Conveyancing Fees Calculator.
Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership from one owner to another. The process is carried out by a conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer.
Conveyancing fees are the legal fees paid to a solicitor or conveyancer by a home buyer or seller.
When budgeting for a home move, calculating how much your conveyancing will cost can be complicated.
In addition to the legal fees, there are also various disbursements to consider.
What is the difference between fees and disbursements?
Fees
Conveyancing legal fees are paid to your solicitor or licensed conveyancer for completing the legal work for your sale, purchase, remortgage or transfer of equity.
Disbursements
Disbursements are third-party costs incurred by the solicitor on the client's behalf. Except for property searches, disbursements should be fixed and should not vary from firm to firm.
Examples of disbursements include Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), HM Land Registry (HMLR) registration fees, and local authority searches.
Accounting for hidden fees when calculating conveyancing costs
A recent article in Estate Agent Today revealed that:
"58 percent of respondents in the survey said they were ‘stung’ by higher than expected conveyancing costs of between £1,000 and £4,000".
Home buyers and sellers are often shocked to get a conveyancing invoice that is considerably more than the initial quote. Many solicitors charge extra for ‘additional work’ that should be included as part of a standard conveyancing transaction.
For example, some solicitors charge an extra fee of up to £150 for completing the Stamp Duty Land Tax Return. This form must be completed on every home purchase and should, therefore, be included in the initial quote.
Another example would be a fee charged for obtaining leasehold management information. Since the property’s tenure will be known from the outset and this information will always be required, it should not be charged as an additional or unforeseeable fee.
To accurately calculate what your conveyancing fees will be, you will need to carefully read the terms and conditions that accompany the quote.
Calculating your conveyancing fees
No two conveyancing transactions are the same.
A freehold sale to a cash buyer, for example, requires far less legal work than the purchase of a leasehold flat that is being financed with a mortgage.
Most solicitors will calculate the conveyancing fees with reference to the property’s:
- sale/purchase price
- tenure (freehold or leasehold)
- financing (if there is a mortgage)
Other factors can further complicate the process, however. If the property is a buy-to-let investment purchase, buy-to-let, Help to Buy, Right to Buy, shared ownership or new build, there will be additional legal work to complete.
Complexities can also arise during the conveyancing process that cannot always be predicted at the point of obtaining a quote.
There is also a significant disparity between the level of fees charged by different firms.
Is price any guarantee of quality of service?
Some “high street” solicitors will quote what appear to be excessively high fees simply because, in their local area, that’s what people are willing to pay. The service offered by a high-priced firm may be identical to that offered by a firm quoting much cheaper fees.
To make things even more complicated, the conveyancing fees quoted by some firms may only seem cheaper, based on a misleadingly-low headline fee. The quoted conveyancing fee may not include everything that, according to SRA guidance and regulations, should be included in a standard conveyancing quote.
You can avoid these pitfalls by checking the small print for hidden fees (see below) before you instruct a solicitor.
4.8 out of 5
When we factored in eveything that was included - this was the best quote we could find
Calculating conveyancing fees for your purchase
To calculate the conveyancing fees for a property purchase, your solicitor will need to quote you for the legal work for your purchase and completing the SDLT return.
Fees will also need to be calculated for any additional work required if you are obtaining a mortgage, or buying a property that is leasehold, shared ownership, buy-to-let, Help to Buy or Right to Buy.
Your solicitor will also need to calculate the disbursement costs of Stamp Duty, local authority searches, HMLR Registration fees and so on.
Calculating conveyancing fees for your sale
To calculate the conveyancing fees for the sale of your home, your solicitor will need to quote you for the legal work for the sale, and any additional work involved in redeeming a mortgage or handling the complexities of leasehold.
Your solicitor will also need to calculate the disbursement costs of obtaining leasehold management information and other documents such as HMLR office copies and planning documents.
Calculating conveyancing fees for your remortgage
To calculate the conveyancing fees for your remortgage, your solicitor will need to quote you for the legal work involved in the remortgage.
The solicitor will also need to calculate a fee for acting for your mortgage lender (the solicitor will need to be on your lender's approved solicitor panel).
Your solicitor will also need to calculate the disbursement costs of obtaining bankruptcy searches, indemnity policies or search fees, priority searches, TT fees and so on.
Fixed conveyancing fees
At Completely Moved, we believe that the price you are quoted is the price you should pay when you move.
Our conveyancing fees are fixed and all-inclusive for a standard conveyancing transaction.
