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Hi,
I am currently dealing with a conveyancing issue after purchasing a shared ownership property in the UK. Prior to selecting Muve as my conveyancer’s I agreed an all-inclusive flat charge of £1561. Following the exchange of contracts on 14 April 2023, they have sent me the final charge bill and there are £228 of additional charges that have been added on as follows:
Additional Fees
Deed of Covenant £ 120.00
+ £ 24.00 VAT
Mortgage - Panel Member fee £ 30.00
+ £ 6.00 VAT
Total Excluding VAT £ 150.00
Total VAT £ 30.00
Total Including VAT £ 180.00
Additional Disbursements
Notice of Transfer £ 48.00
Total £ 48.00
Upon explain to them I agreed an all-inclusive fee and to remove the additional charges they have responded with this:
Please note that the reason the below fees were not included in the initial quote is due to the fees being communicated to us by the other side during the conveyancing process.
The notice of transfer fee of £48 is charged by the managing agents when entering your name as the new owner of the property and this was communicated to us by the seller’s solicitor via email.
The additional fee for the deed of covenant is due to us having to draft the deed in order to deal with the post completion formalities of the managing agents. This deed will be sent to the other side by our post completion team once your signature has been placed. The mortgage panel member fee is charged by Halifax for being on their lender panel.
Should I accept and pay these additional charges or as my instincts tell me, none of these costs were surprises to them and part of the legal standard process for shared ownership purchasing, which I have already been charged £500. This is the breakdown of my original all-inclusive quote:
Property Purchase
Legal Fees £ 149.00
Legal Fees VAT at 20% £ 29.80
Supplements
Shared Ownership £ 100.00
Leasehold £ 400.00
Registration/SDLT Admin Fee £ 50.00
File Opening Fee £ 220.00
ID [10.00 * 1] £ 10.00
Bank Transfer Fee £ 45.00
Mortgage Fee £ 75.00
VAT at 20% £ 180.00
Disbursements
Report with Search Indemnity £ 195.00
Land Registry Search £ 3.00
Title Plan for Expediting Searches £ 3.00
Bankruptcy Check [2.00 * 1] £ 2.00
Land Registry Fees £ 100.00
Stamp Duty (SDLT)
Deferred costs will be calculated at a later date. £ Deferred
Total: £ 1,561.80
I would really appreciate your response on how to handle this and if I am being played with this additional charges.
Obviously we are yet to complete on the property – due 2nd May and I need to pay the solicitor fee’s prior to this. They kind of have me over a barrel which is what they count on I guess!
Here is the email from Muve I obtained prior to selecting them to ensure no surprise costs:
Date: 13 January 2023 at 08:59:03 GMT
Hi Naomi,
The quote I’ve provided you with is an all-inclusive quotation.
It is based on all the information we confirmed over our phone call earlier this week. As long as that set of information do not change, the quote will not change either. We’ve already covered our legal fee, supplements that come up in the early stages (ID verification) and later stages (Bank transfer fee) & even third-party payments we make on your behalf (disbursements).
Kindly let me know of what your final decision is so we can proceed accordingly.
Warmest regards,
Salmaan Hamid
Your input be much appreciated or let me know if you need any further info to help understand why I am peeved.
Kind regards
Naomi
I am currently dealing with a conveyancing issue after purchasing a shared ownership property in the UK. Prior to selecting Muve as my conveyancer’s I agreed an all-inclusive flat charge of £1561. Following the exchange of contracts on 14 April 2023, they have sent me the final charge bill and there are £228 of additional charges that have been added on as follows:
Additional Fees
Deed of Covenant £ 120.00
+ £ 24.00 VAT
Mortgage - Panel Member fee £ 30.00
+ £ 6.00 VAT
Total Excluding VAT £ 150.00
Total VAT £ 30.00
Total Including VAT £ 180.00
Additional Disbursements
Notice of Transfer £ 48.00
Total £ 48.00
Upon explain to them I agreed an all-inclusive fee and to remove the additional charges they have responded with this:
Please note that the reason the below fees were not included in the initial quote is due to the fees being communicated to us by the other side during the conveyancing process.
The notice of transfer fee of £48 is charged by the managing agents when entering your name as the new owner of the property and this was communicated to us by the seller’s solicitor via email.
The additional fee for the deed of covenant is due to us having to draft the deed in order to deal with the post completion formalities of the managing agents. This deed will be sent to the other side by our post completion team once your signature has been placed. The mortgage panel member fee is charged by Halifax for being on their lender panel.
Should I accept and pay these additional charges or as my instincts tell me, none of these costs were surprises to them and part of the legal standard process for shared ownership purchasing, which I have already been charged £500. This is the breakdown of my original all-inclusive quote:
Property Purchase
Legal Fees £ 149.00
Legal Fees VAT at 20% £ 29.80
Supplements
Shared Ownership £ 100.00
Leasehold £ 400.00
Registration/SDLT Admin Fee £ 50.00
File Opening Fee £ 220.00
ID [10.00 * 1] £ 10.00
Bank Transfer Fee £ 45.00
Mortgage Fee £ 75.00
VAT at 20% £ 180.00
Disbursements
Report with Search Indemnity £ 195.00
Land Registry Search £ 3.00
Title Plan for Expediting Searches £ 3.00
Bankruptcy Check [2.00 * 1] £ 2.00
Land Registry Fees £ 100.00
Stamp Duty (SDLT)
Deferred costs will be calculated at a later date. £ Deferred
Total: £ 1,561.80
I would really appreciate your response on how to handle this and if I am being played with this additional charges.
Obviously we are yet to complete on the property – due 2nd May and I need to pay the solicitor fee’s prior to this. They kind of have me over a barrel which is what they count on I guess!
Here is the email from Muve I obtained prior to selecting them to ensure no surprise costs:
Date: 13 January 2023 at 08:59:03 GMT
Hi Naomi,
The quote I’ve provided you with is an all-inclusive quotation.
It is based on all the information we confirmed over our phone call earlier this week. As long as that set of information do not change, the quote will not change either. We’ve already covered our legal fee, supplements that come up in the early stages (ID verification) and later stages (Bank transfer fee) & even third-party payments we make on your behalf (disbursements).
Kindly let me know of what your final decision is so we can proceed accordingly.
Warmest regards,
Salmaan Hamid
Your input be much appreciated or let me know if you need any further info to help understand why I am peeved.
Kind regards
Naomi
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