Spot the extras.
Before you instruct.

Check the full sale quote and terms, not just the headline legal fee. Extra work should have a clear charging basis.

Ask: Please confirm the total including VAT, the work covered and the circumstances in which the price can change.

Ask whether verification is included for every seller, executor or attorney who needs it.

Ask: Are all required identity checks included? Is there a charge per person or for additional checks?

The charge can depend on how many payments the firm makes. A transfer administration fee is not necessarily the bank’s own charge.

Ask: How many outgoing payments are included, and what is the total charge including VAT for each extra payment?

Copies of the title, plan and other filed documents can be separate costs. More than one title can mean more documents.

Ask: Are all title documents and official copies included? Please separate HM Land Registry costs from your own administration fees.

Check the terms for separately charged file opening, portal use, postage, storage, completion or expedited work.

Ask: Are there any compulsory administration, completion, storage or expedited-work charges outside this total?

No-move-no-fee terms can exclude third-party costs or additional work. Upfront payments may be part of the quoted total.

Ask: What is payable upfront, is it credited to the total, and what would I owe if the sale falls through or needs urgent work?

Leasehold enquiries and reviewing management information involve extra work. A share of freehold can still include a leasehold title.

Ask: Does the quote include the leasehold supplement and all expected leasehold enquiries? Is any further leasehold work charged separately?

The freeholder or managing agent may charge for information. This is separate from the firm’s leasehold supplement; payment may be direct or collected through the conveyancer.

Ask: What management-pack and update fees are payable, to whom and when? Are they already included in the quote?

A separate freeholder, block manager or estate company may each supply information. Do not assume one fee covers them all.

Ask: Which organisations need to supply information, and what will each pack or set of replies cost?

Check responsibility for consent, compliance certificates, covenants, share certificates and other management charges. Some costs may fall to the buyer.

Ask: Which additional landlord or estate charges are mine to pay, and which are the buyer’s? Please itemise the amounts and timing.

Freehold ownership does not rule out estate-management enquiries or restrictions requiring extra legal work.

Ask: Does the legal fee cover the estate-charge information and any restriction or compliance work needed on this sale?

In England, 11 metres OR five storeys flags a relevant-building check. Other tests and exclusions apply, including ownership. It is not an automatic finding of protection or a mandatory fee.

Ask: Can you handle this building, and is building-safety work included? Please confirm any supplement and the certificates or evidence you need.

Do not assume the English leaseholder-protection rules apply unchanged to a Welsh property. Ask the firm to check the current Welsh requirements and any extra work. The linked consultation describes proposals, not a decision on your building.

Ask: What building-safety enquiries and documents are needed for this Welsh property, and are they included in the quote?

Work to change or extend a lease is different from routine sale conveyancing. Do not assume every short lease needs the same solution.

Ask: Does this lease need specialist work before sale? Please quote separately for any extension or variation, including other parties’ costs.

Checking authority to sell may be included or separately charged. Applying for probate and administering the estate are separate services.

Ask: Does this sale quote cover checking the grant and the personal representatives? Is any probate application or estate work a separate quote?

The firm must check the document, registration where needed, restrictions and who can sign. Creating or registering an LPA is separate work.

Ask: Is reviewing the power of attorney, checking the attorneys and any extra signing arrangements included?

The provider’s involvement, consent and any simultaneous staircasing can add work. Firms may price using the full value rather than just the share.

Ask: Is shared ownership included? Is the quote based on the full value or my share, and does it cover the actual resale or staircasing route?

Check the provider’s valuation requirements, expiry and resale charges. A valuation or update is separate from the conveyancer’s supplement.

Ask: What valuation, update, resale or nomination fees do I need to budget for? Who arranges the RICS valuation and which valuers are acceptable?

Equity-loan repayment is separate from mortgage redemption. The firm needs to handle the scheme’s legal requirements and release of its charge.

Ask: Does this quote include my equity-loan repayment work and the scheme’s required undertakings, consent and charge release?

Confirm valuation, update and scheme administration costs with the correct administrator. England and Wales have different schemes.

Ask: Which administrator should I contact, what valuation is required and what scheme fees are payable outside the legal quote?

The quote should make clear whether repaying the mortgage and arranging discharge of the lender’s charge are included.

Ask: Does the sale fee include obtaining the redemption figure, repaying the mortgage and arranging release of the charge?

Each separate lender or secured charge can require additional work. Do not count an equity-loan supplement twice.

Ask: What is included for every mortgage and secured charge? Please identify extra redemption fees and avoid duplicating the equity-loan charge.

Early-repayment or lender administration charges are separate from the conveyancer’s fee and the mortgage balance itself.

Ask: Please confirm any lender early-repayment, exit or administration charges using the redemption statement.

The firm may need extra work to establish ownership. Unregistered property can be sold; ask who handles first registration and whether any seller application is needed.

Ask: Please confirm registration status, the deeds required, any extra legal charge and who pays for any first-registration work.

A resale of a recently built home is not automatically a new-build purchase. Check warranty, planning and estate documents, and whether management costs already cover the work.

Ask: Does this resale need any extra warranty or estate-document work? Please explain any new-build supplement and avoid overlap with leasehold charges.

Confirm who prepares the legal pack, what it includes and whether auction or expedited work costs extra. Traditional and modern auction terms differ.

Ask: Who prepares and pays for the legal pack and searches? Does this quote cover the auction conditions and deadlines, including any urgent-work fee?

A tenanted sale may involve tenancy papers and deposit arrangements. Advice on possession, notices or disputes may be outside ordinary conveyancing.

Ask: Are tenancy and deposit checks included? Is vacant-possession or dispute advice separate, and can the intended sale terms be met?

Resolving missing paperwork can involve legal work, document costs or an insurance premium. Ask the firm before contacting an authority about a defect, as that can affect insurance options.

Ask: What is needed for the alterations or missing documents? Please separate your extra fee, document costs and any proposed indemnity premium.

An additional title, restriction, dispute or arrangement such as leased solar panels may need work outside a standard sale.

Ask: Does the fee cover all titles and restrictions, and the issue I have described? Please quote for any extra documents, third-party consent or specialist advice.

A sale with arrears, recovery action or insufficient proceeds needs early review. Negotiating with creditors may be separate work.

Ask: Can you act on these circumstances, and are lender, creditor or shortfall negotiations included? What additional costs could arise?

Check how signatures and identity will be verified and whether certification, translation or overseas payments add costs.

Ask: What are the overseas signing and ID requirements, and which certification, translation or payment charges are outside the quote?

Scheme terms can affect consent, restrictions or amounts repaid on sale. Ask about both the legal work and the scheme’s own costs.

Ask: Please check the scheme’s resale conditions, any repayment and consents, and confirm your fee for dealing with them.