What is the next step in the buying or selling process once the ball is rolling? The answer is Conveyancing and what you need at this point is a conveyancer, but do you know what you are paying for throughout the process?

Firstly, having agreed to buy or sell your property, you can complete an online quotation form or ring around for prices. This will give you a rough idea of what charges will be applied throughout the process. These fees will include:

Solicitors legal fees

The legal fees will be different for every transaction as they are effected by the property value and the complexity of the process.

Stamp duty land tax

As with the legal fees, stamp duty tax is affected by the property value so will be different for each property.

Search fees

The search fees are governed by local authorities with varying prices, for example Colchester Borough Council currently charges £106.40.

The search fees commonly include local authority searches, an environmental search, and a Water and Drainage report. There are additional searches available, such as a planning search, which will be carried out upon your request.

Land Registry fees

Land Registry charges are currently £3 per document.

If you are selling a property, the conveyancer will need to obtain a copy of your title registers and filed plan from the Land Registry.  As the majority of land is now registered, it is becoming less common to have bulky unregistered deeds relating to the properties as the Land Registry now store all documents electronically and the same are available to download for a fee.

If your title registers refer to other deeds, copies of the same would also need to be obtained to enable the conveyancer to prepare the contract package for the buyer’s Solicitor.

Bankruptcy search (for buyers with a mortgage)

If a purchaser is buying with the assistance of a mortgage, the conveyancer will need to carry out a bankruptcy search which are charged at £1 per name or £2 per name if carried out online.

Timings and other Fees

  • Conveyancers will often ask for money to be deposited into the account at the beginning of the process, this money will be used to cover fees throughout the process.
  • If you have a mortgage there will also be a bank transfer fee applied when redeeming the mortgage as funds are sent electronically on the day of completion.
  • Prior to exchange you will be required to pay your deposit monies to your conveyancer. The average deposit is 10% of the agreed purchase price. If you are selling a property at the same time then the general rule is the deposit received on your sale will be used on the purchase.  You may be asked to top up the deposit if you are purchasing for considerably more than you are selling, but this is rare.
  • Following exchange the conveyancer will obtain the remaining monies from you due to complete the transaction.
  • A Land Registry priority search will be carried out between exchange and completion in order to protect a buyer and their mortgage company’s interest in the property.
  • On completion the conveyancer will pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax to the Inland Revenue on your behalf.

There is also a fee payable to the Land Registry for registering your purchase.  The Land Registry have their own scale of fees which is calculated on the value of the property.

The Land Registry now accept registration applications online and therefore a discount to their fee is applied.  If however you are purchasing a new build property or the property you are purchasing is unregistered then a postal application will need to be made and full fee paid.

To contact the FJG Conveyancing team; call 01206 704043 or email [email protected].

Request a quote for your Conveyancing here.