What are the conveyancing costs in Dorset?
The conveyancing costs are broken into two sections: the fixed fee you pay your solicitor, and the conveyancing disbursements (known as third-party costs). Here is a transparent breakdown of both costs for property transactions in your area.
1. Solicitor Legal Fees
At SAM Conveyancing, our fixed legal fees remain consistent nationwide, regardless of your property's location. We provide a guaranteed fixed fee for standard residential conveyancing based on your property's purchase price, its tenure (freehold or leasehold), and whether your transaction involves a mortgage or utilises affordable housing schemes such as shared ownership. Below are the current fixed conveyancing fees for a standard freehold valued at £250,000.
- Sale or Purchase: £748 INC VAT INC VAT (plus an additional £60 INC VAT if purchasing with a mortgage).
- Transfer of Equity: £399 INC VAT INC VAT
- Help to Buy Loan Repayment: £333 INC VAT INC VAT
- Shared Ownership Staircasing: £748 INC VAT INC VAT
- Remortgage: £399 INC VAT INC VAT
- Lease Extension: £720 INC VAT INC VAT
2. Conveyancing Disbursements (Third-Party Costs)
Disbursements are fixed third-party fees paid to external bodies (like local councils and HM Land Registry) to complete your legal paperwork. These costs shouldn't vary too much from solicitor to solicitor.
- Property Purchase Tax (SDLT / LTT): Calculated dynamically based on your purchase price, your buyer status (such as a first-time buyer), and whether the property is located in England or Wales.
- HM Land Registry Fee: Ranges from £20.00 to £1,105.00, scale-calculated dynamically based on your property’s purchase price and whether it is an existing registered property or a new build.
- Conveyancing Search Bundle: £325 INC VAT (Includes Local Authority, Water & Drainage & Environmental)
- Online ID Fee: Ranges from £15 to £48 and avoids having to send personal documents in the post or visit our office in order to prove your ID.
- Mortgage Portal Fee: The cost to download your mortgage offer and communicate with your lender. It is £12 if your mortgage lender uses the Lender Exchange portal, or £45 INC VAT if they use the LMS Portal.
Conveyancing search costs and turnaround for Dorset
Search Provider | Cost | Turnaround Time |
|---|---|---|
Search Provider Dorset County council This is the local authority search, which is mandatory if you are obtaining a mortgage. | Cost £180.00 INC any VAT | Turnaround Time 10 to 15 Working Days |
Search Provider Wessex Water This is the Water & Drainage Search, which is mandatory if you are obtaining a mortgage. | Cost £83.40 INC VAT | Turnaround Time 1 to 3 working days |
Dorset Specific Searches |
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Why choose SAM Conveyancing Solicitors in Dorset?
We are a hand-selected panel of SRA-regulated solicitors who deliver to you the high standards we expect, and you'll have a member of the SAM team to guide you through the process from start to finish. Just 1 person you know by name can email or call directly and get your question answered on the same day (normally instantly).
Doing it our way, we've helped over 56,000 clients and gained all the experience from the different transactions. From pressurising agents to complex legal enquiries, and even overcoming issues with your mortgage lender. Our strap line is Property Challenges Solved because that is simply what we do, day in, day out.
Get in contact today and see from the very first call why we are the best conveyancing solicitors for a property transaction in Dorset.
Expert Tip: Check your drainage and water search
Many properties on the outskirts of Dorset rely on private drainage rather than mains sewerage. Your conveyancer must legally verify that any septic tank or cesspit strictly complies with the Environment Agency's General Binding Rules, or Dorset County council could enforce immediate, costly replacement orders.
You can find this information in your Drainage and Water search and the seller's property information forms.
Partner & Conveyancing Solicitor
We're first-time-buyer friendly
86% of our purchase clients are First-Time Buyers, so we are hyper-attuned to what you need when buying your first home.
- We take the time to explain the process
- We offer tips on timescales
- We keep it real, never overpromising
Islamic finance solicitors
Specialists in Sharia-compliant conveyancing for Islamic mortgages.
- Can review, advise and negotiate with all Sharia Mortgage Lenders.
- Terms of the contract fully explained with confirmation of Sharia compliance and UK legal compliance.
- We can help with Ijara (Lease), Diminishing Musharaka (Reducing Partnership), and Murabaha (Cost-Plus Financing).
New build solicitors
Our conveyancing solicitors are skilled with new-build purchases to help you navigate the transaction.
- Fixed Fees
- Your conveyancing deposit will be protected by our no sale, no fee policy.
- Independent advice, not developer-led.
Our Conveyancing Services
We can help with all of your conveyancing needs; simple to complex, and always affordable.
- Purchase
- Sale
- Transfer
- Remortgage
- Help to Buy Repayment
- Help to Buy Sale or Transfer
- Auction Sale or Purchase
- Shared Ownership Sale & Purchase
- Shared Ownership Staircasing
- Lease Extension
- Purchase of Freehold
- New Builds & Off-plan Purchases
- First Time Buyers
- Second Homes
- Buy to Let landlords
Fixed quote for our legal costs plus a budget-friendly breakdown of third-party disbursements.
Your sale or purchase is protected by our no sale, no fee guarantee.
Our panel solicitors are pre-approved to work with 99% of mortgage lenders in England & Wales.
Panel solicitors accredited by the Conveyancing Quality Scheme; regulated by the SRA.
Residential Conveyancing Solicitors in and around Dorset
Our Dorset conveyancing solicitors can help you with your conveyance locally or in any of the surrounding areas, including Salisbury, Brockenhurst, Lymington, Warminster, Frome, Barnet and Crewkerne.
We have many offices throughout England and Wales, so you can find a solicitor near you.
- Main St, Chideock, Dorset, DT6 6JW
- 41a Jumpers Road, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 2AR
- 60a Talbot Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH9 2JG
- 5 Tresillan Way, Walkford, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 5QP
- 4 New Road, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8QH
- Coningsby Place (apartment) – Poundbury, Dorset DT1.
Marketed by ZeroC Poundbury.
Dorset Property Prices
Average property price in Dorset Source: UK House Price Index lasted updated on 26/06/2026 | £403,951 |
What is the population of Dorset: Source: Office for National Statistics lasted updated in the 2021 Cencus | 759,800 (2014) |
Thinking of moving to Dorset?
Dorset, which is also known by the name of Dorsetshire, is a mainly rural county located in the south-west of England on the English Channel coast. It has many seaside resorts, of which Bournemouth is probably the most famous. The ceremonial county comprises the non-metropolitan county, which is governed by Dorset County Council, and the unitary authority areas of Poole and Bournemouth.
Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester, which is in the south. Bournemouth has a much larger population than Dorchester. The Sandbanks area of Bournemouth is extremely affluent and land values there are some of the highest in the UK. Poole Harbour is the largest natural harbour in Britain and was formed during the ice ages.
Blandford Community Hospital, Milldown Road, Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 7DD
Dorset County Hospital, Williams Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 2JY
Wareham Community Hospital, Streche Road, Wareham, Dorset, BH20 4QQ
There are no motorways in Dorset, but there are trunk roads such as the A35, A37 and A31. Bournemouth has an international airport.
Bournemouth is the main transport hub; its railway station offers direct services to London and other major urban destinations.
Distance to Airports from Dorset (Dorchester)
| Airport | miles by car |
| Bournemouth | 30.8 miles |
| Exeter | 50.2 miles |
| Bristol | 59.2 miles |
Milton Abbey School, Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 0BZ
The Blandford School, Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 7SQ
The Grange School, Redvers Rd, Christchurch BH23 3AU
Local conveyancing solicitor
Are local, licensed conveyancing solicitors near me more expensive?
Buyers and sellers alike often start the process by searching online for conveyancing solicitors in Dorset. But, can you find a better service, when you widen the search?
With advanced online security, you are no longer restricted to having to work with a licenced conveyancer near you. Often, an online conveyancing solicitor who specialises in property transactions will be preferable to a local one.
Affordable Housing Schemes
Several affordable housing schemes in Dorset help make buying a property more achievable. The work is more complex, and we have specialist conveyancing solicitors to handle the following:
- Shared Ownership Solicitors
- Right to Buy Solicitors - speak to Dorset County council to find out if you are eligible
- Discount Market Sale - check with Dorset County council if they are running a DMS scheme
Dorset conveyancing solicitors
You can rest assured that you're in good hands with us. We hand select our panel for skill and experience, from a simple purchase to complex transactions with specialist ownership structures and deeds of trust.
Are you buying or selling a short lease in Dorset?
If there are 80 years or less on the leasehold, it will be harder to mortgage. Whether you're buying or selling, consider extending the lease, which may be done before, during, or in some cases after the transaction.
Our specialist leasehold conveyancing solicitors have vast experience handling the extension of a short lease for buyers and sellers. Speak to a SAM advisor for inclusive, fixed-fee, conveyancing quotes for leasehold conveyancing or share of freehold conveyancing today. Property Challenges Solved.
Look no further for your residential conveyancing solicitor in Dorset
Whatever your property challenge, we can solve it.
Selling a property
Your expert conveyancing solicitor's role when selling a property will include:
- Draft contracts – Your conveyancing solicitor drafts the initial legal contract to be sent to the buyer's solicitor.
- Responding to enquiries – your solicitor responds to any questions the buyer's solicitor may have (this is where you'll find out if you are missing documents, which can cause delays to your sale).
- Investigating issues – your solicitor may need to complete further investigation to try and satisfy them.
- Exchange contracts – once the buyer's solicitor has satisfied their enquiries, contracts are finalised and exchanged.
- On the day of completion – your solicitor receives the money for the sale, discharges the mortgage (if required), pays the estate agent, deducts their fee and then sends the net sale proceeds to you.
- Post completion – your solicitor receives the DS1 discharge documents and, when leasehold, settles your liabilities for ground rent and service charges.
Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for selling a property starts from £748 INC VAT.
Buying a home
- Draft contracts – Your solicitor reviews the draft contract sent by the seller's solicitor.
- Raising enquiries – your solicitor will ask the seller's solicitor questions based on the contract, title, and property documents to protect you from any nasty surprises.
- Exchange contracts – once your solicitor is satisfied with their enquiries, they agree with the seller to finalise and exchange contracts
- Day of completion – on the day of completion, your solicitor transfers the money for the sale.
- Post completion – following completion, your solicitor makes an application to HM Land Registry to register you as the new owner.
Our Dorset conveyancing solicitors' cost for buying a property starts from £748 INC VAT.
Add or remove someone from a property title
With a Transfer of Equity, you can buy someone out of a shared property and remove them from the title, or add someone to the title to transfer ownership of a share of the property, making them a joint owner. This service includes:
- Property solicitors' fees, including ID checks, office copies
- HM Land Registration fees
- (if party being removed) ID1 Form verification fee
- (if mortgage) Change of mortgage fee
- (if leasehold) Notice fee to freeholder
Our Dorset conveyancing solicitors' cost for a Transfer of Equity starts at £399 INC VAT.
If someone is giving up their share of the property for less than market value, they may be required to get independent legal advice, which will be an additional expense.
Switch your mortgage deal in Dorset
Your remortgage solicitor will perform all the necessary checks, review your new mortgage offer, and update HM Land Registry post-completion. The process is similar to when you purchase but should take less time, as the solicitor doesn't need to raise any legal enquiries.
If you own a leasehold property, your solicitor must carry out extra work to investigate the lease terms. Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for a remortgage in Dorset starts at £399 INC VAT.
Purchase the next chunk of your equity
When you're ready to buy the next chunk of the equity in your shared ownership property, a conveyancer will be required to handle:
- The bank transfer;
- obtaining a mortgage redemption statement from your existing lender;
- receiving your new mortgage offer and confirming the lender terms;
- receiving the memorandum of staircasing;
- handling completion;
- filing SDLT form (if required); and
- registration at the Land Registry.
Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for shared ownership staircasing in Dorset starts at £823 INC VAT.
If you need to add someone to the legal title, you will need to pay an additional fee for a transfer of equity.
Paying off your Help to Buy equity loan
You'll need a solicitor to:
- Receive redemption letter;
- review title for ownership and restrictions;
- obtain Authority to Complete;
- draft a deed of postponement for your current lender;
- handling completion;
- bank transfer; and
- if repaid in full, removal of the loan restriction at the Land Registry.
Our conveyancing solicitors' cost for Help to Buy loan redemption in Dorset starts at £333 INC VAT.
Price based on a freehold with the loan being repaid in full using savings.
Conveyancing FAQs
What are the conveyancing costs?
Fees vary between online conveyancing solicitors, high street conveyancers or housing solicitors introduced by your estate agent.
The actual conveyancing costs, outside of the legal work, should be fixed, including:
For buyers: stamp duty, land registration, property searches, ID searches and leasehold charges (if buying a leasehold property).
For sellers: office copies, title plan and management information (if selling a leasehold property).
Make sure to budget for all of the above conveyancing costs and to get a fixed fee conveyancing quote from several firms, to compare value.
Making the right choice of solicitor is key to the whole process:
- Cheap Conveyancing
- Fast Conveyancing
- Best Conveyancing Service
Why should you double check your solicitors' bank account details?
Cybercrime is on the rise generally, and criminals often actively target the conveyancing sector because of the transfers of comparatively large sums of money associated with it.
A particular scam you should be aware of, because there have been several victims, runs like this. Hackers attack a law firm's IT systems to get details of home purchasing clients at the point of completion.
The hackers then send emails which look like authentic ones from the law firm and give a bogus bank account which they request the client pay their completion money into. There have been cases where people have lost more than £70,000 in this way.
The simplest way to protect yourself is never to make a transfer of funds if you receive a suspicious email or phone call telling you that your solicitor's bank details have changed.
Find out more about how to protect yourself from conveyancing cybercrime
