Quotes much lower than my solicitor’s – should I change solicitor?
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Amanda from Twickenham
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Legal questions and answers
Question
I have just started the process of buying my first property, a one bed flat. My solicitors have quoted me £2448.00 which is rising with all the extras, such as adult occupancy £95 + vat, gifted deposit £150.00+ vat and now a lease extension £400.00. I have just had 4 quotes from reallymoving.com which vary from £500 to £900. Please can you explain this huge difference, should I change my solicitor? Thank you
Answer
Hi Amanda, thank you for your question.
reallymoving.com only quotes for the legal fees that solicitors charge. We do not quote any of their disbursements or additional fees as every solicitor has a different pricing structure.
All of the solicitors that quote on reallymoving.com will send you an email with a full breakdown of all costs involved in your transaction after you have received your conveyancing quotes. If you are considering going with one of the firms that quoted through us, we would suggest contacting them to get a full quote from them.
From what you have explained, it appears that you are buying a leasehold property that will further need an extension on the lease. Prices can go up with complicated leasehold arrangements.
We would recommend that you email or call the solicitor that you wish to instruct and explain to them about the leasehold extension. They will then be able to provide you with a more accurate quote.
If you have already signed a client contract with the existing solicitors it will be expensive to extricate yourself.
You should also ask your current solicitor what referral fee they paid for this custom (e.g. from your estate agent), as this can be £100s which may explain some of the difference.
The team at
reallymoving.com
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