Fees when buying a house

m'lady

Hoping for a bit of advice, A solicitor has quoted us €750 plus Vat @ 22% not including other fees ( land registry etc) in regards to buying a house and we have been quoted €370 plus Vat at 23.5% to get a survey done..I'm just wondering do they sound like decent quotes? The house is being paid for in cash so no mortgage our end.. Can anyone advise if we should we ring around or are we doing well with these prices? Thanks in advance!

Ri_Nollaig

Sounds good to be honest. It probably depends on the area but I paid about €430 for an Engineer's report and around €1,300 for the Solicitor. This was in Cork.

Dublin21

Im paying 1230 incl VAT (excl land fees etc) and that was the cheapest I found at the time.

L1011

The solicitor is cheap; they do have less work to do with no mortgage however.

filbert the fox

m'lady wrote: »

Hoping for a bit of advice, A solicitor has quoted us €750 plus Vat @ 22% not including other fees ( land registry etc) in regards to buying a house and we have been quoted €370 plus Vat at 23.5% to get a survey done..I'm just wondering do they sound like decent quotes? The house is being paid for in cash so no mortgage our end.. Can anyone advise if we should we ring around or are we doing well with these prices? Thanks in advance!

Why oh Why oh Why do we keep hearing this plus VAT thing?


You don't go shopping and get the ex VAT quote so why should professionals do it?

Sunny Dayz

Please note that VAT rate is currently 23%, not 22% or 23.5%.

L1011

filbert the fox wrote: »

Why oh Why oh Why do we keep hearing this plus VAT thing?


You don't go shopping and get the ex VAT quote so why should professionals do it?

Business services are always quoted ex VAT. Don't move to the US - bar a few states, sales tax is added at the till!

m'lady

Thanks all, my partner rang a couple of other solicitors and we got higher quotes (between €950 and €1200 plus vat) so I think we will go with her.. I've called a couple of surveyors and they've all quoted me in or around the €350 to €430 again plus vat mark.

I was surprised that two of the surveyors asked me why were we bothering to get a survey done when we didn't have to? I just feel that it's peace of mind for us, would anyone think that we are silly to get one?!

Uno my Uno.

filbert the fox wrote: »

Why oh Why oh Why do we keep hearing this plus VAT thing?


You don't go shopping and get the ex VAT quote so why should professionals do it?

Because it is more transparent as to what the solicitor is charging you and for what you are paying to the Government. You aren't doing your shopping, you are instructing a professional to carry out legal services, you shouldn't expect them to be the same. For what it's worth the VAT will be included when you get your final bill.

Jen44

Just bought my house and used a fantastic solicitor in skerries. Much cheaper than all other quotes we got, and i got around 15! He was very attentive, responded to all phone calls and emails that day!! We couldn't recommend him enough if you want his details just pm me. Having dealt with a very slow moving solicitor on our first house purchase I was greatly impressed with this guy.

m'lady

Jen44 wrote: »

Just bought my house and used a fantastic solicitor in skerries. Much cheaper than all other quotes we got, and i got around 15! He was very attentive, responded to all phone calls and emails that day!! We couldn't recommend him enough if you want his details just pm me. Having dealt with a very slow moving solicitor on our first house purchase I was greatly impressed with this guy.

Hi Jen... Just sent you a PM there.. Thanks!

Ri_Nollaig

m'lady wrote: »

I was surprised that two of the surveyors asked me why were we bothering to get a survey done when we didn't have to? I just feel that it's peace of mind for us, would anyone think that we are silly to get one?!

Your call.

Its possible they might find something you have overlooked in the house but bear in mind they really only do a visual inspection. They are not going to be crawling into any small spaces or lifting manholes etc. So a 'clean' report is far from a 100% defect free house.

Their fees are probably what? 0.1% of the total cost of the house? If it was me I would still go for it. How old is the house?

m'lady

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

Your call.

Its possible they might find something you have overlooked in the house but bear in mind they really only do a visual inspection. They are not going to be crawling into any small spaces or lifting manholes etc. So a 'clean' report is far from a 100% defect free house.

Their fees are probably what? 0.1% of the total cost of the house? If it was me I would still go for it. How old is the house?

Sorry Nollaig, only seeing your reply now. The house is around 10 years old.. We are definitely going to get it done, just was surprised the at the response of a couple of them! Is there any other professional that does a more indepth report do you know? Thanks

Ri_Nollaig

m'lady wrote: »

Sorry Nollaig, only seeing your reply now. The house is around 10 years old.. We are definitely going to get it done, just was surprised the at the response of a couple of them! Is there any other professional that does a more indepth report do you know? Thanks

Its kinda nature of the game really.

The engineer's report should including a mention of things like plumbing/electric/etc also septic or sewer and/or well [if applicable] but will basically say "they are there, but need each appropriate professional to inspect" above. There is no super report to check everything, or atleast not that I know of.

meme74

That seems like a fair price based on my own experience recently of €850 plus VAt as the cheapest I found.

I would check out those VAt rates though as if that is what the solicitor has quoted then I would quesiton their professionalism! VAt is charged at 23% not 22% or 23.5%

cat123456

Both those quotes sound good. We paid 325 plus vat for the survey and got a 19 page report and they asked us if we would like a consultation with them to talk about the report. I also got 10 quotes for both and yours seem very reasonable. I think the survey is worth it for piece of mind. Stuff like subsidence can be covered up but a surveyor might spot the signs.

The main thing with the solicitor is to get one who will act quickly and push the sale along. I'm not being funny but some of them wait for letters to be posted rather than send an email or make a phonecall.

m'lady

Thanks everyone for your advice,we went with the solicitor that gave us the quote for €750 plus VAT, not only was she cheaper but also a friend has used her a number of times and highly recommends her.

We've paid the booking deposit over a week ago now and the estate agent said that the paperwork would be sent that day but we still haven't heard anything from the solicitor, think I might give her a call this afternoon or am I being inpatient?!

Jen44

no harm in giving her a call or email for an update. But they wont usually need to see you or do anything till they have the contracts which would take longer then a week to organise. At that point you will pay your large deposit

m'lady

Jen44 wrote: »

no harm in giving her a call or email for an update. But they wont usually need to see you or do anything till they have the contracts which would take longer then a week to organise. At that point you will pay your large deposit

Thanks Jen, I called her and she hadn't received anything so she rang the auctioneer.. The proposal hadn't even gone into the bank yet (it's a consensual sale, where the mortgagee has permission to sell but the bank is involved).. A few days later I got an email from auctioneer that he'd failed to get proof of our funds!

I wonder do these consensual sales take forever?!