Solicitor Fee for buying house - Expensive?

Hi
I just recently bought a second hand home and used solicitor that our extended family use, therefore we didnt get a quote from the solicitor ( silly I know). Recieve the invoice from the soilcitor and it is just over 5grand, inclusive of vat. This is broken down into solicitors fee which amount to 3500 grand and then searches, land registry fees, transfer, mortgage and commisioner for oaths. Do this seem really expensive or reasonable?

OMG that is a crazy amount for your fees! I am a first time buyer and I have purchased a second hand home and my fees are 2.5 including vat and registery and all the other bits and pieces. I felt this was a little on the high side. My sister and her bf bought an apartment before xmas and using the same sol as me their fees were only 1200!

5k is extremely high! However i have been told that fees are usually 1% of the house price as a rule of thumb but that with the way things have been going that this isnt usually adhered to and you will usually get a good deal if you shop around.

My house cost 290k so I have got it a little cheaper some would say! Its just so tough when you have to get a deposit together and then your landed with sol fees on top of that!

Hope this is of some help

Thanks for the reply. I think it is extremely high too and I talked to my sis who bought a house last year and her fees were approx 2grand (different solicitor). Dont know whether or not I can go to the solicitor and re negotiate or whether there is nothing that can be done seen as we never asked prior for a fixed price. To be honest I dont have that kind of money to pay the solicitor at the moment.

Hi
I bought a one bed apartment about 4 years ago. The legal fees came to about €3500 at the time, if that's any use to you?
I was told at the start of the transaction that it would cost me €1500 (excellent!), then was handed a bill that was double that as the €1500 was the charge for 'conveyancing' and did not include the actual 'solicitors fee'. I thought this was extremely disingenuous of the firm, having engaged them on the basis that the fee would be €1500. (a not unreasonable fee, given that many companies were charging the same or lower, at the time)
You live and learn however (and I would never use them again, on the basis of this transaction.)
I would always request an itemised quote now, that includes everything down to the potential cost of stationery (and would ask how much the VAT would be also). You live and learn!
I do not think that you can go back now though and try and negotiate the fee, retrospectively. It was your responsibility to check the fees first, I reckon.
That's a real sting of a charge though for you, exactly when you don't need it,

Nicola

Dispute the invoice, ask for detailed breakdown and refer to the Ombudsman failing this.

Cowboyism of the highest order.

Were you just buying or buying & selling? Were there any unusual circumstances with the purchase, or was it very straightforward?

I agree with asking for a breakdown, though if you did not ask for this before you engaged the solicitor I do not know how much room you have for a dispute

"Do this seem really expensive or reasonable?"

Its expensive but by no means outrageous.

However, many of the bigger or older established firms do charge these fees ( and more) for the work involved. Other of the more established firms will offer lower fees if they want the business. A lot of younger, work hungry firms will work for practically nothing. You will never be short of work if you work for nothing.

If you had phoned around you would very likely have received a lower quote. The solicitor here should also have furnished what is called a Section 68 letter outlining the proposed fee scale. Failure to do so may give you some bargaining power.

You should certainly ask for a reduction but honestly if you are that stuck for the money did it not occur to you to ask for a quote so you could work out whether you could afford this house or not?

And ignore slinky - it is not cowboyism. This is a firm that your extended family have used and recommended in the past.

mf

Stephnyc - we were just buying a house. No selling involved in out house.

mf1 - we are not majorily stuck for money, just alot of things to be paid for. The house that we bought has to be done up so the solicitors fees will eat into our fund a bit.