Are you going to get this from the cheapest conveyancing company? You might, but on balance of probability, it’s not likely. I would be more inclined to see what I thought of the conveyancing firm when I rang them. Did they seem knowledgeable when you asked them questions? Would they explain what the disbursements were and what the process was? Did they offer to let you have the conveyancing quote in writing so that you can see the breakdown of what they are including for you? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then I think you’ve found your conveyancer, provided the price isn’t astronomical!

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Do they have online case tracking so you can see how far things have progressed when you want to and not just when they’re open? Do they write to clients via email, speeding up the rate at which you can get information about what’s happening? Can they explain a basic outline of what the process is? How quickly can you see or talk to your conveyancing solicitor direct once you’ve instructed them? All these issues can help you make your decision. Don’t just go on price. If you ring a conveyancing firm and they’re unhelpful when they’re trying to get your business, what will they be like when they’ve actually got it?

Make a considered choice with more information than just the cost!

I know everyone nowadays wants the cheapest deal and that people think solicitors are grossly overpriced in what they charge for fees. That may be true of some solicitors, I’m sure, but if you actually saw the amount of work that your conveyancing solicitor actually does, then I believe you’d be more agreeable to paying a proper fee and not just using a cheap conveyancing service.

I would expect to pay from £300.00 upwards for a conveyancing solicitor’s fees alone. That being said, for a single transaction freehold purchase, I would not expect to pay more than £500.00 for the solicitors’ fees.

Remember that your conveyancing solicitor’s total quotation will also include third party fees, known as “disbursements”. You need to ask when getting a quote what the solicitor’s actual fee is.

On average, I would estimate that a conveyancing solicitor on a freehold purchase transaction, is likely to send and receive at least 40 letters and telephone calls and would spend at least 2 ½ hours working on your file throughout the whole of the transaction. When you look at the amount of work that should be done, you can see that really, conveyancing solicitors don’t actually charge that much in terms of their fee!

I do understand that people want to save money, I’m no different, but if you want a proper job to be done, then you need to pay a reasonable fee to your conveyancing solicitor and not just pick the cheap conveyancing quote. If your solicitor reduces his price too much, then it’s simply not cost effective for him to spend time on your file making sure everything is done properly and you’re more likely to be passed to an unqualified unsupervised fee earner. Corners can be cut, and you could simply end up with more problems in the future.

Obviously there is nothing wrong with wanting to get a good deal but cheap conveyancing companies are not likely to give you all the information you need about your new house because it takes too much time. Ring around your local solicitors by all means but see my separate article on “What to look for when getting a conveyancing quote” before you decide who to go with.

Of course, when you’re buying a house or selling a house, you’re going to want to know how much your conveyancing solicitor is going to charge you to deal with the matter.

There is a marked difference between an estimate and a quotation.

A quotation is a statement of how much the conveyancing solicitor’s costs will be. This means that the conveyancing solicitor cannot then increase his charges to you in the future if the matter is prolonged or complicated. He can however ask you to pay for extra disbursements needed that were previously unforeseen. The disbursements are fees that are not paid to the conveyancing solicitor, they are paid by the conveyancing solicitor on your behalf to a third party, e.g. search fees.

An estimate is just that. The conveyancing solicitor does not know exactly how the transaction will proceed so he might reserve the right to increase his fees during the transaction if it becomes unduly complicated or prolonged. He should still notify you of this in advance.

Bear in mind that the conveyancing solicitor should always be willing to provide you with the details in writing, whether or not he is providing you with an estimate or a quotation, after you make the initial enquiry by telephone. If they won’t do this, I would question why they will not do so. Is it because they don’t want you to be able to compare like for like fees? Costs should always be separated from disbursements.

Remember to ask when you call the solicitor’s office what the actual conveyancing solicitor’s costs will be and what the total amount of the disbursements will be. Then even if they won’t provide the figures to you in writing until you instruct them, you can still compare the costs and disbursements with other firms.

In any event, when you instruct a solicitor to proceed, he should always provide you with full details of the costs and disbursements in writing.

Be aware that some conveyancing solicitors will add extra fees in on top of their own usual fees, often for work that in my opinion should be included in their actual costs. For example, I have seen some conveyancing solicitors in a written quote indicate that their costs would be say 400 pounds, but they added a fee under the disbursements (remember these should only ever be third party fees) for them to prepare the Stamp Duty Land Tax Form on your behalf! In my opinion, the fee for preparing this form should be included in the allover conveyancing solicitor’s fees since it is a task undertaken by the firm, but by doing it this way, it makes their solicitor’s costs look cheaper.

The best way to make sure you are getting a good deal when getting quotations for buying a house or selling a house, is to insist on having a quote in writing. If they’re not willing to do that, forget it. You can only properly compare and check that you are getting like for like quotations if you have it in writing in front of you.

If there’s anything you don’t understand or want to ask about, then don’t hesitate to call the conveyancing solicitor’s office for an explanation! If they can’t or won’t explain this to you, be very wary about instructing them to deal with a case for you, as they’re likely to have the same attitude when you get further down the line.