Charges
Our fees for the purchase of a residential property can range from £495 plus VAT to £3,999 plus VAT plus any payments we make on your behalf (disbursements) depending on the complexity of the transaction i.e whether the transaction involves the purchase of a house or a flat, whether the title is freehold or leasehold, whether the title deeds are registered with the Land Registry or unregistered, whether the property is a listed building, whether it is a new build, whether it is shared ownership, whether there is a Management Company, whether there is a private access road, whether it has been extended or structurally altered and the value of the property. Every transaction is unique and every purchaser has different individual requirements throughout each stage of the transaction.
An example of a transaction and an indication of the possible fees involved can be seen below:
Legal fees for Purchase of House at approx. £132,000 (all prices quoted are inclusive of VAT.
Eaton Smith Legal Fees starting from | £555 |
Acting for your Lender | £114 |
Claiming Help to Buy ISA bonus supplemental fee (if applicable) | £60 |
Administration Charges | |
Bank Transfer Fee (sending money to seller’s solicitors on completion) | £42 |
Digital File Scanning Fee | £24 |
Online ID Verification Fee (£12 per person) | £12 |
Lawyer Checker | £14.40 |
In addition to the above certain disbursements (see below for likely disbursements) will be added to the above charges where applicable.
These are the costs charged by third parties for information and documents we need to obtain as part of your purchase transaction, such as copy documents from the Land Registry, searches and land registration fees.
Search bundle for non coal mining areas |
£151.40 |
Search bundle for coal mining areas | £191 |
Land Registry searches | £3.60 per title searched |
Land charges searches | £2.40 per name searched |
Land Registration fees are charged by the Land Registry for registering you as the new owner of the property and based on the price of the property.
The amount of stamp duty payable on your purchase depends on the purchase price of the property and also on whether you are a first-time buyer and whether you own or have an interest in another residential property. HM Revenue and Customs has an SDLT calculator on their website which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates This figure will be paid by you in addition to our legal fees and disbursements.
It is difficult to estimate the likely timescale of any sale and purchase transaction as so many factors are outside our control, such as the length of time it takes mortgage lenders to issue a mortgage offer and for local authorities to provide search results. The Law does not impose any specific timescales on a buyer or seller. Timescale is also dictated by how quickly sellers and buyers instruct their respective solicitors, complete the required forms, pay search fees, complete mortgage applications and instruct surveyors. Any delay by any of the parties in a conveyancing ‘chain’ of transactions inevitably extends the time it takes for a sale or purchase to reach completion. As a guide the usual timescale is 10-12 weeks, however, some transactions take longer than this and some are much quicker. The length of the chain is a significant factor. The longer the chain of parties selling and buying the longer it usually takes to co-ordinate all transactions.
Our dedicated Property team has many years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in Residential Conveyancing. Circumstances may arise where it is necessary to charge on the basis of the time we spend on a certain element of a transaction rather than a fixed fee. If this is the case we will inform you. Where our charges are based on an hourly rate our rates are between £130 and £210 excluding VAT.
Our fees for the sale of a residential property can range from £599 plus VAT to £3,999 plus VAT plus any payments we make on your behalf (disbursements) depending on the complexity of the transaction i.e. whether the transaction involves the sale of a house or a flat, whether the title is freehold or leasehold, whether the title deeds are registered with the Land Registry or unregistered, whether the property is a listed building, whether it is a new build, whether it is shared ownership, whether there is a Management Company, whether there is a private access road, whether it has been extended or structurally altered and the value of the property. Every transaction is unique and every seller has different individual requirements throughout each stage of the transaction.
An example of a transaction and an indication of the possible fees involved can be seen below (all charges are inclusive of VAT):
Legal fees for the Sale of a House at approx. £325,000
Eaton Smith Legal Fees starting from | £555 |
Administration Charges | |
Bank Transfer Fee (sending money to seller’s solicitors on completion) | £42 |
Digital File Scanning Fee | £24 |
Online ID Verification Fee (£12 per person) | £12 |
Lawyer Checker | £14.40 |
In addition to the above certain disbursements (see below for likely disbursements) will be added to the above charges where applicable.
NB. Leasehold properties can incur landlord and Management Company notice fees which are unknown until the transaction is underway.
These are the costs charged by third parties for information and documents we need to obtain as part of your sale transaction, such as copy documents from the Land Registry.
Land Registry copy of your title deeds - £6.00 per title and £3.00 for a copy of each document referred to in the title (unless the property is unregistered).
It is difficult to estimate the likely timescale of any sale and purchase transaction as so many factors are outside our control, such as the length of time it takes mortgage lenders to issue a mortgage offer and for local authorities to provide a buyer’s search results. The Law does not impose any specific timescales on a buyer or seller. As such, timescale is also dictated by how quickly sellers and buyers instruct their respective solicitors, complete the required forms, pay search fees, complete mortgage applications and instruct surveyors. Any delay inevitably extends the time it takes for a sale or purchase to reach completion. As a guide the usual timescale is 10-12 weeks, however, some transactions take longer than this and some are much quicker. The length of the chain is a significant factor. The longer the chain of parties selling and buying, the longer it usually takes to co-ordinate all transactions.
Our dedicated Property team has many years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in Residential Conveyancing.
Our fees for the mortgage or re-mortgage of a residential property range from £599 plus VAT to £3,999 plus VAT depending on the value of the property, the amount being borrowed, whether the transaction involves the mortgage or re-mortgage of a house or a flat, whether the title to the property is freehold or leasehold, whether the title deeds are registered with the Land Registry or unregistered, whether the property is a listed building, whether it is shared ownership, whether there is a management company, whether there is a private access road and whether the property has been extended or structurally altered.
These are the costs charged by third parties for information and documents we need to obtain as part of your mortgage or re-mortgage transaction, such as copy documents from the Land Registry, searches or search insurance and land registration fees
Land Registry copy of your title deeds - £6.00 per title and £3.00 for a copy of each document referred to in the title
If your new lender requires searches to be obtained, the likely costs are as follows:-
Search bundle for non coal mining areas | £167 |
Search bundle for coal mining areas | £191 |
If your new lender does not require searches to be obtained and will accept search insurance instead, the likely cost of a policy will be between £30.00 and £100.00 including VAT depending on the value of your property. We charge an arranged fee of £120 including VAT for putting this policy in place.
The following searches will always be required:-
Land Registry searches - £3.60 per title searched
Land charges searches - £2.40 per name searched
Land Registration fees – charged by the Land Registry for registering your new mortgage, based on the amount you borrow
Bank transfer fees of £42 incl VAT will be charged for the transfer of funds.
The average timescale for completion of a mortgage or re-mortgage is 3 to 4 weeks but will depend on how quickly your new mortgage lender issues your mortgage offer and how quickly we are able to obtain your title deeds, if they are not registered at the Land Registry.
Our dedicated Property team has many years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in Residential Conveyancing. Circumstances may arise where it is necessary to charge on the basis of the time we spend on a certain element of a transaction rather than a fixed fee. If this is the case we will inform you. Where our charges are based on an hourly rate our rates are between £130 and £210 excluding VAT.