English Solicitors and Conveyancing
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Hacienda71
Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
- Location
- Wilmslow, Cheshire
Yes unfortunately. You might get a slightly cheaper deal but not a lot. Solicitors tend to bill for abortive fees and most will be charging at a fixed fee or 150 quid per hour or more.
It's a job I did for the last 20 years. We never used to charge for transactions that fell through except in the rare cases where we were being messed about by the client. Three or four years ago we started doing so, provided we had done a significant amount of work i.e. got all the paperwork up to contract stage. The going rate in our area is £100 - £150 for abortive fees.
As well as the firm's own fees there are disbursements - third party fees. On a purchase, search fees may have been paid, on a sale there may be e.g. landlord's consent fees. Solicitors have always asked to be reimbursed for those, even when they don't charge for their own work. (These days, of course, most firms want the search fees up front from the client, because at around £200 a pop it's quite a burden on cash flow if the firm funds them for all their clients.)
[I would find the OP's figure of £550 high, even more so 2 x £550. It does depend on the area, because in the North most routine conveyancing transactions would have a solicitor's fee below £550 even if completed. In the South house prices are much higher, so the transaction value is higher, so £550 may be only a percentage of the original quote.
Your mother in law should have had a written quote at the outset and that has to say whether abortive fees are charged and on what basis. One important point is that professional firms are now taxed on Work In Progress, so to improve their cash flow very many firms do not say that they will charge abortive fees; because as soon as they do, HMRC will tax them on an extra £100,000 or so of notional turnover. She needs to check the Client Care letter she was sent, because if they don't mention abortive fees they cannot charge them.]
As well as the firm's own fees there are disbursements - third party fees. On a purchase, search fees may have been paid, on a sale there may be e.g. landlord's consent fees. Solicitors have always asked to be reimbursed for those, even when they don't charge for their own work. (These days, of course, most firms want the search fees up front from the client, because at around £200 a pop it's quite a burden on cash flow if the firm funds them for all their clients.)
[I would find the OP's figure of £550 high, even more so 2 x £550. It does depend on the area, because in the North most routine conveyancing transactions would have a solicitor's fee below £550 even if completed. In the South house prices are much higher, so the transaction value is higher, so £550 may be only a percentage of the original quote.
Your mother in law should have had a written quote at the outset and that has to say whether abortive fees are charged and on what basis. One important point is that professional firms are now taxed on Work In Progress, so to improve their cash flow very many firms do not say that they will charge abortive fees; because as soon as they do, HMRC will tax them on an extra £100,000 or so of notional turnover. She needs to check the Client Care letter she was sent, because if they don't mention abortive fees they cannot charge them.]
Yes, good point. £500 on each of two successive abortive sales is difficult to justify.
Reiver, bear in mind that the Rules make it harder for her to query the size bill once she has paid it. She may well be out of time on the first one, though that wouldn't bar her on the Client Care point that they might not be entitled to charge her at all.
U
User169
Guest
I recently sold a house in England - the third attempt finally went through. The solicitor sent a bill once the sale had finally gone through and only then did he invoice the costs in relation to the first two attempts.
Conveyancing costs are quite reasonable in England, compared to here in NL; I'm currently in the process of buying a house and the notary costs are about 1500 to 2000 EUR. They appear to do very little compared to English solicitors and carry very little liability. It's a total scam so far as I can make out.
Conveyancing costs are quite reasonable in England, compared to here in NL; I'm currently in the process of buying a house and the notary costs are about 1500 to 2000 EUR. They appear to do very little compared to English solicitors and carry very little liability. It's a total scam so far as I can make out.
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
Been gazumped a few times- had the agent ring saying he's had 'a better offer, do I want to match it with a best and final offer' when the purchase price has been agreed, which is the worst aspect of English property purchasing.
