If you are considering selling a home, buying your first or a new property, or making a property investment, it can be difficult to navigate the different fees in different quotes. What should you be looking out for when comparing quotes from different conveyancing solicitors in Cardiff? How do you know everything has been included?
Legal Fees
The main and most important fee within your quote will be the legal fees. They may also be called professional or our fees. This is effectively the professional fee you will pay the conveyancer for handling the legal formalities involved in the transaction.
Leasehold Fee
A leasehold property is one in which you only own a proportion of a wider estate or demise. In most cases, especially in Cardiff, this would typically be a flat. This is opposed to a freehold, in which you will own the property and all of the land that the property sits upon. If the property you are selling or buying is a leasehold, or a share of freehold, then the conveyancing firm may charge a supplementary fee for dealing with the leasehold aspects of the transaction. This typically includes establishing facts about the management company, service charge, ground rent and wider parts of the property that aren’t necessary in a freehold property.
Mortgage Fee
If your property transaction involves a mortgage, then your conveyancing is required to act simultaneously for you and your lender in either redeeming the mortgage and removing the lenders charge when selling, or to ensure the lenders security is protected when purchasing. In many cases there is a fee for doing so which is passed to you as the borrower.
Other financial fees
Depending on the circumstances of your transaction, there may be additional fees for dealing with the financial aspects. For example, if you are using a Help to Buy ISA, Lifetime ISA or a gifted deposit from friends or family members then your conveyancer may charge fees for dealing with these.
New Build Fees
New build properties come with their own specific set of complexities and also higher Land Registration fees, therefore it can be common to see extra fees in this regard
SDLT Return Fee
Conveyancers are required to submit a Stamp Duty Land Tax Return form to HMRC to confirm the stamp duty circumstances and amount payable on your specific transaction. Conveyancers can charge a professional fee for carrying out this return and lodging it with HMRC.
Common Conveyancing Disbursements
Disbursements are typically third party fees paid out by the conveyancer for handling your transaction and are common across firms. Common disbursements seen are ID/AML checks, bank transfer fees, Land Registration Fees, Land Registry Documents.
In Conclusion
Regardless of the firm you are looking to instruct to handle your conveyancing, or the number of firms you wish to compare, you should ensure you receive a fully itemised quotation. It is also important that you speak to the firm to check for any hidden fees or circumstances specific to your transaction which may affect your quotation. Remember your conveyancer can only quote ahead for what they know about at the time of quoting.