There’s a great deal to take into consideration when it comes to the financial aspects of property deals. Both buyers and sellers bear the brunt of this complexity, but having the right people on-board to help – such as mortgage solicitors – can help.
We’re here to breakdown what both buyers and sellers need to consider, from removal fees to solicitors fees for buying and selling a house.
Let’s start before the deal is completed, you’ll need to pay mortgage lender fees that are generally split into two separate payments: an arrangement or product fee (the main fee) and a booking or reservation fee. You’ll have to pay a valuation fee to the lender too. This allows the lender to check how much the property is worth and if it’s different to what has been offered. This is to protect the lender in the case that you cannot repay.
Then comes the survey fees. The problem with a lender’s valuation is that it won’t tell you if you are buying a good property. If there’s a problem with the property later, you’ll receive no protection from a lender’s valuation. To do that, you’re going to need to get a survey performed.
Conveyancing solicitors can help you organise this process. You may have to pay a fee if you are using a broker too, but there are brokers who get paid commission from the lender instead.
Stamp duty is also another fee that must be paid by buyers (this time to the government) for any property sale that is priced at £125,000 or above. A conveyancing solicitor can handle this. Make sure that this is included when comparing solicitor quotes for buying a house.
Moving onto solicitor’s fees for house buying and selling; this is to pay for either a conveyancer or conveyancing solicitor to deal with the transference of ownership from the seller to buyer, paperwork and whether or not there are any hidden pitfalls relating to your potential property. Buyers also have to deal with a Land Registry fee too, to register the property in the new owner’s name in the UK Land Registry.
As mentioned, make sure that this fee is also included in the quote that you have received. Solicitors fees for buying and selling a house should always include a detailed itinerary of what services the quote covers. If you spot something missing, ask questions now or you may end up paying later. For buyers and sellers, you also need to think about the likes of removal costs, any upkeep or service charges (if you are buying a flat with communal areas), as well as paying for any new furniture and fittings.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, there’s the fee for actually buying a property and mortgage repayments. That being said, we are sure you couldn’t have forgotten those two! Other fees can of-course pop up, but this covers the basics.
It’s worth looking at online conveyancing and removal comparison websites as a way of reducing some of these costs. These websites are good at allowing you to compare solicitor’s fees for buying and selling a house by providing quotes from a number of solicitors and conveyancers, and for comparing removal companies too.