Solicitor, searches, survey and valuation costs

What a conveyancer actually does

Conveyancing is the legal work of transferring ownership of property from one person to another. It is usually done by a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer, and while the outcome sounds simple, the work behind it is not.

Your conveyancer examines the title to confirm the seller can actually sell, and that what is being sold is what you think you are buying. They raise enquiries with the seller’s solicitor about anything unclear — boundaries, alterations, disputes, guarantees. They order and review searches. They check the mortgage offer and make sure its conditions can be met. They prepare and exchange contracts, handle the money on completion, pay the stamp duty, and register you as the new owner at HM Land Registry.

It is also their job to tell you when something is wrong. A good conveyancer will slow a transaction down when there is a reason to, and that is a service worth paying for even though it does not feel like one at the time.

Legal fees and disbursements

Your bill has two distinct parts, and understanding the difference makes quotes much easier to compare.

• —The professional fee is what the firm charges for its own work, plus VAT. This is the part that varies between firms and the part you can shop around on. Fees are often higher for leasehold, new-build, shared ownership, or purchases through a company, because each involves genuinely more work.
• —Disbursements are costs the firm pays out on your behalf and passes on at cost — searches, the Land Registry fee, bank transfer charges, and identity and anti-money-laundering checks. These are broadly similar whoever you instruct, because they are third-party charges rather than the firm’s own pricing.

When comparing quotes, check that both include the same disbursements. A low headline fee with disbursements listed separately, or with charges added later for things like dealing with a leasehold management company, can end up costing more than a higher all-in quote. Ask for the quote in writing and ask specifically what is not included.

Payment is usually staged: a sum on account at the start to cover searches and initial work, then the balance at completion out of the funds your solicitor is already holding.

Searches, and why they exist

Searches answer questions that looking at a property cannot. They are enquiries to public bodies and specialist providers about the property and the land around it.

• —Local authority search. Planning history and permissions, building regulations, whether the road is publicly maintained, tree preservation orders, and whether the property is affected by any proposed scheme. Turnaround times vary considerably between councils and can be a real factor in how long a purchase takes.
• —Drainage and water search. Whether the property is connected to mains water and public sewers, where the pipes run, and whether a public sewer crosses the land — which can restrict future building.
• —Environmental search. Flood risk, contaminated land, ground stability, and nearby industrial history.
• —Location-specific searches. Depending where you buy, your solicitor may order a coal mining search, a tin or clay mining search, a chancel repair check, or others. These are not padding — they reflect genuine local risks.

If you are buying with a mortgage, your lender will normally require searches, so they are not really optional. If you are buying in cash you can decline them, but doing so means accepting risks you have chosen not to look at.

Valuation is not a survey

This distinction costs people money every year, so it is worth being blunt about it.

A lender valuation is commissioned by your lender to confirm the property is adequate security for the loan. Some lenders absorb the cost, others charge it to you. It may be a physical inspection, or it may be a desktop or automated valuation with no visit at all. Either way it is not carried out for your benefit, you may not receive a copy, and it will not tell you that the roof needs work.

A survey is commissioned by you, for you, and reports on the condition of the building. It is a separate instruction and a separate cost.

Buyers frequently assume the valuation covers them. It does not. If a serious defect emerges after completion, the fact that a lender valued the property tells you nothing about whether that defect was visible.

Choosing a level of survey

Surveys come at different levels of detail. Broadly, a basic condition report gives a summary of the property’s condition and flags urgent issues without going into detail. A mid-level homebuyer report is more thorough, typically includes a valuation, and suits conventional properties in reasonable condition. A full building survey is the most detailed inspection, examines construction and fabric closely, and is the appropriate choice for older, larger, unusual or extensively altered buildings.

Cost rises with the level of detail and the size of the property. The decision is a straightforward risk judgement: on a modern flat in good order, a basic report may be proportionate; on a Victorian house with a converted loft, the money spent on a full survey is small relative to what it can uncover.

One practical point often missed. A survey that identifies work needed is not a reason to walk away by itself — it is information. It can be a basis for renegotiating the price, or for budgeting properly for the first two years of ownership. Buyers who skip the survey lose that leverage entirely.

The Land Registry fee

After completion your conveyancer registers the change of ownership at HM Land Registry, and a fee is payable. It is set by statute, banded by the price paid, and there are different rates for applications submitted electronically and by post — most conveyancers submit electronically. Reduced fees apply in some circumstances, including certain first registrations.

Because the scale is statutory and periodically revised, the reliable source is HM Land Registry itself. The current fee schedule and an official fee calculator are published on GOV.UK, linked below. Your conveyancer will include the correct figure on your completion statement.

Extra costs on a leasehold purchase

Buying a leasehold flat brings costs a freehold purchase does not. The seller normally has to obtain a management pack from the freeholder or managing agent, and after completion there are usually notice fees payable to the freeholder to register the change of ownership and any new mortgage. Deeds of covenant and certificates of compliance may also be required.

Individually these are modest; together they add up, and they often appear late in the process when the management pack arrives. If you are buying leasehold, ask your conveyancer at the outset for their best estimate of these charges so nothing lands unexpectedly a week before completion.

It is also worth asking early about the length of the lease. A short lease can affect both mortgageability and value, and extending one is a significant separate cost.

What happens if the sale falls through

Searches are paid for when ordered, and the work your solicitor has already done has already been done. If the transaction collapses before exchange — and a meaningful proportion do — most of that money is gone. Survey fees are the same.

Some search providers offer transferable or insured products, and some firms will discount their fee on a subsequent purchase, so it is worth asking. But the honest position is that a failed purchase has a real cost, and anyone buying in a chain should hold a contingency for the possibility of paying twice.

Choosing well rather than cheaply

Conveyancing is one of the few costs in a purchase where the cheapest option can genuinely cost you more. A firm that is unresponsive, or that does not have capacity, can add weeks to a transaction — and in a chain, delay is the main reason sales collapse.

Ask how you will be kept updated and who your point of contact is. Ask whether the firm is on your lender’s approved panel, because if it is not, the lender may require separate representation at additional cost. And ask what their current turnaround looks like rather than what it looks like in principle.

Read next

Pillar guide

The complete cost of buying in the UK

Tax

Stamp duty for UK and overseas buyers

Mortgage

Deposit, broker, lender and product fees

Ownership

Ongoing costs after buying

Written by

Berkan Akşit

Founder of ABA Financial Consultancy Ltd, a London-based consultancy working with Turkish and international clients on UK property and mortgage journeys. Berkan supports clients with their mortgage options through Capricorn International, and writes the ABA UK Mortgage Guide in English and Turkish.

Last reviewed August 2026