The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

JUNE 1996

the house, and all work concerning the securitisation of the mortgage for the princely sum of £ 2 9 5 to include outlays and VAT. I understand that this f ee is standard and applies whatever the purchase price. In addition, I note that s ome of our c o l l e a g u es are charging a total £ 5 9 0 for an entire sale and purchase transaction to include again all mortgage work. Wh i le there is no doubt but that f e es for all legal work should be c omp e t i t i v e ly priced, it wo u ld s e em to me that this level of charges is nothing short of ludicrous. Certainly wh en one considers the amount of work d o ne in a standard c o n v e y a n c i ng transaction n ow, c o up l ed with the ever increasing d ema nds of mortgagees, we as a profession, should charge a reasonable rate for the work to be done. I find it

very hard to accept that the present l ow rate of f e es being charged by s ome of our c o l l e a g u es are cost e f f e c t i v e. Ev en if one was carrying out a huge v o l ume of c o n v e y a n c i ng work, the fact of the matter remains that each individual c o n v e y a n ce requires a certain amount of time and effort, which should be reflected in the price charged. My impression is that the Law Society is steering clear of making any r e c omme nd a t i o ns to the profession with regard to c o n v e y a n c i ng fees. My understanding is that this is due to the provisions of the Comp e t i t i on Act. Wh i le I appreciate that there should be c omp e t i t i on in every market including the market for legal services, I also feel that it is incumbent on the Law S o c i e ty in its regulatory role, to assure

that the concerns of the majority of its memb e rs (and I b e l i e ve that I represent the majority v i e w) are represented. I further b e l i e ve that it is incumbent on the S o c i e ty to insure that its memb e rs operate at a realistic level of costing. The other profession i n v o l v ed directly in c o n v e y a n c i ng transactions namely the Auctioneers and Valuers profession s e ems to have managed adequately to preserve their costing charges over the years so why can't w e ?

Yours sincerely,

Sean O'Brien

and

Company,

Solicitors, The Stone

House,

Old Blessington

Rd.,

Tallaght,

Dublin

24.

n

©J

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