FAQs About Conveyancing in London
Our research shows that the average conveyancing costs in London are £1,670 for buying and £1,600 for selling. It takes 100 days on average to complete the conveyancing process in London.
There's a high risk of flooding and subsidence, but your conveyancer will highlight any environmental and legal issues with the property and area you plan to buy in.
Why Hire a London Conveyancer?
Your conveyancer will be responsible for taking care of the legal side of buying and selling a property. As the UK’s capital, London property is extremely sought after, often resulting in the conveyancing process taking a bit longer.
According to the UK House Price Index, in the last year, there were 2,879 sales of existing properties and 47 new build sales, with detached properties seeing the biggest increase in price by 4.1%. Due to high demand of property in London, it's important to instruct your conveyancer to begin the case once an offer has been agreed upon between buyer and seller. The stages of the conveyancing process include:
- Offers agreed
- Conveyancing searches ordered (if buying)
- Liaise with mortgage lender to finalise
- Agree on the completion date
- Check the contract and raise pre-contract enquiries
- Exchange contracts
- Completion day
- Pay any Stamp Duty
The conveyancing process will vary depending on the circumstances of the sale or purchase. Extra steps will be added if you’re buying or selling a leasehold or Help to Buy property.
Data taken from UK House Price Index
How Much are Conveyancing Solicitor Fees in London?
Your conveyancing costs will be based on the value of the property you are buying or selling as well as location and how complicated your case is. We’ve looked at our data to reveal the all-important conveyancing costs you need to know about buying and selling in London.
As London has an average house price of £784,502, the average conveyancing fees for buying a freehold property is £1,670 and £1,850 if the property is leasehold. Average conveyancing costs for selling a freehold property in London are £1,600 and £1,770 for a leasehold property.
This total cost will be made up of the conveyancer’s legal fee and conveyancing disbursements such as Land Registry fees and property searches if you’re buying. The average cost of a Local Authority Search in London will cost £133.20 (£111.00 +VAT), according to City of London’s council website.
Data taken from Compare My Move’s Moving House Calculator.
How Long Does Conveyancing Take in London?
The conveyancing process takes 100 days on average in London for the sale of a freehold property, making it the slowest region for conveyancing in the UK. This takes into account the time from offers accepted to completing the sale.
Conveyancing in London takes even longer for leasehold properties, averaging around 120 days from the point of sale agreed to completion. Buying and selling a leasehold property takes longer than a freehold as it requires extra paperwork and more of the conveyancer’s time.
On average in the UK, conveyancing takes between 8-12 weeks, but the timescale can vary depending on the difficulty of the case, location and your conveyancer.
Data taken from View My Chain
What to Expect From Conveyancing Searches in London?
When you’re buying a property, your conveyancer will order conveyancing searches that are made up of; Local Authority, Environmental and Water and Drainage. The searches will check if the property and the land nearby poses a threat, revealing any risk of flood, subsidence, ground stability and radon gas.
London’s rivers are at a high risk of flooding according to the government website, however, the City of London’s Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Strategy shows that this would have a limited effect on the risk of direct flooding to residential properties, with it only affecting a handful of homes in the City of London.
Another issue that might appear in your searches is ground stability. One main cause of ground stability is subsidence and unfortunately for Londoners, it’s one of the most affected cities in the UK for subsidence. London has one of the highest-shrink-swell clay hazards in the country, which translates to 1 in 50 houses suffering from subsidence.
Data taken from City of London's Flood Risk Strategy and Geobear's Subsidence Map.
