What Costs Should Be in a Conveyancing Quote

What Costs Should Be in a Conveyancing Quote

Conveyancing quote cost breakdown when selling a property:

The Solicitor's Basic Fee (£300 - £1,200) + VAT. If you're selling a leasehold property you can expect to pay an extra £50 - £250 because it makes more work for the conveyancer. A company that provides transparent conveyancing quotes will ask you and adjust the quote accordingly.

Land Registry Office Copies (£4 - £8) These are needed to confirm you as the registered titleholder.

Telegraphic Transfer Fee (£20 - £30) + VAT This charge only applies if you have a mortgage to redeem.

Conveyancing quote cost breakdown when buying a property:

The Solicitor's Basic Fee (£300 - £1,200) + VAT If you are buying a leasehold property you can expect to pay an extra £50-£250 because it makes much more work for the conveyancer.

Land Registry Office Copies (£4 - £8) These form part of the pre-completion searches (sometimes called "Priority Searches"). Just before completion, your conveyancing solicitor needs to check that the vendor is still the registered owner of the property you're buying.

Bankruptcy Search (£2 - £4)These also form part of the pre-completion searches. If you're buying with a mortgage, your lender will want confirmation that you haven't recently gone bankrupt.

Local Authority Searches (£100 - £200)

The costs of these vary from Borough to Borough. A good conveyancing quote will get you specify the Borough and give you an exact figure.

Most conveyancing quotes don't do this. They just give you an approximate figure. Look for conveyancing quotes that ask you to provide the postcode of the property you're buying - these are usually more accurate.

Drainage Search (£30 - £40) + VAT This is to check the property has connection to fresh and foul water sewers. The cost does vary a little between water companies.

Chancel Repair Liability Search (£10) + VAT This is to check whether you are liable to pay a contribution to the upkeep of the local parish church.

Environmental Search (£30 - £35) + VAT Checks for evidence of contamination on (and round) the land you're buying. If contamination is found, you could end-up liable for the clean-up costs, even if you didn't cause the contamination. A lot of conveyancing quotes are vague as to whether this is included so check with your conveyancing solicitor before you commit to using them.

Location Specific Local Searches (£40 - £250) + VAT Checks for coal mining, limestone mining, Cheshire bring, China clay mining and tin mining may be required. It's difficult to anticipate these at the time you get you online conveyancing quote so don't expect them to be included. Do however check with your conveyancing firm as soon as possible. As a rough rule of thumb, each additional search should cost no more than £45 - £70.

Land Registration Fee (£40 - £700)This cost depends on the price of the property you're buying. There is a set fee scale and any good conveyancing quote should work this out for you.

Telegraphic Transfer Fee (£20 - £40) + VAT This is a fee charged by your bank. It's to cover the cost of them sending your money to the vendor's conveyancing solicitor.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (% of the property's value) This is the Inland Revenue's slice of the cake. The current tax rates are based on the property price. Your conveyancing quote should automatically workout how much tax you'll have to pay. Some cheeky quotes don't include the stamp duty (and as such can look phenomenally cheap). You will be paying tax, come what may, so make sure you take it in to account.

Hidden Extras in Your Conveyancing Quote

Hidden extras can pop-up under disbursements or worse, in the small print so read you conveyancing quote carefully to avoid any nasty surprises. Thing to lookout for include:

PI Contribution (£30 - £50) + VAT "PI" stands for "Professional Indemnity" and it's a particularly odious little charge. Basically the firm is trying it on and it should already be included as part of the conveyancing solicitor's basic fee! Don't use a firm that tries this trick with you. It's an overhead of their business and they have no right asking you to make a contribution.

Postage, Photocopying & Phone Calls (£5 - £50) + VAT Again, these are overheads of business and have no place in your conveyancing quote. International phone calls & postage maybe, but only if they are fully itemised!?

Conveyancing Quotes - A Final Word

As we've seen, getting conveyancing quotes can be a slippery business. Always check the small print and always calculate the real total price when comparing one quote against another. Often what at first looks like a cheap conveyancing quote can end-up being much more expensive.

Obtain a conveynacing quote from Angels Solicitors for free here http://www.angelssolicitors.com

All our quotes include a full breakdown of costs