Solicitors Fees for Buying a House Calculator
When you are planning on moving home there are many factors to keep in mind when trying to calculate the cost of moving. Removal costs, estate agents’ fees and, of course, the legal fees associated with moving house.
Our calculator quickly compares quotes for solicitors fees for buying a house giving you all the information necessary to choose a solicitor within your budget.
In this page and article about solicitors fees for buying a property in the UK, we will cover the following topics:
- How much are solicitors fees for buying a property?
- When do I pay solicitors fees when buying a house?
- Different things that can affect a solicitors fees when buying a house or property in the UK
- Conveyancing Disbursements on solicitors fees for buying a house or property
- Common charges detailed in a conveyancing quote for solicitors fees for buying
- Average Solicitors Fees for Buying a House or Property
How much are Solicitors Fees for Buying a Property?
A solicitor or licenced conveyancer is required to take care of all the legal work associated with buying and selling a house. Solicitors fees for buying a property these days are usually provided as a fixed cost or fixed fee quotation based on the type of property you are looking to buy. Our Conveyancing Calculator allows easy comparison of the legal fees associated with purchasing a home.
The fixed cost will vary depending on they type of property you are purchasing (house, flat or apartment), the tenure of the property (freehold or leasehold) the value of property and whether any of the UK Government schemes are being utilised to aid the property purchase (things such as Help To Buy Schemes, Help To Buy ISA's, Shared Ownership Schemes and even local council Right To Buy schemes).
With the answers to these questions in hand, our conveyancing fees calculator, can provide you with an instant quotation and provide you with an exact answer on how much solicitors fees are to buy a house, flat or apartment in 2020.
When do I pay solicitors fees when buying a house?
Quite often you are expected to pay a portion of the conveyancing fees upfront and to open your conveyancing file with your chosen conveyancing firm. This upfront payment is usually used to cover conveyancing disbursements and property searches required when buying, seling or remortgaging a propety. The remaining conveyancing fees balance, is then payable upon completion (which will also include stamp duty where this is applicable). There may also be additional fees due during the process, however, this will vary depending on the solicitor you have instructed and sometimes the lender you have chosen when taking a mortgage to purchase or remortgage a propety.
Buying a house can be a complicated process, particularly if you are not used to the various aspects that are required before you are able to complete. One of the most important aspects, and one that many people can not do without, is hiring a conveyancing solicitor.
Conveyancing solicitors have the responsibility of ensuring that the purchase (or sale) of your property is legal. They ensure that all the necessary due diligence on the property you are purchasing has been carried out which may include local authority searches, flood searches, environmental searches any planning issues and much more besides. The conveyancing solicitor acts on your behalf paying the respective fees to those carrying out the searches.
The conveyancing solicitor also speaks with your bank or mortgage lender to ensure funds are released at the appropriate time. The fees you pay your solicitor are for their time in processing all of the aforementioned details and a good solicitor will make sure that you are kept up to date every step of the way during the buying process.
The way in which your solicitor charges you will vary from solicitor to solicitor which is why it is important to look at each of their terms when you compare conveyancing fees. Some solicitors have fixed fees for their services whilst others take a more flexible approach.
Choosing the right conveyancing solicitor can be the difference between a smooth buying process and one that is potentially fraught with difficulties. Our conveyancing comparison tool is designed to provide you with quotes from our database of highly recommended conveyancing solicitors. Once you have gathered a sufficient number of quotes you are then free to make a decision based on the final costs and any other information you can find on the solicitors in questions such as reviews.
Compare Conveyancing Solicitors Fees for Buying a House
We have provided some useful information for you to use when comparing solicitors fees to buy a house or purchase a property in the UK.
Different things that can affect Solicitors Fees for Buying a House or Property in the UK
During the 1980's, solicitors fees for buying a property were usually calculated as a percentage of the property purchase price. During the 1990's things began to change within the residential conveyancing market and competition between law firms began to heat up. The introduction of a fixed cost model by some firms began to shake up the industry and drive down conveyancing costs for consumers. Nowadays, most firms work on a fixed fee model. Essentially they will perform the legal conveyancing for your property purchase or house buy for a fixed legal cost.
Most fixed fee models are tiered by many solicitors and are usually based on the following things:
- Property Purchase Price - Quite often, the price of the property you are purchasing, will reflect the price of the base legal fees charged by a solicitor to assist you in the purchase of your new property or house.
- Property Tenure - Freehold OR Leasehold. Usually if a solicitor is helping you purchase a flat / apartment, this is often purchased under a leasehold agreement. These usually involve a lot more work for you solicitor and as such, many will charge a supplement to deal with this additional work on your behalf. Most houses are bought on a freehold basis and do not often incur any additional fees based on this property tenure.
- Property Location - If the property you are buying is located in an area known for flooding, mining or environmental hazards, then quite often your solicitor will have to conduct additional land searches on your behalf to ensure the property you are looking to buy is safe, but also to make you aware of any environmental risks or land advisary notices surrounding the property. Additional search requirements are usually flagged when a solicitor orders a conveyancing search pack for your property.
- Purchase Schemes - If you are thinking of utilising a Governement Help to Buy Scheme, ISA, Right to Buy Scheme or Shared Ownership Scheme to buy a house or flat, then your solicitor that is assisting you buy the property, will usually charge additional fees for the additional paperwork and time they have to spend dealing with other parties involved in the transaction, on your behalf. Usually they have to deal with lenders, developers, councils and the UK Government when the property you are buying involves any of these purchase schemes.
Conveyancing Disbursements on Solicitors Fees for Buying a House or Property
Your solicitor will often have to deal with third parties on your behalf to make sure that your property is legally purchased, completed and registered in the relevant names with the relevant authorities. This often results in additional charges on top of the base legal fee. These additional charges are known as "Conveyancing Disbursements" and need to be paid to your chosen conveyancing solicitor, so that they can then pay these fees on your behalf. Typical solicitor conveyancing disbursements when purchasing a property include:
Common Charges Detailed in a Conveyancing Quote for Solicitors Fees for Buying
Here are the typical additional fees and disbursements you may see listed on a conveyancing quote to purchase a house / property direct from your solicitor or conveyancer.
Telegraphic Transfer Fee / TT Fee
This is a fee charged by the lender to cover the cost of sending the money used to purchase the property, over to the seller’s conveyancer or solicitor. These can vary between solicitors and are usually charged per transfer of money.
Bankruptcy Searches
These are background searches carried out on any individual that is involved in the purchase of the property, to check that nobody involved has ever been declared bankrupt or has any existing CCJ's or adverse credit that should be known by your lender or solicitor.
ID Checks OR AML Checks (Anti Money Laundering)
ID Checks or AML Checks as they are sometimes referred to, are checks carried out by your solicitor to confirm the identity of everyone involved in your property purchase. With UK Government and international Anti Money Laundering regulations, solicitors and conveyancers need to be sure of everyone they are working with to purchase the property and to obtain the background and source of any funds being used to purchase the house or property.
Land Registry Fees
These are fees payable to the HM Land Registry to officially register your property in the names of the people purchasing or buying the property, as well as any details on the mortgage lender that may hold the title deeds to the property.
Conveyancing Search Pack / Property Searches
When you buy a property, various land, environment, water and drainage searches are carried out on the property to establish that there is nothing defective surrounding the property or any issues that would affect the property. The solicitor that you select to help with your purchase, will analyse these searches and flag any potential risks or advisaries to you, so that you can make an informed decision on whether you wish to proceed with buying your house or property. Prices can vary on property searches as some are official searches and others are local or regulated searches.
Conveyancing Search Packs should be typically priced from £199 - £350 including VAT.
Average Solicitors Fees for Buying a House, Flat or Property in the UK
These are the average conveyancing fees for buying a property calculated directly from our own network of solicitors and licensed conveyancers for 2018, 2019 and into 2020.
| Purchase Price (£) | Legal Fee | Disbursements, Land Registry & Other Fees | VAT | Total (£) | Stamp Duty (SDLT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £100,000 | 450.00 | 260.00 | 130.00 | £840.00 | 0.00 |
| £150,000 | 480.00 | 280.00 | 135.00 | £895.00 | 500.00 |
| £200,000 | 520.00 | 300.00 | 145.00 | £965.00 | 1,500.00 |
| £250,000 | 530.00 | 340.00 | 150.00 | £1,020.00 | 2,500.00 |
| £300,000 | 550.00 | 350.00 | 155.00 | £1,055.00 | 5,000.00 |
| £350,000 | 585.00 | 365.00 | 160.00 | £1,100.00 | 7,500.00 |
| £400,000 | 615.00 | 375.00 | 170.00 | £1,160.00 | 10,000.00 |
| £500,000 | 620.00 | 380.00 | 170.00 | £1,170.00 | 15,000.00 |
| £600,000 | 660.00 | 500.00 | 180.00 | £1,340.00 | 20,000.00 |
| £750,000 | 750.00 | 500.00 | 185.00 | £1,435.00 | 27,500.00 |
| £900,000 | 780.00 | 500.00 | 190.00 | £1,470.00 | 35,000.00 |
| £1,000,000 | 800.00 | 520.00 | 200.00 | £1,520.00 | 43,750.00 |
