Solicitors Fees For Selling a House

The average conveyancing fees for buying and selling a house in the UK are £2,434, including disbursements (Home Owners Alliance). The fees will vary depending on the price and whether the transaction requires additional work. For example, selling a leasehold property will require additional legal work to get over the line.

Selling your house is an exciting time, but it can also come with stress. To help ease that stress, we break down the solicitor's fees for selling a house, plus the additional costs you’ll need to be ready for.

How much are solicitors' fees to sell a house?

Solicitors' fees when selling a property depend on whether it's a leasehold or freehold, has a mortgage, and its value—the average solicitors' fees for selling a property range from around £1,000 to £2,500(Zoopla). Our sale conveyancing starts at £723 INC VAT.

The fees will be lower when selling a house than if you’re buying. If you’re doing both, however, it’s typically best to use the same solicitor. With the same solicitor, you’ll only pay for certain things once. The average conveyancing fees for buying a property range from £800 to as high as £2,000 depending on the property.

What is included in solicitors' fees for selling a house?

• Main solicitor fee

• Mortgage Fee

• Leasehold Fee

• eLodgement Fee

• Archive Fee

• Indemnity Policy Fee

• File set up Fee

• Bank Transfer Fee (TT/Telegraphic Transfer/CHAPS)

• Online portal Fee

And we include your disbursements

• Land Registry Fee

• No Sale No Fee Cover

• Lawyer Checker Fee

• ID Verification Fee (per name)

• Land Registry Search (Priority Search)

• Land Registry Search (Bankruptcy Search)

Some sellers will need specific additional services which are not standard to a typical sale. Our additional fees are fixed too, and we'll discuss any that apply based on the information you've provided us.

We'll add the ones you choose to your total quote, so you get a totally transparent breakdown of costs before we begin.

What is the average cost of conveyancing fees UK?

The average UK conveyancing fees for buying and selling are £2,434, including disbursements. The price difference depends on the property's price. A house worth £500,000 is going to cost more in legal fees than a house worth £100,000. There are several ways in which your sale conveyancing could involve additional legal work and be more expensive if:

• You have a mortgage.
• You're selling a leasehold or a share of a freehold.
• You have a Help to Buy loan that must be repaid at the start of the sale.
• It's a shared ownership property.
• You're selling the property via an auction.

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Is a conveyancer cheaper than a solicitor?

A conveyancer is cheaper than a solicitor because they do not have the solicitor qualification that attracts a higher salary. A solicitor's salary will be more expensive than a conveyancer's, which is why they will charge more to handle the legal work for your sale.

Conveyancers, who may be qualified under another regulator such as ILEX or CLC, will be cheaper than a solicitor. However, this doesn't mean that a solicitor is better than a conveyancer. A conveyancer will specialise in handling property transactions of a certain type, so it would be beneficial to work with them for a more competitive legal fee.

What do you pay for when you sell a house?

Several costs will need to be considered when selling a house. These costs will vary based on the sale value, the location of the home, and the estate agent you choose. Additionally, unless you plan to do the removal process yourself, removal fees will be added to the costs of selling a house. The full list includes:

Conveyancing fees (£1,000 to £2,500)

The conveyancing fees will range from £1,000 to £2,500. The price difference will depend on the property price itself. The higher the property value, the higher the conveyancing fees will be. The fees will also differ when choosing between a conveyancer and a solicitor.

Estate agent fees (1-3% of property sale price)

Estate agents will charge between 1% to 3% of the property's sale value. For example, if you sell your property for £200,000, the estate agents will charge between £2,000 and £6,000.

Removal fees (£420 to £1800)

The removal costs will vary depending on the size of the property and how far apart the old house and the new house are. The bigger the property, the longer it will take the removal company to move you.

Energy Performance Certificate (£60 to £120)

All houses are required to have an Energy Performance Certificate before you can sell your home. An EPC rating will inform the buyer about the energy consumption of your house. This will come in handy when trying to figure out if the property will have high energy bills. Failure to have an EPC rating could result in fines up to £5,000.

Potential additional non-conveyancing costs

These are the additional non-conveyancing costs that could come with selling your property:

Maintenance

Cleaning, decorating, and basic repairs to the property will help with the sale price. The additional costs will depend on the maintenance required.

Capital gains tax

If you are not exempt, the cost will depend on your earnings. If you're a basic rate income tax payer, the CGT rate will be 18%. If you're a higher rate income tax payer, the rate increases to 24%. These rates are only chargeable on the profits.

Early repayment charge

Exiting your mortgage before the end of the early repayment period will result in a charge. This charge is normally 1-5% excluding VAT.

Mortgage exit fee

If your property is mortgaged, your lender could implement an exit fee typically ranging from £50 to £300, excluding VAT.