Conveyancing Fees For Buying and Selling Your Property

If you’re wondering what the costs are involved when moving house, here is what to expect.

What are conveyancing fees buying and selling?

Conveyancing covers the legal process of buying and selling a property, but what you probably didn’t know is that conveyancing fees for buying and selling a property are different. 

Related: Conveyancing Help For First Time Buyers

The fees involved in selling a property are generally lower than on a purchase and include costs such as Estate Agents Fees, obtaining copy title deeds from the Land Registry and your conveyancers fees. 

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However purchase fees include your conveyancers fees, property searches, Stamp Duty Land Tax, Deposit Funds and additional costs for specific work such as dealing with Help to Buy ISAs. This is the basic outline of conveyancing fees buying and selling.

Why is there a difference?

As you have probably worked out there is usually more work carried out by your conveyancer when purchasing a property. 

The additional work for dealing with your new mortgage, obtaining searches and ensuring your Stamp Duty Payment are but to name a few. All in all, your solicitor does a lot of work and this is shown in the conveyancing fees buying and selling, because in reality they are helping you not just to buy or sell a building but to move home. 

Conveyancing fees buying and selling are set out for you within their initial quote but bear in mind, if you are asking your conveyancer to deal with some extra paperwork or a Leasehold property which includes liaising third parties, don’t be shocked when there are additional costs for dealing with this. How would you feel doing all this extra work for free?

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Don’t forget – When selling a property the process is slightly different to a purchase so it is important you understand that this is reflected in the conveyancing fees for buying and selling

What is the Average Conveyancing Fees in the UK?

Average Conveyancing Fees UK cover the amount you’ll pay to make sure the legal side of a house sale or purchase is handled correctly. Conveyancing fees can be split into two parts: the legal fees (what the conveyancer or solicitor charges for doing the work), and the disbursements (what third parties charge for certain services).

Related: The Cost of Buying a House and Moving

How much are the legal fees?

The legal portion of the conveyancing fees bill covers the work done by the conveyancing solicitor themselves. Average Conveyancing fees UK do vary but are typically between £850-£1500, plus the cost of disbursements. 

Average Conveyancing Fees UK – main disbursements?

• Anti-money laundering checks. These legal checks will verify your identity. The cost of anti-money laundering checks is £6-£20.
• Title deeds. If you’re selling a property, you’ll need to get a copy of the Title of Deeds. The cost of getting title deeds is £6.
• Searches. If you’re buying a property, you will need local authority searches, such as a drainage search and an environmental search. Local authority search range cost £250-£450.
• Transferring ownership. You have to pay the Land Registry a fee for transferring your name with your buyer’s name on completion. The cost of transferring ownership is £200-£300.

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• Telegraphic transfer or bank transfer fee. For guaranteed funds to reach an account on a certain day. Your solicitor will charge a fee for performing the transfer, plus the bank’s charge. Bank transfer fees are £20-£30.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax. If you’re buying a property worth more than £125,000 you’ll need to pay stamp duty. Stamp duty costs vary because it is charged on a sliding scale.
• Help to Buy Supplements. If you’re buying with a Help to Buy scheme, you’re likely to be charged extra because of the additional legal work that this entails. Help to Buy supplement costs are typically £200-£300.
• Gifted deposits. If you are getting help with your deposit, you will likely need to pay more to cover the paperwork to prove that the money comes from a legitimate source. You can be charged up to £100 by law firms.
• Lifetime or Help to Buy ISA. Your conveyancer will have extra work to do to redeem the bonus but charges are capped at £50+VAT.

What Are The Conveyancing Fees For Leasehold properties?

The conveyancing fees for leasehold properties will be much higher, as there are likely to be additional costs. Other work could include additional investigations into the length of the lease, Deed of Covenant as well as liaising with the landlord to serve notices, for example. The costs can be anything from £100 to £1,000.