Your fixed-fee property conveyancing quote will be divided into two sections. Firstly, the quote will outline the fees payable for the work carried out by your property conveyancing solicitor. This fee is fixed and accounts for the expertise that your property expert will put into your transaction. 

 

Secondly, the quote will discuss any disbursements that are payable. These are charges that your property conveyancer is required to pay our on your behalf, and are standard charges. These include items such as the land registration fee, payable to HM Land Registry, in order to record a change in ownership. This fee is non-negotiable, and is charged by the Land Registry for dealing with such matters. The disbursements are charges that your property solicitor has no control over, nor makes any profit on. 

 

Rest assured that, what you see is what you get, with MG Legal’s conveyancing quotes. We do not see it necessary to charge our valued clients unnecessary fees, such as ‘ID checkers’ or ‘Help to Buy ISA fees’. For more on exactly what your conveyancing quote entails, see our Preston solicitors’ blog, here. 

In order to budget for conveyancing fees, and any associated fees, such as surveyors and removal firms, it is important to be aware of what is payable, and at what stage of your matter. Our Preston solicitors have set out a trusty guide that you can use, in order to organise your finances in respect of your conveyance. 

 

 

Your conveyancing solicitor will require an initial payment on account, usually in the sum of £250.00, in order to cover the costs of any initial disbursements that may be required on your behalf. For example, where purchasing a property, this fee would be utilised to facilitate the commencement of your conveyancing searches. Alternatively, where selling a property that is leasehold, this fee may be required to cover the costs of a management pack, requested by the buyer’s solicitor. 

 

As you can see, this payment can relate to important stages of the conveyance and, as such, it is important to ensure that payment is made without delay, to ensure that your matter can progress in a timely manner. This fee would, of course, be offset against your final bill, upon Completion. 

 

 

Upon Exchange of Contracts, when purchasing a property, the buyer is required to lodge a 10% deposit in the client account of their conveyancing solicitor. In some instances, a lesser deposit can be agreed, and the standard conditions of the Contract varied. It is, however, at this point that the deposit becomes payable. 

 

Your conveyancing solicitor will advise when nearing a position to Exchange, in order that finances can be arranged accordingly. The funds are, in most cases, ‘held to order’. This means that they are not physically forwarded to the seller’s solicitor, but held in the buyer’s solicitor’s client account, strictly to the order of the seller. 

 

It is at this point that the transaction becomes legally binding and, should the buyer wish to withdraw after this point, they do run the risk of being in breach of Contract and losing the deposit paid. It is, therefore, imperative that all necessary due diligence has been carried out before proceeding to Exchange, and fully understanding the implications of this. For more on Exchange of Contracts, and what this means, see our blog, here. 

 

Completion, the day we all work towards throughout the transaction, is the point at which the balance of the buyer’s purchase funds fall due. This is the day that the matter is legally completed, and will also be the day that your conveyancer’s fees are payable. 

 

When selling a property, the conveyancing fees and any necessary disbursements are deducted from the sale proceeds. Any mortgage redemption payments, and inception of any indemnity policies, are also paid, before the net proceeds being forwarded back to the seller. 

 

In contrast, when purchasing a property, the conveyancing fees are accounted for within your completion statement, and the funds that are required from you to complete the matter. This will all be requested, at once, to avoid the need for numerous payments being made. 

 

So, as you can see, at MG Legal, we will simply require an initial payment on account upon commencement and, any further outstanding fees are dealt with upon Completion. This allows you to adequately budget for further costs that may be incurred along the way. For example, purchasing furniture for your new property, paying mortgage advisor fees, paying valuation and/or survey fees, storage of furniture fees, estate agent fees, etc. 

 

There can, of course, be a lot to consider. So, do not let conveyancing fees be an added worry. So, for more information about property fees, and when they are payable, get in touch with us today, at property@mglegal.co.uk, where our team will be on hand to explain. 

 

Alternatively, to get a fixed fee conveyancing quote, submit your enquiry online, here, and our local solicitors will be in touch. 

 

MG Legal; your property conveyancing experts.