Residential Property

Charges

Purchase

Our fees for the purchase of a residential property can range from £850 plus VAT @ 20% to £3,999 plus VAT @ 20% 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 exclusive of VAT @ 20%)

Eaton Smith Legal Fees starting from	£995 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Acting for your Lender	£95 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Claiming Help to Buy ISA bonus supplemental fee (if applicable)	£250 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Administration Charges
Bank Transfer Fee (sending money to seller’s solicitors on completion)	£35 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Digital File Scanning Fee	£20 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Online ID Verification Fee (£24 per person)	£20 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Lawyer Checker	£18 (plus VAT @ 20%)

In addition to the above certain disbursements (see below for likely disbursements) will be added to the above charges where applicable.

What will our cost estimate cover?

Checking property details, obtaining a plan for the property and making relevant searches;
Obtaining a draft contract and other relevant paperwork and negotiating approving and finalising these;
Investigating title to the property, making the necessary enquiries, checking replies to searches and enquiries and reporting to you;
Obtaining your signature to the contract and exchanging contracts;
Checking requisitions on title;
Advising you on Joint Ownership options (as appropriate);
Dealing with the requirements of your lender in order to obtain release of funds;
Making final searches, preparing the completion statement and arranging to receive funds to complete from you and any lender;
Completing the transaction;
Preparing a summary of documents for you.

What are Disbursements?

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.

What are the likely Disbursements?

All prices quoted are exclusive of VAT @ 20%

Search bundle for non coal mining areas	Estimated cost of £250 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Land Registry searches	£7.00 per title searched (plus VAT @ 20%)
Land charges searches	£6.00 per name searched (plus VAT @ 20%)

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.

Current Land Registry fees

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) or Land Transaction Tax (LTT)

The amount of stamp duty or land transaction tax 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. In Wales, the Welsh Revenue Authority has an LTT calculator on their website which can be found at Calculate Land Transaction Tax | GOV.WALES. This figure will be paid by you in addition to our legal fees and disbursements.

How long will my purchase take?

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.

Who will be doing my work?

Sale

Our fees for the sale of a residential property can range from £850 plus VAT @ 20% to £3,500 plus VAT @ 20% 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 exclusive of VAT @ 20%):

Legal fees for the Sale of a House at approx. £325,000

Eaton Smith Legal Fees starting from	£1,050 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Administration Charges
Bank Transfer Fee (sending money to seller’s solicitors on completion)	£35 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Digital File Scanning Fee	£20 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Online ID Verification Fee (£24 per person)	£20 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Lawyer Checker	£18 (plus VAT @ 20%)

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.

What will our cost estimate cover?

Obtaining your instructions in relation to the sale;
Liaising with you or your lender for any title deeds for the property and obtaining proof of title;
Preparing a draft contract and sending this and other documents to the buyer’s solicitors;
Dealing with replies to enquiries and obtaining your instructions on these;
Obtaining your signature to the contract and exchanging contracts;
Approving the draft transfer and dealing with replies to requisitions on title;
Preparing the completion statement and obtaining the invoice from the estate agent and a redemption statement from your lender and obtaining your approval to this;
Completing the sale and reporting to you;
Sending the net proceeds of sale to you and repaying your mortgage and paying the estate agent’s bill; and
Providing your buyer with evidence of repayment of the mortgage

What are Disbursements?

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.

What are the likely Disbursements?

Land Registry copy of your title deeds - £7.00 (plus VAT @ 20%) per title document referred to in the title (unless the property is unregistered).

How long will my sale take?

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.

Who will be doing my work?

Our dedicated Property team has many years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in Residential Conveyancing.

Mortgage / Re-Mortgage

Our fees for the mortgage or re-mortgage of a residential property range from £950 plus VAT @ 20% to £2,500 plus VAT @ 20% 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.

What will our cost estimate cover?

Checking property details, obtaining the title deeds for the property and making relevant searches (as required by your new lender) or arranging search insurance
Investigating title to the property,
Obtaining your signature to the mortgage deed with your new lender;
Obtaining a repayment statement from your existing lender (if applicable)
Dealing with the requirements of your new lender in order to obtain release of funds;
Making final searches, preparing the completion statement and arranging to receive funds to complete from you and your new lender;
Completing the transaction;
Repaying your existing mortgage (if applicable)
Preparing and submitting the application to the Land Registry to register your new mortgage on the title to your property
Reporting to you on completion of registration

What are Disbursements?

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

What are the likely Disbursements?

Land Registry copy of your title deeds - £7.00 (plus VAT @ 20%) per title document referred to in the title

If your new lender requires searches to be obtained, the likely costs are as follows:-

All prices quoted are exclusive of VAT @ 20%

Search bundle

Estimated cost of £300 (plus VAT @ 20%)

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 @ 20% depending on the value of your property. We charge an arranged fee of £120 including VAT @ 20% for putting this policy in place.

The following searches will always be required:-

Land Registry searches - £7.00 (plus VAT @ 20%) per title searched

Land charges searches - £6.00 (plus VAT @ 20%) 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 £35 (plus VAT @ 20%) will be charged for the transfer of funds.

Current Land Registry fees

How long will my mortgage or re-mortgage take?

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.

Who will be doing my work?

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 (plus VAT @ 20%).

Additional Legal Service Fees

Please note we may have to charge you additional fees where extra work is required through the course of the matter; in these more unusual cases we will notify you of any further fees before carrying out the work. The below is a list prepared to show you the outset of the transaction about our pricing.

Additional Service	Cost (all prices quoted are exclusive of VAT @ 20%)
Additional Title Fee: If you are purchasing or selling a property and the property is split over two titles, we will charge you for checking and transferring each title. Please note there may also be an additional charge made by the Land Registry	£180.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Auction Fee: If you are purchasing or selling a property at Auction, if you are successful at auction and you wish to instruct us to carry out the matter, this fee will be added to the sale/purchase legal fees.	£420.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Amended Mortgage Offer Fee: If an amended mortgage offer is received, we will have to review the documents for any changes made by your lender. We will charge a fee for each revised mortgage offer we receive.	£90.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Companies House Search Fee: This is where a UK Limited Company involved in a sale or purchase, which we will need to obtain the necessary documents from Companies House for the transaction of the matter. There will be a charge for checking those documents.	£30.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Declaration of Trust Fee: If you are purchasing or remortgaging a property with another person and you want to discuss how you own the property together, we will charge for preparing a Declaration of Trust (also known as a Deed of Trust). Please note that this may be carried out by our wills, probate and trusts teams.	£425.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Deed of Covenant Fee: If you are purchasing/remortgaging a leasehold or freehold property with obligations to enter the deed of covenant. A deed of covenant is a written legal agreement between two people where one person agrees to pay the other an amount of money without receiving any benefit in return. We will charge for preparing the deed and registration. This fee is charged for each deed of Covenant.	£150.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Approving a deed of covenant not drafted by us.	£90.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Freehold Property with a Management Company/Rent Charge Fee: If you are purchasing, selling or remortgaging a freehold property which has a legal duty to make a bestowal to a management company or a rent charge. We will charge for the extra work that is involved making enquiries of the management company. Such enquiries may include obtaining receipts, making sure that payments are up to date, acquiring accounts from previous years. This fee is charge per rent charge in place and each management company.	£180.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Gifted Deposit Fee: If you are buying or remortgaging a property with the assistance of a gift of money either from a friend or family member. We will need to procure several documents from the person giving a gift (also known as the donor/giftor). We will also need to satisfy any additional conditions that the lender may have. Please note that this fee is charged for each giftor/donor. The additional fees are to reflect the additional time this takes.	Per giftor: £152.00 Identification Check: £24.00 Bankruptcy Search: £7.20 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Standard Indemnity Policy Fee: If there are legal issues with the property that you are purchasing or selling and is obligatory for a policy of indemnity insurance to be put in place. we will charge this fee for obtaining the correct policy, provided it is available as a standard ‘off the peg’ policy. Indemnity insurance policies provide financial shielding for specific legal issues. This fee is charged for each policy arranged or approved.	£42.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Bespoke Indemnity Policy Fee: Sometimes there are legal issues with the property that are a little more complex and do not fit a ‘standard’ indemnity policy. If we need to arrange or liaise with a broker/indemnity insurer, a bespoke fee will apply for the time it will take for us to arrange this. This fee is charged for each bespoke policy regardless of whether or not it was possible to arrange or approve it.	£120.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Occupier Wavier Fee: If an adult who is not a part-legal owner of your property, is living at your house and if over the age of 17 your mortgage lender will require them to sign an 'Occupier's Consent form'. Please note we will charge for each occupier.	£90.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Restrictions, Cautions or Notices Fees: If a property has a restriction, charge or notice registered, a fee will be charged for preparing, amending, complying, or removing any. This fee will be charged for each entry. Please note that there may also be an additional charge made by the Land Registry.	£90.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Second or Subsequent Mortgage Fee: (Per Charge) If you are selling or remortgaging a property which has more than one legal charge registered. We will then charge for the schedule of removal of the second or subsequent legal charge. This does not apply to a private mortgage.	£84.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Shared Ownership/ Equity Fee: If you are buying or selling a shared ownership or shared equity house, the lease and legal title may show extra restrictions on the property. Due to potential restrictions, this may need looking into and researching which could take extra time or require discussion with the landlord’s solicitor which we will charge for this extra work involved.	£360.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Statutory Declaration Fee: If there is an issue with the property and is necessary, that a stationary Declaration of Statement of Truth be prepared which set out the information that must be included to comply with the Land Registry requirements. We will charge for the work involved for each declaration when an application is being made to register the benefit of the prescriptive right of way.	£150.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Third Party Lender Lawyer Fee: If you are purchasing/remortgaging a property with the assistance of a mortgage. If you mortgage uses their own lawyer, we will charge a fee for the extra work involved for liaising with them, resolving any issues and keeping them updated throughout the course of the transaction.	£420.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Unregistered Title Fee: (Per Title) When purchasing or selling a property to which is not registered with the Land Registry, we will charge for the checking/drafting the Epitome of Title.	£240.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Property held in Trust- Property being purchased/sold by Trustees: Properties held or or to be held in Trust are often more complex and require a greater length of time to be spent on the file by us in order to fulfil requirements. We will therefore charge a fee for dealing with such properties.	£360.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Sale by probate/letters of administration/Enduring Power of Attorney/Lasting Power of Attorney (Unless referred by our Wills & Probate team): Such matters are often a little more complex and require further investigations to be carried out, including sometimes liaising with third parties. If the Wills & Probate team at Eaton Smith carried out the probate/Wills work and referred the matter to us, such information will readily available to us and so we will not need to charge this fee.	£90.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Upgrading Title to Absolute Fee: If you are purchasing, selling or remortgaging a property that does not have a Absolute title and the minimum number of years required we will charge the extra work involved registering the update on the property.	£180.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)
Winding Up Petition: This is where a UK Limited Company involved in a sale or purchase of a property. We will charge a fee to do the relevant checks of looking through any company documents and extracting the relevant information on the company. This search will show any pending winding up proceedings revealed against a Company at the Companies Court. (Central Index of Winding Up Petitions).	£18.00 (plus VAT @ 20%)

Please note that the list above is not definitive, there may be other examples which we haven’t included. If these fees do become applicable, we will discuss the options with you and seek approval before undertaking the work on your matter.