House Sale - Fees

[EllieQ]

I feel a bit stupid asking this, but here goes. My mum died last year, probate has been granted, and we are selling her house. The mortgage was paid off several years ago, but mum was in a care home before she died and we owe money for the care home fees.
I know we will need to pay the estate agents fees, but my question is, would we also need to pay solicitors fees for conveyancing costs? I know that when I bought my house, we had to pay solicitors fees as well as the estate agent costs and stamp duty. But if we are only selling a house, would we still have solicitors costs to pay?

Most definitely. Solicitors input is required for selling and buying houses.

I have been left a house in a will and I have been led to believe that if I sell within a year I will be liable for stamp duty and CGT. Don't take my word for it as I might have misunderstood, but maybe worth finding out before you sell?

But if we are only selling a house, would we still have solicitors costs to pay?
In theory you can do the conveyancing yourself. But would you want to?
Solicitors charge less to sell than they do to buy.

Why would you be liable for stamp duty if you are selling. You are likely to need to consider:

• backdated bills - electricity, water, council tax etc
• solicitor fees
• agency fees
• if there is a big difference in the price you get when selling and the price it was taxed at you may be liable for additional taxes (CGT). You don't pay CGT if you sell for the same price as you listed in your IHT tax return.
• any other outstanding debts

Thanks everyone, it seems obvious now that we’d need solicitors for the conveyancing work! I just couldn’t think straight. I will check the CGT/ IHT issue too.