What Are Solicitor Fees for Selling a House in Central London? 

If you are considering selling a house in central London, one of the important considerations is the cost of solicitors’ fees.

As solicitors’ fees can be a percentage of the sale price, it is particularly important to review your options when you are selling a high value property in central London areas such as Mayfair or Holland Park. 

How do I choose a conveyancing solicitor?

From a buyer’s perspective, when you choose a solicitor, you don’t want to take any risks when you are about to purchase a property. Central London has a diverse range of property types, including historical buildings, which may require comprehensive conveyancing surveys. While the plush, historical property you have your eye on may look like your dream home, if there are underlying issues, your new home could eventually turn into a nightmare.

This is where the value of expert solicitors is proven. When you choose a professional and experienced solicitor, there is less chance of unexpected and expensive problems arising, as they will ensure extensive surveys are completed to identify any potential issues.

While there is usually more legal work involved in the buying process, it is equally important that you choose a high-quality solicitor for the sale of a property.

This article explains the different types of solicitors’ fees and answers some of the key questions you may have about their services. While it is not a legal requirement to use a solicitor to sell your house, it is highly recommended that you do if you are not a legal expert yourself.

What is the difference between a solicitor and conveyancer?

A conveyancer specialises solely in property law, while a solicitor has wider legal expertise. A conveyancer can usually handle most of the legal work involved in property transfers, but if there are more complex legal issues such as boundary disputes or unresolved planning permissions, then a solicitor may be required.

The other key difference is that solicitors usually have higher fees for their advanced legal expertise compared to conveyancers.

What will your solicitor do in the sales process?

Before you choose a solicitor to help sell your home, you should evaluate what level of services you will receive for the fees they charge. Your solicitor will provide the following services during the sales process:

• Initial consultation to outline the steps.
• Create the draft contract for sale and handle any enquiries regarding the contract.
• Work with the mortgage lender and buyer’s solicitor to progress the sale.
• Complete property information forms and leasehold information forms.
• Undertake ‘searches’ using the Land Registry.
• Draft and review legal documents including the exchange of contracts.
• Respond to the buyer’s conveyancer regarding survey and search results.
• Transfer of all funds, including collecting buyer’s funds and arranging the mortgage repayment.
• Arrange the title deeds transfer and oversee completion day tasks.

What do conveyancing solicitors do for buyers?

There is generally more work involved in the conveyancing for buying a property compared to selling, particularly in terms of arranging searches and dealing with survey results.

The conveyancing costs for buyers can be around double the cost for sellers due to the additional work. For example, for a £1m property in London, solicitor fees for buying a property could be around £5,000, compared to £2,500 for selling.

Buying a leasehold property will also usually cost more in conveyancing fees as they will need to review ground rent and service charges.

Want to find out more? Sellers should also factor in taxes on buying and selling property and the overall cost to sell a house.

These are the types of services a conveyancer provides for buyers:

• Initial consultation to outline the steps.
• Arrange property searches such as local authority, water and drainage and environmental searches.
• Review and follow up any issues/queries that arise on the survey.
• Check title deeds and verify boundaries.
• Liaise with the seller’s conveyancer.
• Work with the mortgage lender to ensure requirements are met.
• Collect deposit and arrange financial transactions for the transfer of ownership.
• Review all legal documents such as exchange of contracts.
• Arrange payment of any stamp duty land tax.

How to choose a solicitor in central London

There are lots of factors to consider when choosing a solicitor or conveyancer, from their fee structure to the quality of service they will provide. Firstly, you should look for a specialist in property. Licensed conveyancers are specifically qualified in property law, and their experience will usually be in providing legal services for property purchases and sales.

Solicitors are qualified lawyers and will have a broad training background across many legal fields. If there are any complex legal issues involved in your property sale, a solicitor will be able to provide you with the level of expertise you need. However, the legal fees are generally higher for solicitors compared to conveyancers.

Other considerations when choosing a solicitor:

• Reviews and reputation
• Recommendations for previous work
• How they charge their fees
• Their availability and how easy they are to contact
• How they come across when you speak to them e.g. knowledgeable, friendly etc.

What’s the average cost of a conveyancing solicitor?

The average total solicitor fee for a property worth £1m in central London is around £2,400 for freehold property and £2,550 for leasehold, as there is more paperwork involved in selling leasehold properties.

The overall solicitor costs will depend on a number of factors. Fees are calculated based on their time, the property value, plus any disbursement fees or additional costs.

Here’s a breakdown of the average conveyancing fees for disbursements and additional costs you can expect to pay depending on your circumstances:

• Mortgaged property supplement fee – £200
• Bank transfer fees – £40
• Anti-money laundering checks – £8
• Copy of the title deeds – £6
• Transfer of ownership – £250 – £500
• Transferring equity – £500
• Remortgage – £500
• Delayed completion – £200
• Leasehold property supplement fee – £250
• Leasehold management information pack – £180 – £500

How are conveyancing fees charged?

Fee structures vary between solicitors. Some charge fixed fees and some will charge an hourly rate for the work that they provide. If your property has no unusual issues that the solicitor needs to deal with or other additional work, an hourly rate may work out cheaper. However, getting a fixed rate fee ensures that there are no hidden costs at the end of your house sale that you need to pay for.

What factors affect conveyancing fees?

The fees you will be charged depend on various factors such as:

Choosing a solicitor or conveyancer

Whether you choose a solicitor or the less expensive option of a conveyancer will impact the overall fees. Conveyancers will usually be suitable for straightforward property transactions, while more complicated transactions that require additional legal expertise are generally handled by solicitors.

Property value

The value of the property will also be a determining factor in the costs, as higher value properties mean higher fees. You can look at both fixed fee conveyancing and percentage-based rates to see which works out to be most cost-effective for your property.

Property location

The location of the property will also affect fees, as areas such as central London will usually have higher conveyancing fees than other areas of the UK. Conveyancing fees in London can be up to 20% higher than areas such as the north of England.

Leasehold or freehold

Whether your property is leasehold or freehold will also impact the costs, with leasehold property fees being more expensive. The conveyancer will need to complete additional work such as reviewing the lease document and liaising with the freeholder.

Additional complexities

Another factor driving costs is whether there are any more complex details that need to be handled, such as re-mortgaging or completing information forms to gather details about boundaries, planning history and alterations.

Type of buyer

If you have a cash buyer for your property, the conveyancing fees may be cheaper as there is less work involved because there is no liaising with mortgage lenders.

Want to know more? If you’re struggling to attract offers, find out why your flat isn’t selling and what a conveyancer does.

What about solicitor fees when buying and selling a house?

If you are buying and selling a home at the same time, then it is usually more straightforward to use the same conveyancer. It will also generally be more cost-effective to use the same conveyancer compared to using two different firms.

Some conveyancers offer a price package for choosing them for both sides of the conveyancing. While you may only save a few hundred pounds by using the same solicitor, the processes and communications will be streamlined.

When do you pay your solicitor?

Generally, solicitors’ fees are paid upon completion of the property sale, however, some solicitors may request that you pay an upfront fee and then pay the remainder at the end when funds are transferred.

Do you still pay if the sale fails? 

There are some solicitors who offer a ‘no sale, no fee’ service but typically, you will still need to cover the disbursement fees for work that has already been completed.

How can you save on conveyancing fees when selling a house?

While choosing the cheapest conveyancing service can save costs, the quality of service is very important when trusting someone to handle the legal proceedings of selling your property. However, there are some ways that you can potentially save on fees.

Comparing a minimum of three quotes and reviewing the services and reputation of each will help you to assess the value you are getting for the fees.

Choosing a fixed fee conveyancer may also help you to save money and avoid facing fees you hadn’t accounted for. Make sure that you are fully prepared with all the paperwork you need, as delays and extra work involved in conveyancers chasing you for documents could lead to increased fees.

And Finally

Plaza Estates are specialists in selling prime central London properties in sought-after areas such as Hyde Park, Pimlico, Paddington Basin, Lancaster Gate, Earl’s Court or Camden – Contact us to book a valuation with our experienced team of property sale experts.

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