Need to shop around for solicitor? Help!

Hi folks!

As you can see from my name this is a new game to me. I'm about to purchase my first property (an affordable apartment - I know there's a specific place for affordable housing discussions but they don't go into details much about the process, mainly discussions about particular apartment blocks and developments and prices etc and I feel there may be better advice to be had here for some reason...feel free to move it if you can/want moderators)

Anyways, it's time for me to engage a solicitor for all the dealings with my purchase. I've been making some enquiries/asking for quotes with local Solicitors (In the North West)? What should I ask or watch out for when getting quotes from Solicitors etc?

One guy I talked to today said he charges set fee of 1500 + VAT and then I'd have to pay Land Registry Fee (between 400 - 600)

Another said he charges 900 but leaves fees up to me, land registry (between 125 and 375 he reckons), clawback and mortgage charges? (both 125 each) and search charge of between 100 - 250. This Solicitor said he operates in this manner so that if the customer is charged less for these fees the customer benefits and not himself. It SEEMED a pretty good rate to me but I'm clueless about such matters. He also reckons I'd find his rates pretty competitive.

I'm so confused as I know nothing about purchasing a house etc Has anyone got any advice to guide me whilst I'm shopping around for a Solicitor? Things to watch out for? Questions to ask etc?

Thanks in advance for any replies

Your best bet is to seek recommendations from family & friends. Shopping around on price alone is risky, you may end up with a cheaper option but you have no way of guaranteeing the quality of their service.

newtoallofit said:

I'm so confused as I know nothing about purchasing a house etc

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Just a quick question. I assume that you know everthing about your mortgage, monthly repayments, interest rates etc.

In other words, have you done the sums on your proposed house purchase...prior to engaging in a solicitor?

Sorry....meant to say apartment purchase!

Pope John 11 said:

Just a quick question. I assume that you know everthing about your mortgage, monthly repayments, interest rates etc.

In other words, have you done the sums on your proposed house purchase...prior to engaging in a solicitor?

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em......

....had meeting with affordable housing officer 2 weeks ago and he said the next step was to choose a solicitor. I will be using a broker for my mortgage and had got approval in principal a few months ago for a mortgage much higher (€40,000 is much to me) than what I'm seeking now. Spoke with them a number of weeks ago and seemingly there'll be no problem aquiring mortgage that I'm seeking now. Just a matter of waiting for exact address (exact number unknown as of yet) before I apply. I also need Solicitors details for mortgage application?? Straight answer, no, have no sums done as haven't even applied for mortgage yet (due to co. councils advice not to do so at this stage & not having exact address or solicitors details)

Obviously, I've checked out Mortgage calculators etc to find out what my approx repayments will be, but that's it so far.

Why are mortgage, monthly repayments and interest rates so important before I engage with a Solicitor??

Hi there,

The situation re solicitors fees is as follows:

Outlay is everything the solicitor pays to a third party on your behalf, during the course of the transactions. It includes things like Land Registry Fees, Stamp Duty, Commissioner for Oaths fees and Search Fees. Land Reg Fees, Stamp Duty and Comm for Oaths fees are fixed so will be exactly the same no matter which solicitor you go to. Search Fees are set by the law agent who carries out the searches so they vary but not by a lot and are fairly cheap anyway (€50 - €70 for an average land reg purchase).

So frankly I have no idea what the second solr you spoke to was talking about when he said that he was leaving these costs "up to you".

When you are looking for a quote ask the solicitor you are speaking to to email you their quote. Then read all your quotes and ask questions if there's someting you don't understand.

Remember that cheap does not always equal value!!

Good luck.

Kate.

There's a key post outlining the sort of fees involved in conveyancing work.

I used J.C. Hoban and co. in Capel buildings in town and found them exceptional, I was really pleased with their contactability and follow up, Hope this helps!!

ubiquitous said:

Your best bet is to seek recommendations from family & friends. Shopping around on price alone is risky, you may end up with a cheaper option but you have no way of guaranteeing the quality of their service.

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This is great advice. It's absolutely vital to have a solicitor that you can trust. I made this mistake and now I will only ever use a solictor recommended by family & friends.

Patmar said:

I used J.C. Hoban and co. in Capel buildings in town and found them exceptional, I was really pleased with their contactability and follow up, Hope this helps!!

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could i ask what they charged? 1%? 0.5%? flat rate?