Do I need a specialist conveyancing solicitor for Help to Buy?

Yes. Dealing with a government equity loan adds a significant layer of legal complexity to a standard property transaction. Your solicitor must be experienced in dealing directly with the Help to Buy Administrator (Homes England), obtaining the correct 'Authority to Proceed' and 'Authority to Complete', and ensuring all legal undertakings meet strict government deadlines. A standard conveyancer without this specific experience can cause severe delays to your transaction.

Do I need a RICS valuation if I am just transferring equity?

It depends on your goal. If you are simply adding or removing a name from the Help to Buy loan without paying any of it off, Homes England does not require a RICS valuation. However, if you are transferring equity and simultaneously repaying a portion (or all) of the equity loan, you will need to instruct a qualified RICS surveyor to determine the current market value. We have a nationwide panel of RICS surveyors who deliver the Homes England-compliant valuations for repayment of your equity loan.

What is the Homes England administration fee?

Whether you are repaying your loan in full, staircasing, or remortgaging, Homes England charges a mandatory, non-refundable administration fee to process your legal paperwork. For standard Help to Buy schemes, this fee is £200. For older government initiatives, such as FirstBuy or HomeBuy Direct, the administration fee is £250.

Can I use an estate agent's appraisal instead of a RICS surveyor?

No. Homes England will immediately reject standard mortgage valuations, drive-by valuations, or estate agent appraisals. Your property must be physically inspected and valued by a surveyor who is registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) at either MRICS or FRICS level. They must also be completely independent of your estate agent.

What happens if my Help to Buy valuation expires?

Your initial RICS valuation report is strictly valid for 3 months. If your conveyancing process takes longer than this—which is common when dealing with complex chains or remortgages—your solicitor cannot proceed until the valuation is renewed. You will need to contact your original surveyor and pay for a 'Desktop Valuation' to extend the validity period for a further 3 months.

Help to Buy Conveyancing Solicitors

How our Help to Buy solicitors can help you

Dealing with Homes England requires specialist administrative and legal knowledge. Our hand-selected panel of expert, SRA-regulated conveyancing solicitors handles Help to Buy transactions every single day. Because our solicitors are approved and sit on 99% of mortgage lender panels, we can seamlessly manage both your Help to Buy repayment and your new mortgage or sale simultaneously.

We pride ourselves on providing a transparent, fixed-fee service with no hidden extras, so you know exactly what your legal costs will be from day one. Whether you need a local RICS-regulated surveyor to provide your Help to Buy valuation or a specialist solicitor to finalise the complex paperwork, we offer a complete, end-to-end solution to remove the stress from your property transaction.

What Help to Buy Service do we offer?

We offer a complete solution for any Help to Buy service you need, including:

RICS Help to Buy Valuations (Nationwide)
Desktop extensions for expiring valuations.
Help to Buy Repayment: Partial or Full.
Transfer of Equity (without paying off the loan).
Remortgage, whether paying off a loan or not.

Why choose SAM Conveyancing for your Help to Buy transaction?

Removing a government legal charge from your property is not a standard conveyancing task. You need a team that knows the Homes England Administrator portal inside out. Here is why homeowners across England and Wales trust our panel:

100% Fixed Fee Guarantee: Our quotes are completely transparent. The price you are quoted is the price you pay, with no hidden extras.
No Move, No Fee Protection: If your sale or remortgage falls through through no fault of your own, you will not lose your legal fees.
Nationwide Coverage: Our hand-selected panel of SRA-regulated and CQS-accredited solicitors covers all of England and Wales.
Seamless Co-ordination: We can provide both your RICS Help to Buy valuation and your conveyancing solicitor under one roof, saving you time and preventing frustrating delays.

How it works

How our Help to Buy process works

While the exact legal steps differ depending on whether you are selling, staircasing, or redeeming, our overarching process is designed to be as stress-free as possible:

Get your Fixed-Fee Quote: Tell us what you need to achieve, and we will provide an instant, transparent quote for the legal work and your RICS valuation.
Instruct your Team: We will assign you a dedicated, specialist Help to Buy conveyancing solicitor and instruct a local RICS surveyor to inspect your property.
We Handle Homes England: Your solicitor will liaise directly with the Help to Buy Administrator, secure the necessary Authority to Proceed, process the legal deeds, and register the final transaction at HM Land Registry.

Expert Tip: Don't let your valuation expire

The biggest bottleneck we see with Help to Buy transactions is homeowners letting their 3-month RICS valuation expire while waiting for mortgage offers or buyers. Always time your valuation carefully, and ensure you use a surveyor who offers cheap Desktop Valuations just in case your transaction is delayed. Our panel surveyors provide this exact safety net.

Andrew Boast FMAAT

CEO & Managing Director

Help to Buy Conveyancing Solicitors' Fees

The solicitor's fees vary depending on whether you are paying off your Help to Buy loan in full or partially. It often costs more to settle partially.

Help to Buy Repayment Solicitor fees

Our solicitor's fees range depending on if the property is freehold or leasehold. For a freehold under £250,000, our solicitor fee is £393 INC VAT for a partial repayment and £333 INC VAT for a full repayment. Our remortgaging fees start from £347 INC VAT.

We have a hand-selected panel of excellent Help to Buy conveyancing solicitors and RICS Valuers who will meet Help to Buy requirements. Get a quote for all of your Help to Buy repayment needs.

Can I add or remove someone from my Help to Buy property?

Yes, you can, and we can help. You'll want to read our Transfer of Equity article on Help to Buy properties and get a quote below.

If you're looking to transfer equity to a loved one to add them onto the legal title, our fees start from £399 INC VAT.

Get a Quote

Help to Buy Schemes we can help you with

We can help with all of the Help to Buy schemes in the market, including:

Help to Buy Wales

The Welsh Government has extended the Help to Buy scheme until September 2026. This means that buyers in Wales can still benefit from the government's support in purchasing a new-build home.

The Help to Buy Wales scheme has no specific income limit and is open to existing homeowners as well as first-time buyers.
The maximum price for a property purchased through the scheme is £300,000.
You must secure a standard repayment mortgage for the remainder of the purchase price.

Forces Help to Buy

The Forces Help to Buy scheme is a government initiative designed to help military personnel purchase their own home.

Key features of the Forces Help to Buy scheme include:

It allows service personnel to borrow up to 50% of their annual salary to use as a deposit or to cover other moving costs.
This funding is provided as an interest-free salary advance, which is paid back automatically through monthly wage deductions.
The scheme is open to regular and reserve forces personnel, including veterans.

Home Ownership for People with Long-Term Disabilities (HOLD)

This scheme is designed to help individuals with long-term disabilities buy their own home by providing financial support in the form of a shared ownership mortgage.

To be eligible for the HOLD scheme, you typically need to have a long-term disability and be unable to afford a conventional mortgage.

Key features of the HOLD scheme:

You buy a share of your home and pay rent on the remaining share.
As your financial circumstances improve, you can buy additional shares in your home.

Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO)

This is a scheme designed to help older people buy a share of a property, rather than the whole thing outright. This can be particularly beneficial for those who may not have the full deposit for a traditional mortgage or those who want to downsize.

To be eligible for Older People's Shared Ownership, you typically need to be over a certain age (usually 55 or older) and meet specific income and affordability criteria.

Need help with the conveyancing on a buying scheme?

Whether you're military personnel, applying for the HOLD scheme, or you're a retiree in the OPSO scheme, we can help.

Call us on 0333 344 3234 (local call charges apply), email us at help@samconveyancing.co.uk, or click the button below for a free, no-obligation quote.

Get a Quote

Example of Help to Buy Solicitors' Fees

This is an example of conveyancing fees for a redemption of £250,000:

Description	Cost
Help to Buy Solicitor Fee.	£399 INC VAT
Land Registration The Land Registry cost is based on the price of your property.	£20-£140
Local Authority Search Indemnity Some lenders require a new local search which we will inform you about.	£50
Online ID Check ID our solicitor accepts.	£18 INC VAT
Official Copy of Register and Title Plan (per title)	£16
Mortgage Lender Portal Mortgage lenders use online portals for downloading mortgage offers and uploading documents such as the Certificate of Title (CoT). The cost to use the portals varies depending on which portal your mortgage lender uses. LMS Portal - £45 INC VAT for the following lenders: Atom Bank Plc, Barclays Bank Plc, Bluestone, Buckinghamshire Building Society, Chorley Building Society, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, Cynergy, Danske Bank, Darlington Building Society, Dudley Building Society, Hinckley & Rugby Building Society, HSBC Bank Plc, Investec Bank, Leeds Building Society, LiveMore Capital, Marsden Building Society, Melton Building Society, Monmouthshire Building Society, National Westminster Bank Plc, Newcastle Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, Skipton Building Society, TSB Bank Plc, Virgin Money Plc, and West Bromwich Building Society. Lender Exchange Portal - £12 INC VAT for the following lenders: Aldermore, Barclays, Cambridge Building Society, CHL Mortgages, Coventry Building Society/Godiva Mortgages, Cumberland Building Society, Fleet Mortgages, Generation Home, Help to Buy ISA, Lloyds, Market Harborough, Nationwide, Pepper Money, Perenna Bank Plc, Precise Mortgages, Santander, and The Paragon Group. ULS Portal - £12 INC VAT for the following lenders: April Mortgages, Foundation Home Loans, Habito, Hodge Bank, Lendinvest (Third Party Solicitor), Metro Bank, MT Finance, MQUBE/Mpowered, Principality, and Vida Homeloans.	£45 INC VAT
(if leasehold) Official Copy of the Lease	£3
(if leasehold) Notice to freeholder	£TBC

Terms and Conditions apply.

We can also help with a local RICS surveyor (if required)
RICS Help to Buy Valuation Report Our quote is for a Help to Buy-compliant RICS valuer to value your property.	£360 INC VAT

We can also help with a local RICS surveyor (if required)

RICS Help to Buy Valuation Report

Our quote is for a Help to Buy-compliant RICS valuer to value your property.

£360 INC VAT

How long does the Help to Buy conveyancing take?

Selling a Help to Buy property

The process can be completed between 2 to 3 months for a freehold and longer for a leasehold. Transactions involving third parties, such as your buyer and potentially an onward purchase, may take longer to complete.