Purchase

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. 

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?

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)

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.

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?

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.

Sale

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

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 - £6.00 per title and £3.00 for a copy of each 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 £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.

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 - £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:-

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.

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 excluding VAT.