Residential Conveyancing

WE ARE REQUIRED BY THE SRA TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING COSTS INFORMATION IN RELATION THE SPECIFIC SERVICES OUTLINED BELOW.

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE FULL RANGE OF SERVICES WE OFFER, PLEASE CLICK HERE. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE CHARGE FOR OUR OTHER SERVICES PLEASE CONTACT THE RELEVANT TEAM.

Purchase of a residential property

Our fees for a typical purchase range from around £1750 plus VAT (£350) for a simple transaction to around £5,000 plus VAT (£800). These figures may however vary in cases with special complications. That’s why we will always give you an individual cost estimate at the start of the transaction, taking into account the actual features of your purchase. We will always advise you immediately about any complications and discuss the potential impact on price before any additional charges are incurred. Examples of factors that would increase the cost are (but not limited to): leasehold properties, unregistered property, defective titles, short exchange deadlines, overseas buyers, Help to Buy, new build, properties with tenants, conditional contracts and short leases (i.e. with a term remaining of less than 80 years).

Our fees will cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales. Our fee includes acting on behalf of your mortgage lender. Our fee does not include the preparation of any additional documents ancillary to the main transaction, for example a declaration of trust or giving tax advice.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

In addition to our legal fees the usual disbursements are:

• Search fees approx. £400-£700 (depending on the Local Authority the Property is located in). We ask in all cases that funds are sent on account of these costs before they are incurred.  We will give a written estimate at the start of a transaction.
• HM Land Registry fees are based on a sliding scale depending on the purchase price and are indicated in the table below:
  

  Property Value	Fee for transfers of a freehold property and existing leases	Fee for transfer of part or new lease
  0 to £80,000	£20	£45
  £80,001 to £100,000	£40	£95
  £100,001 to £200,000	£100	£230
  £200,001 to £500,000	£150	£330
  £500,001 to £1,000,000	£295	£655
  £1,000,001 and over	£500	£1,105

• Electronic money transfer fee £30 plus VAT (£6) per transfer and £40 (£8) plus VAT for international transfers
• Copying and postage fee £20 plus VAT (£4)
• Land Registry priority search £3 plus VAT (£0.60) per title
• Land Registry bankruptcy search £2 plus VAT (£0.40) per person

Further and typical disbursements on leasehold properties, payable in addition to the disbursements referred to above are:

• Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 – £150.
• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 and £150.
• Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £150 and £300.
• Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £100 – £200.

These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.

Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website here.  We do not provide tax advice but can refer you to a specialist.

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6-12 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are an experienced buyer, purchasing a freehold property with a mortgage in principle, the process will be quicker than if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease which can take significantly longer. In such a situation additional charges could apply.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, please note some of the key stages below:

• Carry out identity and source of funds checks
• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Receive and advise on contract documents
• Carry out searches
• Review the mortgage offer (if applicable) and valuation and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
• Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
• Report to you on documents and information received
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Sale of a residential property

Our fees for a typical sale range from around £1,750 plus VAT for a simple transaction to around £3,000 plus VAT. These figures may however vary in cases with special complications. That’s why we will always give you an individual cost estimate at the start of the transaction, taking into account the actual features of your sale. We will always advise you immediately about any complications and discuss the potential impact on price before any additional charges are incurred. Examples of factors that would increase the cost are (but not limited to): leasehold properties, unregistered property, defective titles, short exchange deadlines, properties with tenants, conditional contracts. Our fee does not include the preparation of any additional documents ancillary to the main transaction, for example preparing notice to quit or giving tax advice.

In addition to our legal fees the usual disbursements are:

• Copy title documents approx. £6
• Electronic money transfer fee £30 plus VAT (£6) per transfer and £40 plus VAT (£8) for international transfers
• Copying and postage fee £20 plus VAT (£4)
• Management pack (leasehold properties only) approx. £300 (this fee is determined by your landlord).

The key stages of a typical sale will be:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Contact your lender (if any) for a redemption statement and request a management pack from your landlord
• Draft contracts and issue the sales pack
• Reply to enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitor
• Agree the transfer deed
• Send final contract and transfer deed to you for signature
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Complete sale
• Deal with redemption of any mortgages

Re-mortgage of a residential property

Our average fee for a typical re-mortgage that does not have any unexpected complications is around £1,500 plus VAT. These figures may however vary in cases with special complications. That’s why we will always give you an individual cost estimate at the start of the transaction, taking into account the actual features of your re-mortgage. We will always advise you immediately about any complications and discuss the potential impact on price before any additional charges are incurred. Examples of factors that would increase the cost are (but not limited to): leasehold properties, unregistered property, defective titles, a transfer of equity together with the re-mortgage and short leases (i.e. with a term remaining of less than 80 years).

In addition to our legal fees the usual disbursements are:

• Copy title documents approx £6.
• Electronic money transfer fee £30 plus VAT (£6) per transfer and £40 plus VAT (£8) for international transfers.
• Management pack (leasehold properties only) approx. £300 (this fee is determined by your landlord.
• Search fees approx. £400-£700 (depending on the Local Authority the Property is located in).
• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 and £100.
• HM Land Registry fees are based on a sliding scale depending on the value of the Property and are indicated on the table above.

The key stages of a typical re-mortgage will be:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Contact your lender (if any) for a redemption statement
• Request a management pack from your landlord
• Carry out searches
• Request drawdown of mortgage advance
• Complete re-mortgage
• Deal with redemption of any mortgages

Our property team has years of experience delivering high quality property work.