Online Conveyancing Quotes - The truth behind the low fees

Additional Conveyancing Fees Some Online Quotes Hide

Administration Fee - £40 to £100

A very common fee, this is typically justified as a flat fee to cover postage, photocopying, phone calls etc.

SAM Conveyancing include all administration fees within our online conveyancing quotes.

SDLT Filing (Stamp Duty Land Tax) - £40 to £100

This is one to spot on most online conveyancing quotes for purchases. After you complete your purchase your solicitor will need to file a stamp duty land tax form for you.

SAM Conveyancing include this as standard in all our online conveyancing quotes.

ID or Anti-Money Laundering Check Fee - £5 to £30

Most online conveyancing quotes show this as an additional charge so if you don't see it ask if it is is going to be charged. The online ID fee is a charge to verify your name against your address as part of the 'Know Your Client' procedure conducted by the solicitors.

SAM Conveyancing charge £8 per name for an online ID check and this is shown within our online conveyancing quote.

Contribution to Professional Indemnity Fee - £50 to £75

SAM Conveyancing only use Solicitors with a high level of professional indemnity for your protection.

Some firms attempt to apportion the premium cost as an additional fee.

Professional Indemnity is included as part of the standard online conveyancing quote.

Archiving / File Storage Fee - £15 to £50

Following completion your solicitor will need to hold onto your file documents for a number of years. Some online conveyancing quotes charge extra.

Less than 1 working week between exchange and completion fee

Where completion occurs within 5 working days of exchange, a significant amount of extra work is required by way of additional telephone calls and general chasing as the critical phase of the transaction is compressed into a shorter period of time.

SAM Conveyancing fees do not vary no matter how short the period between exchange and completion.

Corresponding with managing agent fee

In the case of leasehold transactions there will probably be additional correspondence with landlords or managing agents required.

Corresponding with all third parties is part of the standard conveyancing service and included in the SAM Conveyancing fees.

Notice/Deed of Assignment

Leases usually include a covenant by the purchaser to serve a notice on the freeholder of the change of ownership. This is known as a Notice of Assignment and often attracts an additional Conveyancing Fee. The solicitor must ensure that a notice of assignment is served on the landlord or the seller will continue to be invoiced for rent and service charge.

SAM Conveyancing do not add a charge for this work - we will pass on any disbursement costs.

Deed of Cross Covenant for Flying Freehold

A Flying Freehold situation can be complicated and we would urge you to contact us for further information before instructing a conveyancer who is likely to charge conveyancing fees at a more bespoke level for this type of work.

Deed of Postponement/Grant/Variation

This is where the Solicitor has had to amend the lease due to it being defective.

SAM Conveyancing see this as par for the course with leasehold matters and make no additional charge, all we pass on are any costs incurred on your behalf.

Leasehold Supplement Conveyancing Fee

Leasehold sales require the review of additional documentation including the lease, the management pack, freehold title as well as dealing with managing agent and freeholder.

At SAM Conveyancing the 'Leasehold Supplement' is included in our standard Conveyancing Fee and will merely pass on any disbursement costs (always without mark up) incurred on your behalf.

Simultaneous exchange and completion fee

Where exchange and completion happens simultaneously an extra conveyancing fee is sometimes charged. On the day of the simultaneous exchange and completion the highest priority must be given to exchanging on this matter (before all others) to ensure the matter is also completed within the same day.

Proper planning should minimise occurrences of this but if it does SAM Conveyancing do not add a fee for this.

Responding to additional enquiries £50 to £300

This is one of the scariest additional fees to spot on an online conveyancing quote. This fee will be charged per enquiry raised or responded to and when there can be as many as 30 enquiries, this additional fee can cost hundreds of pounds.

SAM Conveyancing does not charge extra solicitors fees for raising additional enquiries.

Obtaining copies of planning permission or building regulation approval (per item) fee - £50 to £85

Obtaining these documents can be a painful process for your conveyancer. It often involves sitting on hold and chasing the local authorities to obtain planning documentation relating to the property.

SAM Conveyancing do not charge a fee for obtaining these documents and any disbursement charged by the local authority is passed straight on to the client without being marked up.

Occupier required to sign supplemental contract (as occupier over 18) - £50 to £85

Any adult (over 18) occupiers (including any children of the registered proprietors) are deemed in law to have a right of occupation. Your buyer will require a guarantee that all adults will be moving out of the property at the point of completion.

There is no further conveyancing fee charged by SAM Conveyancing for this service.

Payment of Service Charge Arrears - £50 to £85

When selling a leasehold property you will be required to settle any service charge and/or ground rent arrears before completing your sale. Your lawyer will be asked to give an Undertaking (a legally binding promise) to pay the outstanding amount at the point of completion. If the apportionment of ground rent or service charge is to be shared between buyer and seller, this will be calculated and agreed between the two solicitors.

SAM Conveyancing include this as part of a standard leasehold service at no extra charge. If your freeholder raises a charge this would be passed on as a disbursement.

Preparing statutory declarations fee - £50 to £85

Sometimes the deeds do not contain a right of way over any road or point of access serving the property meaning that legally the owner does not have right of access to their property.

The buyers lawyer will conduct a search to attempt to establish who is the legal owner of the road. Sometimes it appears not to be owned by anyone which may or may not be the case but in any event will mean that the owner will be nigh on impossible to contact.

In these circumstances it is necessary to obtain a statutory declaration. This is a declaration sworn before a solicitor following the protocol of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. In this process the seller states that he/she has had full use of the road without any contest or objection or without providing payment of any sort.

SAM Conveyancing do not charge additional fees for this.

Purchase Repossession/Purchase Supplement Fee - £50 to £85

Buying a repossessed property is likely to put the buyer under a very strict deadline and this can make the transaction more compressed i.e. the same or higher amount of work will need to be conducted in a lesser amount of time.

SAM Conveyancing do not charge additional fees for Repossessions.

Retention Fee - £50 to £85

Sometimes after completion a retention is held back pending a post completion event, e.g. finalising of freeholder company accounts. In this example it would mean work continuing in chasing and reviewing managing agents end of year accounts until finalised and releasing the retention as appropriate.

SAM Conveyancing do not charge for handling retentions.

Researching and setting up a Title Repair or approving an Indemnity Policy (often charged per policy) - £50 to £85

Finding the right indemnity policy can involve additional work although often less than rectifying the problem.

Either way SAM Conveyancing do not charge extra for this.

Sending you copy Title Deeds following completion - £50 to £85

An additional charge for copying and sending your deeds to you after completion.

SAM Conveyancing do not charge you for this.

TT (Telegraphic Transfer ) Fee (bank transfer fee) - £15 to £40

Every conveyancing transaction requires at least one bank transfer fee so we include 1 free within our standard online conveyancing quote.

Online Conveyancing Quotes With Nothing To Hide

At SAM Conveyancing we provide an online conveyancing quote that is fixed and includes all of the legal work for a standard conveyancing transaction for your specific property.