Selling a Property Solicitors | Crombie Wilkinson

Do you need conveyancing advice from our specialist solicitors?
Our property solicitors are ready to help you sell your house.

Selling a house involves a number of legal steps, and working with an experienced solicitor or property lawyer for selling a house helps make the process run more smoothly. Our specialist team of house-sale conveyancing solicitors has years of experience acting for clients across freehold and leasehold property sales.

When using a solicitor or property lawyer to sell a house, you will need to pay legal fees. This page outlines the work our conveyancing team carries out when selling your home and the fees you can expect to pay for this work.

Contact our conveyancing team to sell your house today!

Selling a property

When selling freehold or leasehold residential property, there are a number of legal processes involved, including the drafting of contracts, preparing documents and negotiating with mortgage lenders. These require professional assistance from an experienced conveyancing solicitor for selling your property.

Our conveyancing team supports sellers from start to finish, helping to make the process as smooth as possible during what can be a stressful time for buyers and sellers alike.

Learn more about our related services:

Legal fees to sell your house

The below provides an estimate of the legal fees when selling a house.

For properties with a value of up to £1 million, our conveyancing solicitors fees start from £1,200 (plus VAT at 20% of £240) for a freehold property that does not have unexpected complications, up to £2,550 (plus VAT at 20% of £510) (an additional leasehold fee of £600 plus VAT at 20% of £120) is charged for a leasehold property sale). For the sale of properties of £1 million+, our online quote tool will calculate the conveyancing fee at a 0.27% (plus VAT at 20%) of the sale price. These figures may vary in cases with special complications or where you have particular requirements.

An additional leasehold fee of £600 (plus VAT at 20% of £120) is charged for a leasehold property sale. For properties valued at £1 million+, our online quote tool will calculate the conveyancing fee at a 0.27% (plus VAT at 20%) of the sale price. These figures may vary in cases with special complications or where you have particular requirements.

£300 legal fee (plus VAT at 20% =£60) for a shared ownership property
Electronic money transfer fee** £30 (plus VAT at 20% (£6))
Digital conveyancing fee*** £3.40 (inclusive of VAT at 20%) per client, per matter.
AML & ID check fee £25 (plus VAT at 20% (£5)) per client

A typical subtotal for properties with a value of up to £1 million is: £1,509.40 - £3,129.40 (inclusive of VAT at 20%) with additional charges as mentioned above for leasehold and shared ownership properties.

These fees vary from property to property and may be higher in complex cases. We charge a fixed fee for this type of work, which will be discussed with you if required.

**In addition to our legal fees, we charge a fee for transferring money electronically.

*** In addition to our legal fees, where a client chooses to use our digital conveyancing tools package as part of their conveyancing instruction (this will include using our App, online portal and secure digital conveyancing services) our digital conveyancing fee will be charged.

Referral fee (if any)

If our firm pays a referral fee, the maximum we pay is £125 (plus VAT at 20% = £25). This will always be detailed in your Client Care Letter. A referral fee is not payable by you as the seller.

For more information on our conveyancing fees, contact our team of experts today.

Payments to others (Disbursements)

Disbursements are costs related to your matter which are payable to third parties, such as fees charged by HM Land Registry. We handle the payment of these on your behalf.

Typical disbursements:

HM Land Registry fee for official copies of title deeds: £8.50-£17 (plus VAT at 20% = £1.70 - £3.40)

A typical subtotal for properties with a value of up to £1 million is £1,519.60 - £3,149.80 (inclusive of VAT at 20%) with an additional £600 legal fee (plus VAT at 20% = £120) for leasehold properties and an additional £300 legal fee (plus VAT at 20% = £60) for shared ownership properties.

Leasehold property disbursements

Leasehold sales often involve additional charges set by the landlord or management company, such as:

Leasehold information pack - there is a certain amount of information which every landlord or management company is required to provide when a leasehold property is sold. They are entitled to charge a fee for this, and we find that the fees charged can range from £150 (plus VAT at 20% (£30)) to £500 (plus VAT at 20% (£100)). We are unable to confirm the fee payable for a particular property until the landlord’s initial information is received.
Notice of Transfer fee – this fee, if chargeable, is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50-£250 (plus VAT at 20% (£10-£50)). This fee is usually paid by the buyer of the property, but sometimes a charge is also made to the seller. This will be set out in the lease.
Deed of Covenant fee – this fee is charged by the landlord or management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100-£500 (plus VAT at 20% (£20-£100)). Again, this fee is usually paid by the buyer of the property. The terms of the lease will confirm the position.

These fees vary from property to property as they are set by individual landlords and management companies. This means that on occasion, they can be significantly more than the ranges given above. Exact figures can only be provided once we obtain your lease and the leasehold information pack. This list is not exhaustive, and other disbursements may apply depending on the terms of the lease. We can provide you with a tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

Stages of selling a house

The time frames for selling a house can vary and are currently increasing across the housing market due to matters outside of our control. We will keep you updated as your house sale transaction progresses.

If you have any questions, please contact a member of our Residential Conveyancing team.

Stage 1 – Instructions & Preparation

Take your instructions and give you initial advice.
Obtain an up-to-date copy of the title to the property from Land Registry.
Provide you with Property Information forms for you to complete.
For leasehold properties, contact the landlord or management company to obtain the leasehold information pack. You will be required to pay their administration fee for this before they will issue the pack to us (most landlords/management companies will provide the pack within ten working days of the fee being paid by you, however this could be substantially longer if dealing with an unresponsive landlord/management company)
Draft contract documents and submit to your buyer's conveyancer, once completed forms are received from you.
Obtain further planning documents if required.

This stage of selling a house will usually be complete within 2 to 3 weeks.

Stage 2 – Pre-exchange enquiries & preparation

Address any necessary enquiries once raised by the buyer's conveyancer.
Send final contract to you for signature.
Approve and advise on Transfer.
Send final Transfer to you for signature.
Agree completion date.
Request redemption statement from mortgage lender.

This stage of property sales will usually be complete within 3 to 4 weeks, depending on how promptly the buyer's conveyancer deals with our correspondence.

Stage 3 – Pre-completion & completion formalities

Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened.
Complete sale.
Deal with payment of estate agent's commission.
Account to you for net sale proceeds.

This stage will usually be complete within 2 weeks.

Step-by-step, we'll walk you through the process of selling a house and are happy to discuss what questions solicitors ask when selling a house. Get in touch with our conveyancing experts.

How long will my property sale take?

The average conveyancing transaction currently takes 10-12 weeks to complete from the day we receive your instructions. However, this depends on a number of factors and we cannot guarantee these timescales.

Example timelines:

Selling to a first-time buyer with a mortgage in principle: around 6 weeks
Leasehold property requiring a lease extension: 3–6 months

Our property sale fee assumes that:

This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.
The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.
All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from the parties providing documentation.
No indemnity insurance policies are required. Additional disbursements and legal fees may apply if indemnity policies are required.
In relation to leasehold – these fees relate to the assignment of an existing lease and not the grant of a new lease.

You can get an instant conveyancing fee estimate online using our Online Conveyancing Tool.

You can see the legal advisers who work in our Residential Conveyancing Team.

Service Standards

We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided, please inform us immediately so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

We are very proud to be able to say that our residential property team have WON the award for Residential Property of the Year at the Yorkshire Legal Awards 2022, acknowledging us being a market leader and providing a high quality conveyancing service for clients.

FAQs about selling a house

Do I need a solicitor to sell a house if I have no mortgage?

Yes. You still need a solicitor to prepare the contract, respond to enquiries and manage the legal transfer of ownership.

What documents do I need to sell my house?

You’ll usually need proof of ID, title deeds, completed Property Information Forms, Fittings & Contents Form, and any certificates for alterations. We’ll advise if anything else is required.

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