Do solicitors work on no-completion no-fee basis?

[Pinkrose13]

Hi all,

 We are selling our property. I vaguely remember our solicitor worked on no-completion no-fee basis when we bought this house (I’m not sure). 

Is it reasonable to expect this ?

Bumping for responses.

I think it depends how far along in the process you are. If it falls through at exchange then the conveyancer will have incurred costs and you'll need to pay for searches I would imagine. Earlier than that and it might be ok.

Why should they? It's unlikely to be their fault it falls through and they will have spent time up to that point. I've thought billing for time spent on an abortive transaction was standard?

Yes some do, though there's usually a non refundable deposit. We had to pull out of a sale right at the very end of the process just before exchange and didn't have to pay anything, though we didn't get a refund for the £250 deposit we had paid (understandably!)

I used to work for a firm that offered this. I think you paid £20ish upfront for the insurance policy.

Bear in mind that search fees can't be refunded regardless as they are paid to a third party.

My firm offers this, but you do have to sign up to an insurance scheme where there is a charge for both sale and purchase (around £30 each). Bear in mind that some things you may pay for, i.e. Land Registry documents and searches would not be refundable since the fees are paid to a third party.

Thanks all. We are selling the property, not buying. Would there be searches etc for sellers too?

Sorry, no you wouldn't need searches on a sale!

After our sale had fallen through 3 times I phoned round all day to find one who would do this!