Residential Conveyancing – Services and Pricing

The basis of our conveyancing charges are fixed fees, as follows:

• The average cost of legal fees for a freehold house sale or purchase is £1,250 + VAT of £250 = £1,500 inc VAT (depending on the house value). There is an additional fee of £400 + VAT of £80 = £480 inc VAT on a leasehold house sale and an additional fee of £500 + VAT of £100 = £600 inc VAT on a leasehold purchase.

• Re-mortgage: £550 + VAT of £110 = £660 inc VAT or £595 + VAT of £119 = £714 inc VAT on Buy To Let

• Re-mortgage and Transfer of Equity combined: From £750 + VAT of £150 = £900 inc VAT

A £30 + VAT of £6 = £36 inc VAT supplement will be charged per payment on each completion, being a Bank Transfer fee.

A £50 + VAT of £10 = £60 inc VAT supplement will be charged, being ID verification / anti money laundering check fees.

Our instant online conveyancing quote calculator see here can provide you with a complete breakdown of costs for your house move or call our conveyancing team on 01243 790532 for a quote over the phone.

Our experienced conveyancers are either a qualified Solicitor or are Legal Executives (FILEX); each are supported by their own full-time (experienced) Assistant.

Disbursements

Freehold Purchase / Leasehold Purchase

• E-conveyancing fee £59.11 (£49.26 plus VAT of £9.85)

• Chancel Indemnity Policy £6 (no VAT)

• Land Registry Search fee £3 (no VAT)

• Bankruptcy Search fee £2 (no VAT)

• Search pack (approx) £400 (no VAT)

• Land Registry fee (approx) £295 (no VAT), depending on the purchase price (NB If a newbuild or new lease, these fees are approximately £330, no VAT)

• Stamp Duty (this varies, depending on the value of your purchase)

Freehold / Leasehold Sale

• E-conveyancing fee £49.87 (£41.56 plus VAT of £8.31)

• Office Copy documents £3 (no VAT)

• Office Copies £6 (no VAT)

Re-mortgage

• E-conveyancing fee £31.42 (£26.18 plus VAT of £5.24)

• Land Registry fees £40 (approximately and no VAT)

• Official copy entries £3 per document (no VAT)

Transfer of Equity

• E-conveyancing fee £31.42 (£26.18 plus VAT of £5.24)

• Land Registry fees £95 (approximately and no VAT)

• Official copy entries £3 per document (no VAT)

Key stages of the conveyancing process, how long it may take:

House Purchase (Freehold)

Our legal fee covers 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. Please note our fees do not include advice on SDLT; we recommend clients seek advice from an accountant or lawyer specialising in this area. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances; however, we have suggested some key stages below for your information. Conveyancers will:

• Take your instructions and issue a quotation pack

• Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed

• Receive and advise on contract documents

• Carry out searches

• Obtain further planning documentation if required

• Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor

• Give you advice on all documents and information received

• Report on the mortgage offer and send Mortgage Deed for signature

• 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

How long will a house purchase take?

The time it takes from an offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors, but on average, this process takes at least 3 months. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain.

House Purchase (Leasehold)

As above, our fees cover all 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 is in Wales.

Note: If you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, ie between 3 and 4 months. Please note that additional charges would then also apply.

You need to 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 this we receive this information.

Stages of the Process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential leasehold property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages for your information. Conveyancers will:

• Take your instructions and issue a quotation pack

• Request Search fees from you

• Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed

• Receive and advise on contract documents

• Carry out searches

• Obtain further planning documentation if required

• Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor

• Give you advice on all documents and information received

• Report on mortgage offer and send Mortgage Deed for signature

• Send contract and transfer to you for signature

• Obtain pre-completion searches

• 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

Our legal fee assumes that:

• This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction

• This is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease

• The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise

• All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation

• No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

Stamp Duty

Calculate how much stamp duty (SDLT) you will pay (in England and Northern Ireland) by using this instant stamp duty calculator linked here.

House Sale (Freehold)

Conveyancers will:

• Take your instructions and issue a quotation pack and request funds on account of initial costs. As soon as we have the forms back and funds on account of initial costs from you we will send the buyer’s Solicitors the draft Contract pack including:-

• Official copy of Registered Entries, Filed Plan and any documents referred to in the Register.

• A copy of the fittings and contents and property information forms that you have completed. If you have agreed to sell any additional items you have a choice as to whether you wish to let us know and we can add it to the contract or whether you wish to make a private agreement with the buyer

• Copies of any guarantees that you may have.

• Any “covenants” (legal do’s and don’ts) that affect the property will be pointed out to the buyer. They are important and if you think that any of them may already have been breached you need to let us know. If you have made any alterations to the property (or indeed a previous owner has) you need to let us know so that we can advise you accordingly.

• If you have agreed to sell any additional items you have a choice as to whether you wish to let us know and we can add it to the contract.

• The buyer’s Solicitors will probably raise some questions which we will need your help to answer. Please do your best to answer them. We will help you where necessary. Even if you feel the questions are without foundation, our experience is that by being as helpful as we can this is the best way to speed your transaction along.

House Sale (Leasehold)

It is a requirement of the Buyers that we obtain a Management Information Pack, the cost of which varies but you will be requested to pay the relevant cost upfront.

Legal fees on house sale or purchase, freehold or leasehold

Our hourly rates range from £220 (plus VAT of £44) – £310 (plus VAT of £62) per hour.