Your true legal costs are the costs payable to your lawyer for their work on your behalf. These are usually based on the value of the property involved and you should be able to be told this cost before you decide which law firm to use. Be careful of conveyancing services that promote a low initial cost but add in lots of hidden extras in their small print in order to bump the final cost up.
Understanding the costs
When you move home, it can be confusing to talk of ‘legal costs’. Below we separate out some of the common costs to help you understand better what’s involved. There are two main types of cost – legal costs payable to your lawyer and costs payable to others (called ‘disbursements’) that your lawyer will handle on your behalf.
These are charges for checks about the property and the surrounding land. In each case there is a fee payable to the company providing the search which your lawyer usually pays on your behalf and then reclaims in their bill to you. An examples of a search is a local authority search (a search which looks to see if there are plans which might affect your property eg building a new road or a new housing development close by). Other common searches include a water authority and drainage search (which looks at details about the mains water supply and sewage removal) and an environmental search (which looks at past uses of the land the property is on to check for risk of contamination). Part of the skill of your conveyancing lawyer will be to advise which searches you are best to pay to be done.
This is a tax payable to HMRC on any house purchase. Because law firms often deal with this on your behalf it is sometimes included as part of the quote for conveyancing. The current stamp duty amounts are as follows:
You’ll pay:
- Nothing on the first £125,000 of the property price
- 2% on the next £125,000
- 5% on the next £675,000
- 10% on the next £575,000
- 12% on the rest (above £1.5 million)
There are other fees which you should be told about by your conveyancing lawyer, for example the land registry charge a fee to update their records of who owns a property (if you’re buying) or to produce a copy of their records to prove your own a property (if you’re selling). Another common cost is a charge that has to be paid for dealing with mortgage companies. Again – all these costs should be set-out and explained by your chosen lawyers upfront.
Your local legal experts
Why QualitySolicitors?
QualitySolicitors is the largest network of law firms in the UK, with local law firms spanning the whole of England and Wales and customer service at the heart of everything we do.
We are dedicated to providing the highest quality legal advice and expertise for our clients, but in a way that’s far friendlier, more accessible and clear-talking than you might expect from a law firm.
With us, you’ll always find our lawyers are friendly and approachable. That’s why we promise you that as our client, you will always be given the direct phone and email details of your lawyer – making it easy to get in touch.
Find out moreHave you ever wanted to just ask a lawyer if they can help you, without worrying about what it may cost to contact them? If so, call QualitySolicitors and together we can work out what your next steps might be... in confidence, at no cost and with no obligation. At QualitySolicitors, our Free Initial Assessment promise puts you directly in touch with a local law firm who will happily talk to you for free to clarify how they can help you.
Find out moreUsing a solicitor doesn’t have to involve any unexpected costs. We promise to confirm the full costs you can expect before we begin any work and keep you informed throughout. And we won’t start any work until we know you’re happy with our estimate.
Find out moreNeed a lawyer who’ll get in touch when they say they will and not leave you in the dark? Good news – we promise to you, our clients - call or email us by 3pm, Monday to Friday and you’ll hear back from us the very same day. And if we can’t give you a full response straight away because your question needs further investigation, we’ll always let you know and give you details of exactly when we’ll next be in touch.
Find out moreQualitySolicitors law firms know that when you need to meet with a solicitor, finding time during office hours can prove impractical. So we thought we’d help by offering flexible opening hours; simple!
Find out more