Selling a house can be a time of excitement as you complete the next steps on your property journey but as with any form of financial commitment, there can be a cause for concern if you are not totally sure if you have got everything in order and fully compliant. Hiring a solicitor or a specialist conveyancing firm will save you potential legal issues and allow you to be on top of everything when it comes to completing your move.
By selling your house through SOLD.CO.UK the worry of legal fees is removed as we cover them all and can ensure a quick house sale with minimum stress.
Average solicitor’s fees for selling a house
As of the end of January 2022 the average cost for a solicitor when selling your house was £1046 including disbursements. You will find some charging much higher and some significantly lower. We have seen them range between just over £500 up to £1500.
As of January 2022 the average solicitor fees for selling a £250,000 house were £1046. Below are the averages at present excluding disbursement fees.
| Property Value | Average Solicitor Fee Selling Freehold | Average Solicitor Fee Selling Leasehold |
| Up to £100,000 | £820 | £990 |
| £100,001-£200,000 | £880 | £1050 |
| £201,000-£3000,000 | £1000 | £1170 |
| £301,000-£400,000 | £1090 | £1260 |
| £401,000-£500,000 | £1160 | £1340 |
| £501,000-£600,000 | £1390 | £1550 |
| £601,000-£700,000 | £1600 | £1770 |
All we recommend is, don’t look for the cheapest thinking it offers great value, or the most expensive thinking it is better than the others. Shop around and do some background research. You may find out extra information about the solicitor’s firm that can swing your decision one way or the other.
What is included in solicitors fees when selling a house?
As when buying a house, solicitors fees cover all the legal aspects of the transaction as well as any disbursements. A disbursement is where a payment must be paid to a third party to carry out certain checks. The fees are paid direct to the solicitor who then passes it on to the relevant third party.
When buying a house, the list of disbursements can add up but when selling, you’ll be pleased to know it is significantly less. Along with these fees you will find a base charge to the solicitor. This is paid either as a set fee or an hourly rate and is for the handling of your case from start to finish. When hiring a solicitor for the sale of your house, you can expect them to do the following:
- Draft contracts
- Respond to enquiries
- Investigate issues
- Exchange contracts
- Handle transfer of funds
- Communicate with buyers solicitor
- Approve deed of transfer
- Obtain title deeds
- Act as the recipient of deposit
Depending on the circumstances around the move there could be more taken on by the solicitor, so it is important you are transparent with them to ensure they give you the best service possible.
Extra legal fees for selling a house
As we touched upon above, on top of the standard solicitor fees there will be some additional fees for third party payments that are handled by the solicitor. Your completion statement from your solicitor will help show things in detail. The average costs for them are seen below.
| Disbursement | Average Cost |
| Title deeds | £25 |
| Property fraud fee | £10 |
| Transferring of ownership | £200-£500 |
| Money laundering checks | £8 (charged per person on the buying documents |
| CHAPS fee | £20-30 |
Is it more expensive to hire a solicitor or a conveyancer?
It tends to be cheaper to hire a conveyancer over a solicitor but with a solicitor you are hiring a person fully qualified in a variety of legal aspects. This may come in handy should issues arise that are not strictly property related. A conveyancer is legally certified to deal with everything that takes place regarding the sale or purchase of property but won’t have the legal experience for other matters. As a result, the conveyancing fees can be different to that of a solicitor.
Who you choose to go with is down to what works best for you and where you feel most comfortable. With SOLD.CO.UK, all your legal fees are covered so you can rest assured that you have 100% fully competent professionals handling every aspect of your house sale.
Do I need a solicitor to sell my house?
There is no legal requirement for you to have a solicitor to complete a house move however, it is highly recommended that you do. Without one, you could find yourself encountering a variety of charges that you were not aware of or face legal difficulties should things happen during the process.
With the team at SOLD.CO.UK looking after all legal fees, we take care of the need for a solicitor, so you have no need to worry about bumps in the road on the way to selling your house.
What happens if I don’t pay the solicitor fee for selling a house
As with any form of service you have the right to complain that it wasn’t suitable and request a reduction on the costs or a refund should you have already paid. Within property this can be grey area as you may have already moved out of your house and moved into a new one. Therefore, the job of the solicitor is complete. However, you have up to a year from getting your bill to register any complaints. You may have paid all or part of it and noticed that there is a discrepancy somewhere. If this is the case, you can challenge the final bill by requesting the Senior Courts Costs Office review it. They can then decide as to whether you paid too much. This should ultimately be a last resort though and it is hopeful that if you approached the solicitor and queried it there would be an amicable agreement reached.
If though, you have forgotten to pay or have kept delaying it due to money problems you could be finding yourself in trouble. If a solicitor believes they are owed money from an unpaid bill they can contact you requesting settlement. The negative implications of not paying can extend as far as a CCJ which severely hinders your credit rating and additional costs which will be accrued such as interest and administration charges.
When starting out with a solicitor it is highly likely you would have been issued a client care letter, explaining the processes for payment and details of the service they will provide you.
If the solicitor does begin action against you, a letter will be sent including a statement showing what is owed, including interest and any additional charges. An information sheet will also be enclosed that must be completed and returned within 30 days. On this particular form you will be able to accept or contest the debt. Further to this, you will be required to provide a financial statement that details your current financial situation. If you accept the debt, the solicitor may accept a payment plan, contest it and you could find yourself in court.
When do I pay solicitor’s fees when selling my house?
Like when buying a house, most of the fees are paid once the house sale is completed however the base fee will be paid at the start of the agreement between the solicitor and yourself. Often, you will find that the final payment is due one day before completion however we recommend talking with your solicitor to see what agreement they have set up with you should you have any doubts. There are some that offer a “No completion, no fee” deal. Before proceeding you should check whether this is such a thing your solicitor is offering.
Expect to pay around £190 – £300 upfront with the remainder due once the house is sold.
Selling your house through SOLD.CO.UK means no fees at all. We cover them all for you!
Will I still be charged solicitor fees if the sale falls through?
This is one of those frequently asked questions and it comes as no surprise. Nobody wants to be out of pocket, especially when it could run into the thousands. A survey carried out by Which and found that 84% of their respondents lost money when their house sale fell through.
Whether you lose any money will depend on the type of solicitor you have chosen. As previously mentioned, there are some that offer a no sale, no fee service which will result in you saving some money. We say some as unfortunately no matter what, the disbursement fees will still have to be paid.
As the seller of the house, you will be pleased to know that the amount you will have to pay, will be significantly less than a person buying though as the number of disbursements in a purchase are of much higher value.
Did you know that you can sell your house for free with SOLD.CO.UK? We cover all of your legal fees and offer a free valuation. Our professional team can guide you through the online estate agency process today.
