The short answer
Not with every firm. Many conveyancers ask for a deposit or “money on account” before they start work on a sale or a purchase. At Pinnacle Law there is no upfront cost and no deposit. You pay our fixed fee once, when your move completes, and in the meantime we pay for your searches ourselves.
This is the second part of the Pinnacle Price Promise: one fixed fee that never goes up, nothing to pay until you complete, and nothing to pay if your move falls through.
Imagine booking a builder to fit a new kitchen. Before they have ordered a single cupboard, they ask for a payment, and tell you it is non-refundable if the job does not go ahead. Most people would at least ask why.
Yet in conveyancing, it is surprisingly common. Here is why some firms ask for money early, what to check before you pay, and why we have chosen not to.
Why do some conveyancers ask for money upfront?
Most upfront payments exist to cover costs the firm has to pay out before your move completes. On a sale, that usually means identity checks, copies of your title from the Land Registry and the work of preparing the contract pack for your buyer’s lawyer. On a purchase, the biggest cost is usually property searches, which are ordered early in the process and paid for straight away.
Some firms also take a payment to secure your commitment. If a client changes conveyancer halfway through, or a buyer pulls out, the firm has done work it may never be paid for. An upfront payment protects the firm against that risk, and in practice moves it onto you.
None of this is wrong in itself. It is simply a choice about who carries the cost and the risk while the transaction is under way.
What should I check before paying a conveyancer upfront?
Before you pay anything, ask what the payment is for, whether it comes off your final bill, and whether you get it back if your move falls through. A payment described as “non-refundable” or as covering the firm’s “initial work” is usually a fee you will not see again if the sale or purchase collapses.
Check too whether the upfront payment is the only one. Some firms ask for money on account at the start and again before exchange, so the amount you have paid builds up long before you know whether you will complete.
How do I protect myself when sending money to a conveyancer?
Criminals target property transactions by sending emails that look like they come from your conveyancer with new bank details. If you are buying, always call the firm on a number you already know to confirm their bank details before you transfer anything. If you are selling, confirm your own bank details for the sale proceeds by phone or in person, not by email alone. Treat any email saying an account has changed as suspicious.
Why does Pinnacle not take a deposit or upfront fees?
We do not ask for money upfront because the start of a move is when our clients have the most to pay for and the least certainty. If you are selling, you may be paying for an energy performance certificate or, for a leasehold flat, a management information pack, with your sale proceeds still months away. If you are buying, you may be paying for a survey, a mortgage valuation and a broker, often while still saving for the deposit itself.
So once you have completed our instruction form, we simply get to work. We pay the costs of getting your file moving ourselves, including your searches on a purchase, and we include them in our fixed fee. You pay us once, on completion, and the figure is the one in your quote.
This is a deliberate decision about risk. If we take nothing until completion, we only get paid if we get you over the line. That puts our incentive exactly where yours is.
Are there any costs I will have to pay before completion?
Not to us. There may be costs you pay to other people during your move. Sellers may pay for an energy performance certificate or a leasehold management pack. Buyers may pay a lender’s valuation or arrangement fee, a surveyor or a mortgage broker. These are paid to those businesses directly, not through our fee, and we will explain which apply to you as soon as your file is open.
If you are selling, we pay off your mortgage and, with your instruction, your estate agent from the sale proceeds on completion, and send the balance to you. If you are buying, your deposit and the money needed for Stamp Duty are sent to us before completion so we can pay them on your behalf. That is your money for the move, not a fee to us.