Average Conveyancing Solicitors Fees and Costs
Posted by John on January 11, 2011 under Choosing a Solicitor | 
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Probably the most common question we get as is “what is the average cost of conveyancing?”
So we thought we’d add a quick post answering this. Bear in mind that the cost of online conveyancing will be a lot less that going to your local High Street solicitor. BUT … there are good online solicitors and bad: to make sure you instruct a good one check out this free report: The 4 Steps to Choosing a Solicitor (so you don’t get “ripped off”)
In the meantime, here’s a quick guide to what to expect:
Costs:
- selling: £400 – £700
- buying: £450 – £1,000
- leasehold transactions: add £100 – £250
- expenses (often referred to as “disbursements”): £100 – £300
The exact cost will vary between solicitors, but is also likely reflect the value of your property – the more expensive your property the more you are likely to be charged. Typically the thresholds at which solicitors charge more are £500,000, £750,000 and £1,000,000.
Buying:
The legal costs of buying are higher than those of selling. This is because there’s extra work involved in obtaining and reviewing property searches. These search reviews are one of the most important things your solicitor will do. Usually things will be fine, but if there are any problems it’s your solicitor’s job to highlight them – much better to find out at this stage than when you’ve completed!
Selling:
Selling is normally cheaper than buying as there’s less work involved. There are also fewer expenses as searches are paid for by the buyer.
Expenses (“disbursements”):
Disbursements could be anything from the cost of searches to the cost of photocopying. Some solicitors use disbursements as a way of bumping up their fees so insist that they are included in your quote.
VAT
With VAT now at 20% it will be a big part of your bill. Less honest solicitors will provide quotes that don’t include VAT so that they appear very cheap. The shock comes when the bill arrives (and it’s too late to do anything about it) and with expenses and VAT it’s double (and sometimes more) what you expected. Make sure your quote includes all expenses and VAT.
For a more detailed break down of disburesment costs (searches, etc) and what “hidden extras” to avoid, go to our conveyancing costs page and scroll down to Part II.
Click here to get a fully itemised fixed fee quote.
