When do you pay solicitors fees?

slwj89

At what point do you pay solicitors fees? At completion?

already given them 500 for searches etc.

but when do they ask for full bill

Slithery

They usually want the money in their account before they'll allow you to exchange.

canaldumidi

Slithery said:

They usually want the money in their account before they'll allow you to exchange.

If there's a meaningful gap between Exchange and Completion, then a few days before Compltion.

But you'll get a final statement from them telling you how much and when!

JellyphantCastle

I exchanged yesterday and before that took place I was sent a statement of account which had the deposit, SDLT and solicitor fees on it. I was told all funds needed to clear in their account before exchange could take place but I guess all conveyancing firms have slightly different processes. 

I paid for a couple of things as and when they cropped up, eg the searches and ID checks etc. 

user1977

They should really have already told you in their terms of business etc.

TBG01

But that would mean reading the paper work.

slwj89

TBG01 said:

But that would mean reading the paper work.

Thanks for the pointless comment, there is nothing  in their initial paperwork and I have heard some people paying on exchange and some getting a “completion statement”
so as first time buyers and new to this house buying I thought I would ask for any experiences people have had. 

Rambosmum

I've always paid on completion, after exchange. Different conveyancers have different processes I guess. 

Thrugelmir

Rambosmum said:

I've always paid on completion, after exchange. Different conveyancers have different processes I guess. 

I'd be very surprised if this was the case. Most likely some of the funds came via the mortgage/released equity. 

Gavin83

We also paid between exchange and completion.

Our conveyancer charged a reduced fee if we didn't exchange so I'm not really sure how charging us before exchange worked, unless he'd have refunded us some of the money if it had fallen through last minute.

Jaybee_16

When I completed last year, the solicitor asked for the transferred purchase price and their fees so effectively the day before completion.