If you are moving house, you will want to know what expenses are involved so that you can budget accurately. We explain below the likely fees and answer the question, How much does it cost to buy and sell a house?

At Lockings Solicitors, we have many years of experience in conveyancing in East Yorkshire and beyond. If you would like a conveyancing quote or to discuss our conveyancing fees, please feel free to call us. We always make sure that you have a clear understanding of the expenses beforehand, with no hidden costs or unexpected additions.

Our team members are property law experts who are able to handle legal complications efficiently and who always work towards a prompt exchange of contracts. We will update you regularly on the progress of your sale and purchase and make sure that we are easily contactable so that you can discuss concerns and ask questions as they arise.

We offer a FREE initial chat so that you can ask us any questions you may have about the cost of buying and selling a house. Call us on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and represent clients across the East Yorkshire area and beyond.

How much does it cost to buy and sell a house?

The main costs to buy and sell a house are:

Property sale costs

• Estate agent’s fees
• Legal fees
• Telegraphic transfer fee for transferring money to you and your mortgage lender
• Third party fees, see below

Property purchase costs

• Search fees, see below
• Legal fees
• Telegraphic transfer fee for sending the purchase money to the buyer’s solicitor
• Stamp Duty

Cost of selling a house

The legal fees for a house sale will be based on the value of the property and a range of other factors that could mean that the conveyancing transaction involves more work. For example, if the property is leasehold or shared ownership, we will need to supply the buyer’s solicitor with a large amount of extra information and answer their enquiries.

Third party fees include:

• The Land Registry’s fee for providing an official copy of the title to the property and an official plan
• For a flat, the management company or managing agent’s fees for providing leasehold information

Cost of buying a house

The legal fees will again be based on the value of the property and other factors, such as whether it is leasehold and whether there are any factors that will require extra work, such as a gifted deposit or an unregistered property.

With a purchase, there is a wider range of additional costs, including:

Survey fees. You are always advised to have a survey carried out. Your lender’s mortgage valuation is not an in-depth look at the property and will not provide sufficient information.

Surveyors offer different types of survey, depending on the property. If you are buying a newer property in good condition, of a traditional construction, you will probably not need an in-depth survey. However, older properties, those in need of work and if you want to make alterations, you should consider a more detailed survey.

Search fees. You will need a range of searches, including a local search, drainage enquiries and an environmental search. Depending on the location of the property, you may need other searches, such as a flood report, mining search or search of the registers of common land.

Stamp Duty. The amount payable depends on the value of the property you are buying, whether it is your only property and whether you and any joint purchaser are first time buyers. There is an extra charge for buying second and subsequent properties. First time buyers may be entitled to a discount.

Land Registry registration fees. Once your purchase has been completed, we will register your ownership and mortgage with HM Land Registry. They make a charge for registration.

Leasehold notice fees. If you are buying a leasehold property, the management company may require notice of your purchase and mortgage to be officially served on them. They will usually make an administration to process this.

Extra costs of buying a house

Some transactions require more legal work, which will mean a slightly higher fee. These include:

Leasehold property. We will need to investigate the way in which the management company is run, including seeing their annual accounts, checking that all flat owners have paid their service charge, finding out how much is held in a sinking fund to finance large items of repair and maintenance, going through the terms of the lease, checking that the lease has not been breached and checking the buildings insurance policy.

Newbuild home. If you are buying a newbuild property, the developer will supply a large amount of documentation that we will need to check, including in respect of the site infrastructure, planning consents and the covenants contained in the transfer.

Gifted deposits. If a family member is providing part of the purchase price, we will need to complete extra checks and documentation, including verifying their identity and establishing the source of the funds. We will also need to fulfil your lender’s requirements relating to a gifted deposit.

Help to Buy or Lifetime ISAs. Using funds from the government’s Help to Buy scheme or from a Lifetime ISA involves more administration to obtain the funds from the scheme.

Unregistered property. Most property is registered at HM Land Registry, but if you are buying an unregistered property, we will have to make extra checks and enquiries to ensure that the seller has a good legal title and that there are no issues with this. On completion of your purchase, we will deal with the first registration at the Land Registry. This includes responding to any enquiries the Registrar may have. The process can be lengthy, and they may carry out an in-person inspection of the property and its boundaries before they complete the registration.

Obtaining a conveyancing quote

Because each transaction is different and can involve different legal requirements, it is best to obtain a conveyancing quote for your specific sale and purchase.

If you are thinking of buying and selling properties, we would be happy to discuss the details with you and provide you with a comprehensive quote so that you know what will be required and how much it will be.

We always provide complete costs transparency and we will keep you updated throughout your transaction, should anything change. For example, if you have an environmental search carried out, it may become apparent that a flood report is needed once we see the results. We will notify you immediately and let you know how much this is.

If you have any questions or you would like to discuss our conveyancing costs and how much it is to buy and sell a house, please do not hesitate to contact our property team.

Contact our East Yorkshire conveyancing solicitors

You can ring us for a FREE initial chat on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and represent clients across the East Yorkshire area and beyond.