Re: solicitors fees
After all that.....the solicitors point of view
Perhaps if solicitors better explained what they do, if lending institutions were clearer with their borrowers, if clients would listen to us etc., etc., a lot of things would be so much clearer.
The starting point is why did you need a solicitor? You needed a solicitor because you needed a loan and the bank wanted security for the money they were lending you. Without security, they would not lend or if they would lend it would be a fraction of what you wanted. What was the security? A mortgage over the site and house. What is a mortgage? It is a transfer of your ownership of your property to the bank with “ a proviso for redemption” – i.e. when and if you repay the mortgage, they will release the property back to you. What did the solicitors do? They investigated the title, they checked the planning, they should have made sure you procured an Architects Opinion on compliance with planning permission and building regulations. They gave an undertaking to the bank that the title was clear, that they would register the banks mortgage and that they would furnish a copy of the folio showing the mortgage registered to the bank. In exchange for all this, you got the money and that is what you are paying for. Could you have done all this? Frankly no – you do not have the expertise and more important you do not have insurance – if I make a mess of the security, and the bank suffers a loss, they have recourse to my insurance. If they allowed you to arrange your own security without the involvement of a solicitor, their only recourse would be from you and they do not want that. They want their safety net. And yes, the fee should be in euros.
mf