What are the conveyancing fees for buying and selling a house?
The process of buying or selling a property can be an expensive endeavor and so it is always a great idea to understand the types of costs you can expect to incur and their size!
It is worth noting that you can also expect to pay conveyancing fees in remortgaging transactions as well. These costs are applied for performing all the work linked to the transfer of ownership from one OWNER to another.
Solicitors’ fees are often billed based on time and the work they have completed. You will be charged for every task that is performed from the point you initiate the buying or selling of a property to the point where the contracts are signed.
The range of work involved in the conveyancing process is quite broad and would include advice about home information packs (HIPs); describing and defining the contract; reviewing the terms and conditions of your mortgage; providing a point of contact with the other party’s agent and dealing with the technical aspects of the work such as the exchanging of contracts. Any other expenses incurred on your behalf during the property purchase of sale transaction will be included in the solicitor fees.
Some solicitors are happy to work with you on ‘no sale no fee’ terms. So if for some reason, the purchase or sale of your property does not go through then, you will not be responsible for paying any solicitors fees.
Let’s have a look at the average solicitors fees for purchasing property
If you purchase a £300,000 home in the city of London, you are very likely to get quotes for around £1000 which will include the solicitor fees together with the various disbursements.
How do you save some money on conveyancing fees?
The process of buying or selling a property can be stressful and so in many cases the cheapest solicitor is not necessarily the best. For most people a property is the most expensive item that they will buy in their entire life so it would be wise to find a good solicitor whom you think will do a good service, answer calls when they need to be answered and do the necessary due diligence on all the contractual aspects.
It is worth noting that you can also expect to pay conveyancing fees in remortgaging transactions as well. These costs are applied for performing all the work linked to the transfer of ownership from one OWNER to another.
Solicitors’ fees are often billed based on time and the work they have completed. You will be charged for every task that is performed from the point you initiate the buying or selling of a property to the point where the contracts are signed.
The range of work involved in the conveyancing process is quite broad and would include advice about home information packs (HIPs); describing and defining the contract; reviewing the terms and conditions of your mortgage; providing a point of contact with the other party’s agent and dealing with the technical aspects of the work such as the exchanging of contracts. Any other expenses incurred on your behalf during the property purchase of sale transaction will be included in the solicitor fees.
Some solicitors are happy to work with you on ‘no sale no fee’ terms. So if for some reason, the purchase or sale of your property does not go through then, you will not be responsible for paying any solicitors fees.
Let’s have a look at the average solicitors fees for purchasing property
If you purchase a £300,000 home in the city of London, you are very likely to get quotes for around £1000 which will include the solicitor fees together with the various disbursements.
How do you save some money on conveyancing fees?
The process of buying or selling a property can be stressful and so in many cases the cheapest solicitor is not necessarily the best. For most people a property is the most expensive item that they will buy in their entire life so it would be wise to find a good solicitor whom you think will do a good service, answer calls when they need to be answered and do the necessary due diligence on all the contractual aspects.
As mentioned previously there are some solicitor firms that will provide work on a no sale no fee basis. Another good option is to find a solicitor firm that will work on a fixed price basis. This way at least you will have an agreed figure for the conveyancing costs.
Working with an Online Service
There are a growing number of legal firms that are offering to provide a quote for their legal fees online and many can provide most of their service remotely via email, phone, fax and good old fashioned royal mail ! So although they may not necessarily be cheaper, it is great to be able to have access to your conveyancing solicitor through multiple channels.
Working with an Online Service
There are a growing number of legal firms that are offering to provide a quote for their legal fees online and many can provide most of their service remotely via email, phone, fax and good old fashioned royal mail ! So although they may not necessarily be cheaper, it is great to be able to have access to your conveyancing solicitor through multiple channels.
Purchase a freehold property means lower cost conveyacning !
If you’re living in London then it is certainly far more expensive to live in a freehold property and for most first time buyers this is not normally an option. However it is worth knowing that with freehold properties, there aren’t as many restrictions compared to buying properties that are leasehold.
Leasehold properties often demand more research with regards to the reviewing of leasehold agreements, liaising with the freeholder and management companies, confirming service charge accounts, local searches etc and this naturally results in higher legal costs to you and more time to complete a purchase or sale.
Evaluate your costs
As with any endeavor involving a large purchase we recommend that you do some research and compare various solicitor conveyancing fees before you select a provider. You can get quotes from property solicitors for free at http://lawyerstreet.co.uk/law/conveyancing/
It is always worth confirming if the quote you receive includes all the conveyancing disbursements and other fees or if there will be any additional fees. Some quotes may have hidden charges including post costs, indemnity benefits, copy costs, phone call costs, handling fees and more.
Last but not least, although stamp duty is not a legal cost per se, it will be paid to your solicitor as part of the conveyancing process. So don’t forget to account for that in your overall cost of buying your property. For a 300,000 property purchase you’ll be paying a large chunk of money to Mr Tax Man !
If you’re living in London then it is certainly far more expensive to live in a freehold property and for most first time buyers this is not normally an option. However it is worth knowing that with freehold properties, there aren’t as many restrictions compared to buying properties that are leasehold.
Leasehold properties often demand more research with regards to the reviewing of leasehold agreements, liaising with the freeholder and management companies, confirming service charge accounts, local searches etc and this naturally results in higher legal costs to you and more time to complete a purchase or sale.
Evaluate your costs
As with any endeavor involving a large purchase we recommend that you do some research and compare various solicitor conveyancing fees before you select a provider. You can get quotes from property solicitors for free at http://lawyerstreet.co.uk/law/conveyancing/
It is always worth confirming if the quote you receive includes all the conveyancing disbursements and other fees or if there will be any additional fees. Some quotes may have hidden charges including post costs, indemnity benefits, copy costs, phone call costs, handling fees and more.
Last but not least, although stamp duty is not a legal cost per se, it will be paid to your solicitor as part of the conveyancing process. So don’t forget to account for that in your overall cost of buying your property. For a 300,000 property purchase you’ll be paying a large chunk of money to Mr Tax Man !