Charged €7k for a house sale - too much?

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fistophobia

Registered User
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We have sold a property and now notice the solicitor has charged nearly 7K on a house valued at 580K.
I am feeling hard one, and they also took the fee out of the proceeds.
I did not ask about the fee in advance because it was done in a rush.
Does this seem like overcharging?
 
Are solicitors obliged to provide details of costs in advance? If yes and the solicitor did not do this, then that may be helpful in your discussions.

For what it's worth, I sold a house of similar value a few months and the total fee was around 4k.
 
You've posted about a probate sale previously.
Was it that property and does the €7k cover the conveyancing and probate?
If so, then it would sound ball park to me having done this recently.

You should have received a section 68 letter from the solicitor at the outset outlining the indicative costs involved. But that's all it is - indicative. The actual costs will depend on the actual work, issue and outlays involved.

Also, you most likely signed something that allowed the solicitor to deduct their costs from the proceeds if you look back.

If in doubt talk to the solicitor about all this.
 
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The cost is for a straight forward house sale, not too many queries or searches required.
 
So is it obligatory for a solicitor to send a s.68 letter?

What happens of he doesn't?

Did the OP receive such a letter?
 
fistophobia said:
The cost is for a straight forward house sale, not too many queries or searches required.
Click to expand...
If this is purely conveyancing, and not including probate, it's definitely high.

Professional fees should be somewhere in the region of 1,500 to 2,500 + VAT. That should be inbthe s.68 letter.

there'll be extras, for example:
Copy folio
Courier costs
Commissioners fees for swearing docs
Bank fees
Etc

Ask for a Bill of Costs showing the breakdown.
 
I presume that €7k includes VAT @23%?. If that is the case, it works out at around 1% of the sale value which would not be unusual.

Currently going through probate on an estate and my solicitor gave me a clear estimate on the first meeting.
 
Peanuts20 said:
I presume that €7k includes VAT @23%?. If that is the case, it works out at around 1% of the sale value which would not be unusual.

Currently going through probate on an estate and my solicitor gave me a clear estimate on the first meeting.
Click to expand...
sorry but what does the sales price have to do with the solicitors fee?

you should be able to get a fixed fee for that kind of service plus whatever out of pocket expenses they incur with searches etc but 7k seems extortionate.

look here for example

Solicitors Fees | MB Solicitors

MB Solicitors based in Dublin 3 set out their fees.
mbsolicitors.ie

or here

O'Kelly Solicitors - Fixed Fee Property Services

We offer a fixed fee for buying & selling. So if you have found your dream home, let us help you get the keys. Contact mark@okellysolicitors.ie for more.
www.okellysolicitors.ie
 
Thanks ClubMan,

So the obligation is for the Solicitor to provide an estimate.

It is not an obligation for the client to request an estimate.

This is an important distinction.

In discussing the fee, I'd certainly ask the solicitor why he failed in his obligation.
 
jasdpace@gmail. said:
In discussing the fee, I'd certainly ask the solicitor why he failed in his obligation.
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There is no indication here that he failed in this or any other obligation. The S.68 letter does not have to refer to any monetary fee sum or estimate, let alone commit to one.
 
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The solicitor is obliged to provide you with a letter about fees.

He does not have to quote a specific figure.

You may well have received this letter. Please confirm one way or the other.

Brendan
 
Of course solicitors have templates for quotations - it would be very inefficient otherwise. That's not really the issue.

The key point is whether an estimate or a cost basis was issued by the solicitor. Personally, I suspect not. The reason for this is that it would be somewhat disingenuous of the OP to tell us that he did not ask for a fee in advance and then omit to tell us that a fee estimate or a fee basis had been actually provided. Yes, it's nuanced but, in my opinion, a natural reading of the initial post is that either (a) no fee information was provided or (b) the OP was unaware of receiving any info re fees. Of this two options, (b) is by a distance less likely imho.

The OP has created much interest.....he's keeping us in suspense here!
 
fistophobia said:
The cost is for a straight forward house sale, not too many queries or searches required.
Click to expand...

I bought a house recently. Value 155K, solicitors fees were €4,165.65 which included stamp duty and everything other than the LPT. There was a bit of back and forth, took 3 months to get over the line.

I bought another place in the last few months also. Value 180K, solicitors fees were €4,250.67 which included stamp duty and everything else other than the LPT. This one really dragged on due to a query around planning. Took 4 months to complete.

Hope that helps as a comparison.
 
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