Conveyancing deal may save thousands

By Tommy Barker

One price, €999 plus VAT and outlay, is promised for legal conveyancing by Homeby/Homesell, dramatically undercutting standard fees charged by most solicitors.

Savings of up to 50% are expected for home-buyers in the average €200,000 plus category. And, the more expensive the property, the greater the saving (see below.)

Solicitor Paddy Fitzgibbon of Pierse and Fitzgibbon, the largest legal firm in Kerry, has rolled out a fixed fee package through a number of Homebuy/Homesell franchisees: in its first pilot year in Waterford, it handled 400 house sales.

It has six law firm franchises signed up in Dublin, five coming on stream in Cork (three in the city, two in the county) and one each so far in Limerick and Galway.

The principals behind the company have decades of legal expertise and links with the credit union movement, and Homebuy/Homsell started just one year ago.

As it spreads nationwide, its service are only available to credit union members, but with 2.4 million credit union accounts nationwide, that is a pretty large base to canvas from.

"What we are doing is entirely in line with the aims and objectives of the Competition Authority, providing expertise and quality attention for legal and conveyancing issues, without having to pay an arm and a leg," says Mr Fitzgibbon.

Their typical cost is €1,208 plus outlay, and on a €235,000 home a purchaser can save €1,788 - "and when you are buying a house, every penny counts," he adds.

On a €400,000 property transactions, savings of €3780 can be made.

Improvements in technology have made conveyancing swifter and easier than before, and Homebuy/Homesell uses phones more than offices with its clients, operating through a low-call number 1890509505, and then routes inquiries to its franchisees in specific areas, said Mr Fitzgibbon.