Find A Conveyancing Quote For Buying And Selling Property

Both vendors and purchasers need conveyancing services when selling or buying a property and obtaining a conveyancing quote is the first stage of the process.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) is currently reviewing conveyancing services in a bid to cut mortgage and conveyancing fraud – and make sure that any conveyancing quote and marketing information about costs are accurate.

The Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) also accredits firms and it is advisable to use the services of a firm of conveyancing specialists with CQS membership

Your mortgage lender may select a conveyancing firm for you if its has its own conveyancing panel of accredited professionals, such as conveyancing solicitors; otherwise obtaining a conveyancing quote online or approaching a local firm of conveyancing specialists are the best ways of finding conveyancing quotes.

Find a conveyancing quote for vendors

Vendors need  conveyancing quotes that will cover the whole process without cutting corners – remember that if your sale falls through because your conveyancing is not completed to schedule, you will lose money.

A vendor’s conveyancing quote should include:

• Information about how your solicitor will charge for time – eg, a set rate, hourly or a rate based on the value of your property, which is the usual arrangement for setting professional fee levels

• Details of the costs of any disbursements, which should be itemised and include Land Registry fees for copies of documents and fees for transferring monies

• Extra costs such as fees for processing the sale of leasehold properties, which take more time because the lease has to be read, copied and sent to the purchaser in the initial information pack.

If your conveyancing solicitor charges an hourly rate, fees even for a legal executive can cost more than £100 plus VAT per hour – and more senior solicitors can charge £200-£300 plus VAT per hour.

Make sure you know what your conveyancing quote covers and are aware of any possible additional costs such as phone calls, postage, searches, completing forms – and even making a payment towards your solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance. Ask for a breakdown of all potential costs and what is included in the conveyancing quote you have been given.

Your solicitor must advise you if any fee level set is going to be exceeded, so insist on being kept informed about how costs are adding up to avoid a nasty shock when the final bill arrives.

Find a conveyancing quote for purchasers

Obtaining a conveyancing quote has become a highly competitive market with the advent of online conveyancing – and for many purchasers this can seem like a cheap and easy option.

If you choose a conveyancing quote which seems cheap and cheerful you may find that extras soon bump up the bill, so it is important to know exactly what the quote will cover from the outset.

A purchaser’s conveyancing quote should include:

• Information about how your solicitor will charge for time – eg, a set rate, which is preferable, or an hourly rate

• Details of the costs of any disbursements, which should be itemised and include the following searches
  • Land Registry
  • Local Authority
  • Local searches
  • Bankruptcy
  • Environmental Search

Purchasers will also have to pay disbursements based on the property’s value such as Land Registry Fees and Stamp Duty, which your conveyancer will be able to estimate when the conveyancing quote is issued.

Other costs may accrue from postage, telephone calls, completing forms, dealing with the lease and any subsequent queries – plus a possible payment towards your solicitor’s professional indemnity insurance.

With so many different factors which may inflate a conveyancing quote, it is important to make sure you know what you will be paying for – and insist on being advised in good time if any fee level is to be exceeded and also the reason for this.

A conveyancer has your future in their hands to a certain extent – so make sure your conveyancing quote covers the work you require.

Tags: conveyancing firm, conveyancing fraud, conveyancing panel, conveyancing quote, conveyancing quotes, conveyancing services