-exist at this price level. However, it is a free market, and certainly it costs very little to shop around.


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## Vanilla (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Sarah W of REA asked why her original post was misleading- the original post was:



> 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.


 
Then she qualified it by saying:



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


 
However, she went on to say:



> we don't do standalone sale conveyancing. We would be happy to put you in touch with a panel solicitor to negotiate a fee directly.


 
My point is simple- your original post was misleading as you seem to suggest and subsequently reiterated this that you can arrange a legal fee on a sale for €950 plus VAT, whereas the actual position is that IF someone approaches you for a mortgage to purchase and happens to be also selling, you will arrange that fee for the sale. That is a very different scenario- the same solicitor is likely to also do the purchase conveyancing AND may well benefit from a commission split depending on the size of the mortgage. 

As a solicitor who deals mainly in conveyancing it is damaging to me and to the profession as a whole to allow this type of advertisement go unchallenged so I have persisted in doing so. However as advertising by REA seems to be an accepted feature on Askaboutmoney, no doubt you will continue to post in this fashion.


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## Guest107 (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				MOB said:
			
		

> 2Pack states that a fee of €500\600 (+ V.A.T. + outlay) is relatively easily achievable in the marketplace for legal services.  I am frankly dubious.


we won't fall out over these details MOB  


> I have studied the economics of running a conveyancing practice (my own) and I do not see how adequate service and adequate profitability can happily co-exist at this price level. However, it is a free market, and certainly it costs very little to shop around.


Many ultra ultra efficient practices use cheaper legal executives and not  more expensive solicitors to do the work and their chargeout per hour is lower . Thats why. 

There is no point paying solicitors rates for legal executives work.


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## Sarah W (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Why is it damaging to you Vanilla? And I stil don't "get" why my post is misleading - I clearly stated that the fee to the solictor for a sale is €950 + VAT and outlays and is not subsidised by any commission. What could be clearer that than? The reason we don't offer stand alone conveyancing is that we are a mortgage brokerage!

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## Vanilla (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

I don't think I can be any clearer than above. Perhaps you are being disingenuous but to give you the benefit of the doubt, and at the risk of repeating myself, I will try again. You are not offering a stand alone legal fee for a sale- you are offering that fee on condition the client also obtains a mortgage with you for a new purchase. At the very least this is a fee from a solicitor on your panel who can expect to receive more referrals from REA, further it is probable that that solicitor can expect to receive the referral for the new purchase and mortgage, and finally, depending on the size of the mortgage, may even receive a portion of the commission.


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## Sarah W (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

But in my first post I said IF a client is getting a new mortgage from REA.

I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one Vanilla but I am still curious as to why you feel the REA fee structure is damaging to you and the profession?

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## Vanilla (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Don't misquote me. I didn't say the fee structure was damaging- I said your, in my opinion misleading, advertisement was damaging. In fact I have already said that the OP and others could well find a similar quotation fee wise without ever going through REA. 

This isn't the first time I have disagreed with your posts/adverts. In the interest of clarity to those on this site I will continue to challenge such misleading posts when I can.


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## MortgageBrkr (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Perhaps this discussion should be completed in Letting off Steam as I dont see the benefit in continuing it here, to either the OP or other posters that use this site as a reference for mortgage info.


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## SineWave (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



> Perhaps this discussion should be completed in Letting off Steam as I dont see the benefit in continuing it here, to either the OP or other posters that use this site as a reference for mortgage info.



Must disagree with you on that one. I for one (and I hope many others) have been enlightened in relation to conveyancy costs and those that still practice fee structure which is proportional to property value (a justification I would be grateful to see given). 
Vanilla and Sarah are just clarifying their posts.


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## CCOVICH (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

This thread will not be moved to _LoS_.


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## Sarah W (4 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				Vanilla said:
			
		

> Don't misquote me. I didn't say the fee structure was damaging- I said your, in my opinion misleading, advertisement was damaging. In fact I have already said that the OP and others could well find a similar quotation fee wise without ever going through REA.
> 
> This isn't the first time I have disagreed with your posts/adverts. In the interest of clarity to those on this site I will continue to challenge such misleading posts when I can.



Apologies - I didn't mean to misquote you. I don't think my post was "advertising" under the T&C of AAM; I was posting details of our fee structure which the original poster may or may not decide to investigate further.

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## Vanilla (5 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Sarah W- with all due respect, I think you'll find that posting details of your fee structure/product/service is the essence of advertising. Now if you did that in the context of discussing a number of similar services it would be a different matter. It's akin to this writer placing a post saying 'Hey, pm me- I 'll do it or Vanilla & Co will do it for €950 + VAT + outlay '.

SineWave- in relation to fee charging on a percentage or proportionate basis my opinion is that in general it cannot be justified. The legal work involved in for example conveyancing or a probate has no direct correlation to the price or value involved. In my practice I now offer a flat fee for all purchases and sales of houses and for purchase and sales of sites. Although it often happens that I spend much more time on one file than others of a similar nature due to title or other problems I can only hope that it balances out overall. The market demands a flat fee and therefore I have to offer it.


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## MOB (5 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Just to come back for a brief further comment on 

"fee structure which is proportional to property value (a justification I would be grateful to see given). "  I didn't actually say this, and I should perhaps have gone into further detail.

Most solicitors (myself included) no longer charge a fee which is a proportion of the sale price.  For most houses in the €160k-500k bracket, I would be charging a fee of about €1200 plus V.A.T. for a sale.

However, when one gets up the value chain a little, the value of the work tends to increase, the level of scrutiny gets a touch more obsessive, and you certainly cannot delegate the work to someone who is quite junior.  So my "flat fee" on such a transaction might be a fair bit higher.

For example:

1.  At €500k, you have to get a CGT cert to complete the sale (or there will be a 15% withholding from the sale proceeds).  Not a big job, but extra work nonetheless.
2. At a mortgage of, say,  €1.5m, the interest on the loan cheque is running at nearly a grand a week.   Not so bad if you are getting a cheque from BOI\AIB or one of the other lenders who only charge interest when the cheque is cashed.  But PTSB charge interest from the day after they send the cheque, and other lenders send the money direct to your account.  So you had better be utterly sure that your completion is planned like a military operation, and you are less likely to give yourself the cushion of allowing the money to be drawn down a couple of days before you need it.
3. The contents of a €2m house (if contents are passing) will tend to be more than a fridge, microwave and a power city special offer telly.  I have on occasion had to go through a 100 item inventory at contract and again prior to completion.
4.  The single reason which contributes most to a higher fee is that when you move up the value chain, you are usually dealing with a client who is happy to pay more.  They pay more because they believe it is worth more.  My job, in marketing terms, is to ensure that the clients have a transaction experience which justifies this view.  These are not uninformed consumers but savvy business people (actually, this is more true in the case of purchases - but I don't have a big pool of old widows selling up in Ballsbridge and paying me silly money out of ignorance, before you ask).  The higher value clients are happy to pay a premium knowing that they can ring me out of hours, that I will drop everything to help them when they have something desperately urgent, and that they are getting a senior and experienced person on the job.  It is the same reason that the banks can charge more to their high net worth customers under the "private banking" umbrella.  In short, on a higher value transaction - like on any other -  I charge what the market will bear, and it so happens that this market will bear more than €999 + V.A.T.  I love the free market.


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## Sarah W (5 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Excellent post MOB. Service does have a price and I'd be happy to acknowledge that the REA package comprises of customer value and attention to detail but it will not cover visting clients at home at 9pm (althought it has been known  ) or reviewing contracts on a Sunday afternoon. I think the market demands both a regular and a premium level of service and both can be satisfied with a justifiable fee scale.

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## SineWave (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

Explanation based on your own business much appreciated and justified MOB. 

My query is also aimed at the practices that quote a conveyancy package price based on a proportion of the yet unknown sale value, irrelevant of the financial format (or any detail) that is involved for the sale.


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## Guest107 (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				SineWave said:
			
		

> Explanation based on your own business much appreciated and justified MOB.



Well, if you will let them call you at home at all hours you deserve more for the 'service' MOB . I won't argue with that


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## monkeyman (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

I availed of a €950 + vat + outlay offer from Barker Brokers, and yesterday I got a bill for €2700 !!

The house was 2nd hand, 3 years old and cost 470K (mortgage 410K). 

On first glance, this looks ridiculous.


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## CCOVICH (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

You really should break down the outlay if you are to justify the 'ridiculous' statement.

We are in the process of purchasing a second hand house and expect outlay of around €800 plus stamp duty on the mortgage of 0.1% of value.  The largest cost is land registry fees-regsiter deed-€500.


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## Guest107 (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				monkeyman said:
			
		

> On first glance, this looks ridiculous.


On first glance it does indeed. 

If stamp duty at 7.5% STB is included it should be way higher.

If not why not, is this a remortgage ? We are talking over €1500 worth of outlays excepting stamp duty  .  How are they broken down ???


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## bacchus (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				monkeyman said:
			
		

> I availed of a €950 + vat + outlay offer from Barker Brokers, and yesterday I got a bill for €2700 !!


 
There is a general feeling that the "outlay" is the opened door for making money in a non-transparent way , as it seems to be difficult to get precise clarification/justification as to what is really included in the outlay and large variations between practices have been noticed.
It includes things like searches, Registration fee, photocopying, postage...  Nothing really that could justify those variations.


So, €950 is to get the punter, then you get the real bill .....

It is a bit like the airlines advertising tickets for €0.01 but you end up paying €50 after having added "handling fee, luggage,tax, levy...".

The advertised price therefore become meaningless and misleading...


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## CCOVICH (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*

The outlay and VAT etc. should be the same no matter what solicitor you use, so aren't necessarily relevant if going on price alone, i.e. only the professional fee will vary.


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## monkeyman (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				2Pack said:
			
		

> On first glance it does indeed.
> 
> If stamp duty at 7.5% STB is included it should be way higher.
> 
> If not why not, is this a remortgage ? We are talking over €1500 worth of outlays excepting stamp duty . How are they broken down ???


 
I'll break it down tomorrow. Dont have the bill with me here. Stamp Duty was 6%


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## Guest107 (6 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				monkeyman said:
			
		

> I'll break it down tomorrow. Dont have the bill with me here. Stamp Duty was 6%


6% of 470k is €28k alone .Its the biggest OUTLAY of them all if applicable  .  

I thought  €1500 was 'odd' .


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## Sarah W (6 Jul 2006)

The two biggies (apart from SD) are stamp duty on the mortgage of €410 (0.1% of the mortgage) and registration and transfer of the mortgage at €750 on houses over €385,001. These add up to €1160, professional fee inc. VAT €1150 so you're at €2310 already. I would guess that the balance would be searches and minor sundry costs. It'll be interesting to see the breakdown though.

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## monkeyman (7 Jul 2006)

Here is the breakdown:

The solicitor was useless as well, I had to make the calls to their estate agent and solicitor to find out what was happening and I even called out to the vendors house twice as I was getting nowhere. On the closing day, I had to ring all around again to get the deal closed.

If someone could explain what the costs mean, I'd appreciate it also.


*House Cost: 470K*
*Mortgage:410K*

Professional Fee €950
Scheduling Fee €25
Postage, Calls, Photocopy €25

Total €1000
VAT €210

*Total €1210*

Outlay 
Couriers Fees €80 (from dublin to drogheda)
Commisioners Fees €20 
Law Searchers Fees €70
Land Registry Fees €625
Land Registry Fees to register Charge €156
Stamp Duty on Mortgage €410
Stamp Duty on Counterpart €12.50
Miscellaneous €75 (fees which might be incurred in registering the title)

*Total €1453.50*

*Overall Total €2664.50*


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## ubiquitous (7 Jul 2006)

monkeyman said:
			
		

> The solicitor was useless as well...



Given that you chose this solicitor on the basis of a cheap price deal offered by a third party, did this surprise you?


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## Sarah W (7 Jul 2006)

Where did Monkeyman mention a third party Ubiquitous?

Sarah

www.rea.ie


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## ubiquitous (7 Jul 2006)

*Re: Average solicitor's fees?*



			
				monkeyman said:
			
		

> I availed of a €950 + vat + outlay offer from Barker Brokers, and yesterday I got a bill for €2700 !!


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## monkeyman (7 Jul 2006)

ubiquitous said:
			
		

> Given that you chose this solicitor on the basis of a cheap price deal offered by a third party, did this surprise you?


 
I had an original quote of €1400 + vat + outlay from this solicitor, and I was impressed with what they had to say. I checked them out on the net for reputation and it was quite good. Then the Broker got a deal with them for €950. When I got the ball rolling it was being dealth with by the solicitors son, who looked like he had just qualified. WHile the work he did was fine, there was no urgency about him. Very quiet, could not get hold of vendors solicitor etc. So thats where I had to make the phone calls and call out to teh vendors.


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## Guest107 (7 Jul 2006)

Scheduling is part of professional fees. The scheduler is a person in their  office .

Courier ??? Really . 

The commissioner (of oaths) is a solicitor . Again that is part of professional fees and not  a separate outlay . 

Misc, what misc . They charged you for photocopying and courier already so get a breakdown of these misc charges and query line by line


Finally



> Land Registry Fees €625
> Land Registry Fees to register Charge €156


get a full breakdown and receipts for those two


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## Oilean Beag (7 Jul 2006)

Comissioner for Oaths is always charged separately as an independent solicitor must sign, not the one in question who is recieving the professional fee. 

I would love to see Auctioneer fees scrutinized in such a way, considering they do quite 'different' work and have not studied for many years to obtain the requisite professional knowledge & qualifications that solicitors have in order to convey property. 

Further a younger, recently qualified solicitor , has more up to date knowledge & 3 years experience at least from their training.


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## Askar (7 Jul 2006)

I would not agree that a recently qualified solicitor will necessarily have appropriate practical experience from the training. Furthermore, I do not accept that the Law Society training equips solicitors entirely to practice law - relevant and good experience together with commitment to CLE is what really counts. As regards appropriate experience, it will depend on the type of work their master gives them. Most of that will be procedural, and the quality of their work experience will depend on the quality of the practice in terms of teaching them to examine title and raise/respond appropriately to requisitions on title together with good precedent and organisation structure, something which some practices may not have - but most of the issues that the client experiences are practical - such as (poor) interraction with other parties Solicitor, loan cheque issue and actual closing dates.

2Pack your comments on outlay are misinformed, as SNB points out. Couriers are sometimes used to expedite process, which is what a client may want.

It never ceases to surprise me that people continue to use auctioneers on a commission basis (amounting to €3/4k plus VAT and outlay) to sell into a sellers market, yet this website devotes so much time over a couple of hundred quid or even less charged by Solicitors.


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## monkeyman (7 Jul 2006)

The courier fee is fine. i asked for this. I will be looking for receipt for same.

The Land Registry Fee looks fine at 625.
Stamp Duty at 410 is fine

--------------------

But what are the Law Searchers Fee, Land Registry Fee to register Charge & Stamp Duty on Counterpart.

The Miscelaneous charge is for "It is our practice to withhold €75 in respect of miscellaneous fees which might be incured in registering your title"

Not sure what this is for either


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## Sophia2457 (12 Jul 2006)

Hello...remember me? Original poster?

Seems like I struck a nerve here and my head is spinning with all the jargon. I asked a simple (as I thought) question and it turned into a cat-fight.

Well, bottom line seems to be do your research and go on personal recommendation for a solicitor ONLY. I've heard many stories like the OP's on people dragging their feet and holding up a deal.

Point of information - I'll hopefully be paying off the mortgage I have left (€97,000) out of the proceeds of the sale and wanted to do my sums to see how much cash I would have left to spend on a house taking in stamp duty, solicitor's fees and estate agents fees, assuming I get around the €550,000 for my present house.

That's all I want to know! But it sure has opened my eyes to read this thread. I could be blinded by science and end up with a whopping bill if I'm not very careful. So I need a solictor who's recommended, honest, a mover and will deliver what he/she promises. Tall order, it seems.


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## ClubMan (12 Jul 2006)

Sophia2457 said:
			
		

> So I need a solictor who's recommended, honest, a mover and will deliver what he/she promises. Tall order, it seems.


Have you asked trusted family members, friends, colleagues etc. for recommendations?


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## Sophia2457 (12 Jul 2006)

That's exactly what I will be doing, Clubman.
I just asked my question here cos it's not general knowledge we're thinking of moving and, as I said, I wanted to do my sums.
Didn't realise there were so many issues involved - scared the daylights out of me.


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## eimear25 (13 Jul 2006)

monkeyman said:
			
		

> The courier fee is fine. i asked for this. I will be looking for receipt for same.
> 
> The Land Registry Fee looks fine at 625.
> Stamp Duty at 410 is fine
> ...



Searches have to be made on closing, usually amount to a few hundred euro, an outside company does this and then they bill the solicitor.  You have to register the charge in the Land Registry - this is a necessity - you have to pay it, simple as that.  Same as stamping the counterpart, the solicitor will have paid this on your behalf so obviously you have to pay him back.


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## Marianne (19 Jul 2006)

I recently came across this article by a solicitor about the role of the solicitor in a house purchase transaction.  I think it's relevant to this topic.  

[broken link removed]


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