solicitor charges for buying house?

dwayneburke

Hi

Got a bill from my solicitor of €4300 for selling my old property and buying my new property works out at €1500 + vat for selling my old house and €1800 + vat for buying my new property.

Am i right or wrong in saying that seems a bit steep to me? i was expecting in or around €2000-2500 region.

Please note also that the solicitor also took care of the house i was selling in the first place 5 years ago so therefore he had all the groundwork done AND i was buying my fathers property who also used the SAME solicitor as me!!!

Am i being naive here or does this sound like a lot for selling and buying a house?

Please note also that during the buying and selling process i kept asking what his charges were and he said that that would be decided when all is completed( I asked him about 5 times for a figure so i could set it aside)

Also myself and my dad thought we would get a better deal seeing as we were both using him at the same time

Any thoughts?

Culchie

It's my experience that the Solicitors down the West make a killing from property sales, as do the Sales agents.

In Dublin it's 1% for sales agent sales, I've been quoted 3% in Mayo ...so it's the same 'old school' creaming it down there, as there is no competition, or they use the family connection (father used him, so will I) to their benefit.
Solicitors and Estate Agents/Auctioneers are equally guilty.

I suppose you are crying over spilt milk at this stage, but definitely shop around and obtain a price in advance for his fees (he has mandatory expenses such as search fees etc...)

My solicitor in Dublin charged me €800 in fees which is fair enough for a recent property purchase, he hasn't got swanky offices, but he gets the job done and I would recommend him (and have done) to anyone, regardless of where they live.

Look at what happened recently with some of the solicitors over the abuse victims compensation claims, it was disgusting.

Sleipnir

dwayneburke wrote:

Please note also that during the buying and selling process i kept asking what his charges were and he said that that would be decided when all is completed( I asked him about 5 times for a figure so i could set it aside)

So you took him on without knowing in advance what he was charging?
"I'll decide what I'm going to charge you once I've done the work"?
You were happy with that arrangement?!?!
I wish all my customers were like you!

Seriously though, you could expect between 1 and 1.5%.
Is there not a percentage on your bill?
You should be able to work it out from the selling price of your house.

dwayneburke

the selling price works out about the same i.e. €4300 inc VAT....just seems like an awful lot of money for signing a few documents etc!!!

Was expecting a better deal seeing as my dads business uses them also for all their corporate deals and considering that there wasnt too much conveyincing to be done!!!

mountainyman

dwayneburke wrote:

the selling price works out about the same i.e. €4300 inc VAT....just seems like an awful lot of money for signing a few documents etc!!!

Was expecting a better deal seeing as my dads business uses them also for all their corporate deals and considering that there wasnt too much conveyincing to be done!!!

If he's charging 1-1.5% what are you complaining about?

Lawyer in well paid shock.

MM

MorningStar

By law he has to provide an estimate of his work prior to starting. THe law is to stop this practice of charging what they like afterwards. If he did not do this report him to the law society. If he didn't do what is right at the start there is no way to know he did the rest correctly either. You should have a detailed invoice also.
Tell him what you expected to be paid and that due to his failure to provide the required detail while doing the task you feel that he intentionally mislead you about how much he would charge. Either way report him

Lex Luthor

You must have got a full breakdown of the bill from him?

I recently bought a house and the solicitor pre Vat cost was €1000, but when you add all the charges, like land registry, VAT, postage, telephone, etc. etc. it all adds up. Bill came to about €2100 in the end, but I have a full breakdown of the costs so I can query them later, if I needed to.

dwayneburke

i got a full breakdown and these charges i.e. €4300 DO NOT INCLUDE land registry, postage etc, I got a serparate bill for these...

Sorry i should have included that!!

Culchie

dwayneburke wrote:

i got a full breakdown and these charges i.e. €4300 DO NOT INCLUDE land registry, postage etc, I got a serparate bill for these...

Sorry i should have included that!!

If you're not happy, talk to him.

I'm sure if he realises that he is going to lose any future business from your family, future generations and if he is pulling the Michael, then he might (should if any sense) have another look at the fees.

It does sound alot to be honest, but you've done yourself no favours either.

dwayneburke

yes....learned the hard way i think!!!

fightinirish

Hi,

sorry not hijacking your thread!

but on the subject I bought a new house, 3 bed for 339950.

solicitor said he was doing it for 0.5%, what other fees will I have to pay and roughly how much???

If anyone can help, that would be great.

Borzoi

dwayneburke wrote:

AND i was buying my fathers property who also used the SAME solicitor as me!!!
?

That is seriously dodgy - who is the solicitor representing, you or your dad?

Currently my own solicitor is trying to charge .75% on both transactions, puls fixed fees

lomb

dwayneburke wrote:

Also myself and my dad thought we would get a better deal seeing as we were both using him at the same time

Any thoughts?

thats unethical, conflict of interest and all that.
i think hes a cowboy tbh, pay him get rid of him and dont use him again, and forget about it...

Victor

Oddly I would have though buying a house would be more expensive solicitor wise, seeing as he has to go off and make sure everything is kosher.

dwayneburke wrote:

Please note also that the solicitor also took care of the house i was selling in the first place 5 years ago so therefore he had all the groundwork done AND i was buying my fathers property who also used the SAME solicitor as me!!!

This could come back to bite you seriously in the future if you father or a sibling contests this transfer. For any family dealing you should have two solicitors to avoid the accusation that a weaker family member was duped and prevented from having independent advice.

dwayneburke

hi folks tks for your comments,,,,just to make it clearer it is a firm of solicitors that my dad has used for business and personal use for the past 10years. My dad was mostly dealing with the main partner and me with one of his minions (for want of a better word) but my dad also dealt with the "minion" also.

Is this unethical/kosher,,,,starting to think otherwise but the one thing is that it is (on the outside) a reputable firm so who knows?

The main thing im querying him on is WHY HE DIDNT give me guide price on the costs involved (he kept saying that his boss would draw something up when the transactions were completed) NOTE i also asked him more than a few times for this!!

Victor

Have daddy buy the boss Christmas lunch (or vice versa) and agree a deal.