How are conveyancing fees calculated?

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What are the solicitors fees for buying a house?

Solicitors fees for buying and selling a house are different because there is more work to do on a purchase. The conveyancing costs for buying a house should include: Standard legal fees - The standard work should include all of the legal work to buy the property including reviewing memorandum of sale, office copies, property forms, contract, property searches, reporting of information found, exchange of contracts, completion and registration at the Land Registry. Leasehold - There is a fee if you are buying a leasehold property Mortgage - Mortgage Admin Fee if getting a mortgage Bank charge - Telegraphic Transfer (TT) Fee to handle the funds Affordable housing scheme - the solicitors fees for buying a house are increased by hundreds of pounds if you are buying using Help to Buy, Right to Buy, Shared Ownership or Discount Market Sale. There is no set amount for solicitors to charge for their conveyancing fees, so it is recommended that you research several firms and consider one with fixed fee conveyancing. Get a Purchase Quote Fixed Fee | Rated Excellent on Trustpilot | No Sale No Fee | On all Mortgage Lender Panels What you pay will vary depending on the conveyancer, how much the house is worth, freehold or leasehold, the location of the property and if you are buying through any affordable housing scheme such as Help to Buy.

How much are solicitors fees for selling a house?

Solicitors fees for selling a house are lower than buying as less work is required on this side of the transaction: ID Checks Download office copy, create contract and send to buyer's solicitor with complete property forms Reply to enquiries Exchange and complete Get a Sale Quote Fixed Fee | Rated Excellent on Trustpilot | No Sale No Fee | On all Mortgage Lender Panels

What is the difference between conveyancing costs and conveyancing fees?

Conveyancing fees are the legal fees your solicitor charges for doing the work and the third party disbursements or taxes that you are liable for, such as stamp duty, Land Registry fees and conveyancing searches.

Why do Conveyancing Fees vary so much?

Online Conveyancing Some online solicitors and conveyancers market low cost conveyancing to capture the attention of many clients. "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." Often, final costs are higher, with additional charges (like budget airlines) and you may get a slower and more stressful service, because they save money by overloading each conveyancer with more cases. Read the small print and check the online reviews for complaints of bad service and over charging. Some online services (ourselves included!) save money by providing services, but won't cut corners or sacrifice quality. High Street Solicitors The more traditional service can be obtained from a local high street solicitor. The legal costs are often higher than online conveyancing due to the additional expenses involved in maintaining and operating out of high street premises. If you prefer driving down to the office for a face-to-face meeting and you're happy to pay more for it, this may be for you. Often, higher fees means the company is passing on their own higher costs, rather than offering a better service. When you get your conveyancing fee quote, ask who is going to be handling your conveyancing and then check their details, as well as looking out for any personal mentions in the firm's reviews. Estate Agent Referrals There's no reason to expect the estate agent's recommended solicitor will work faster than any other, as they can only affect the work on their side of the transaction and can't speed up the other side's solicitors, the mortgage lender, management companies, local council, or even the solicitors further up the chain. However, estate agents often pressure people to use their recommended solicitor, as they'll make a tidy referral fee (around £200), which is often passed on to you, in your conveyancing costs. Indemnity Insurance If there are issues regarding missing building regs sign off, FENSA, or planning, you'll probably need indemnity insurance to protect you from enforcement action. This must be purchased through a solicitor as they'll have to make you aware of the legal risks and implications. This insurance is usually relatively inexpensive but will depend on the works in question.

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Conveyancing Costs and Conveyancing Fees

by:

Andrew Boast

(Last Updated: 24/04/2023)

Created on:

15/10/2021

Read by:

3,394

9 min read

Key Takeaways

Conveyancing costs are made up of legal fees and disbursements
You can save lots of money by comparing quotes and hidden add-ons
Look for a Fixed Fee so your bill doesn't run away with you
Look for No Sale No Fee so you don't lose your money if the transaction falls through

Costs vary considerably depending on who you use for your conveyancing.

What is the average cost of conveyancing fees in 2023?

Any online search can turn up residential conveyancing fees ranging from 'too good to be true' estimates of £99 right up to £2000 or more. (Note the word 'estimates' - there's no sense in which an estimate is 'fixed'). Actual conveyancing costs to buy a house range from £500 - £1200 on average, plus disbursements which can add hundreds more.

Conveyancing costs when selling are cheaper (£600 - £1000) and leaseholds cost more (by several hundred pounds). The trick to comparing conveyancing quotes is to look out for additional fees, which some companies include in their fee, while others will add them on top, making their nice cheap quote grow into a much bigger bill.

What are the Fixed Price Conveyancing Costs?

For Buyers	For Sellers
For Buyers legal fees stamp duty land registration fee property searches ID searches bankruptcy and priority searches leasehold notices/charges (if buying a leasehold property; these include e.g. freeholder notice fee, deed of covenant fee, share certificate)	For sellers legal fees office copies title plan management information/leasehold pack (if selling a leasehold property)

What are the total conveyancing costs?

A conveyancing solicitor's fee is what they charge for all the legal work required to legally transfer the property from one person to another. Costs will include both legal fees and disbursements.

Conveyancing Legal Fees

These are charges based on your solicitor's hourly rate and the work the solicitor undertakes on your transaction. They are more variable, based on several factors which will create more work for them. Factors which influence the amount of work required include:

Property value
Location
Tenure (freehold or leasehold)
Using a conveyancing solicitor or a licenced conveyancer
Using an online conveyancing service
Buying through a scheme such as Help to Buy, Right to Buy or Shared Ownership
Purchasing with a gifted deposit
Missing or disputed title or property boundaries

Conveyancing Disbursements

These are charges based on what the solicitor has to pay third parties to complete your transaction, so your solicitor has very little control over these charges. They should include and break down your disbursements in their conveyancing costs quote, so you can factor these costs in when comparing quotes and budgeting your funds.

Standard disbursements include:

Lawyer Checker Fee	£18.00
ID Verification Fee (per name)	£18.00
Land Registry Search (Priority Search)	£3.00
Land Registry Search (Bankruptcy Search)	£2.00
Property Searches	(Variable)
Land Registry Fees	£200.00+
Stamp Duty	Calculate

Getting a fixed fee quote is vital if you want to keep control of your final bill; if you get an estimate instead, be aware that an estimate is not fixed and allows your bill to keep rising if your conveyancing encounters any issues.

These are just some things to budget for that are often shown as additional costs, when they are actually part of your solicitors' legal fees.

Bank transfer fees
Storage of documents/archive fee
Mortgage fee
Expedition/Fast Exchange fee
Reply to enquiries fees
Bankruptcy fee
ID fee
Postage, telephone and incidentals fee
Help to buy, right to buy, shared ownership and new build

Fixed fee conveyancing costs

Our fees are fixed, which means that you'll pay what we quote. Your quote includes all of the solicitor's legal fees for a standard conveyancing transaction and we do not hide legal fees in our terms, we tell you up front.

No sale no fee conveyancing costs

If your first transaction falls through, you'll pay no fee, which means the money you've paid will be carried forward to your new transaction.

What are the conveyancing fees?

Standard Conveyancing Work

A property solicitor has to take on all legal aspects of the conveyancing for their client, because it needs to be done by someone with the correct legal training. At the beginning, they check a client's ID and then proceed with drawing up or inspecting a contract.

We explore a solicitor's role in detail in two separate articles: What does a solicitor do for the buyer and the seller?

Mortgage work

If you're buying using a mortgage or selling, but haven't fully paid back a mortgage you used to buy the property involved, your solicitor has to communicate with lenders to ensure matters are handled correctly and efficiently.

Conveyancing solicitors always charge more when a mortgage is involved, but this should not prevent them from providing a fixed fee quote once the fact has been established.

Leasehold, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy, Help to Buy, New Builds

If a client’s conveyancing involves any of the above, a solicitor will have to carry out additional work, which invariably increases conveyancing fees.

Leaseholds, for example, often involve extra investigations (varying), a deed of covenant (around £300) or a notice of transfer (up to around £300). The seller will also have to pay for the leasehold management pack (£300 - £800).

The trouble is that often, an initial quote does not include these expenses, but they will be billed for later. SAM Conveyancing asks for the relevant information to provide a comprehensive quote. Our fixed fees can be trusted and any extras which may arise later in the transaction are clearly defined and are themselves fixed too.

Get an Inclusive Quote

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Written by: Andrew Boast

Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.

Reviewed by: Caragh Bailey

Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.