Conveyancing

Price Guide for Residential Conveyancing work

Property transactions can be very complex with many variables and therefore it is difficult to set a standard fee. The below guide to what you may expect to pay as a minimum.

Fees

• Freehold    Leasehold

  Sale/Purchase £2,000.00 £2,000.00

• Bank transfer (each) £25.00 £25.00
• Identity check (per client) £50.00 £50.00

*VAT (currently 20%) is payable on each of the above fees.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs that are payable to third parties in connection with the transaction. We will arrange payment of these on your behalf provided that you have put us in funds for the disbursements in question.

On a sale, the following disbursements are common:

Management enquiries fee (payable to landlord/managing agents on leasehold property)* – £400.00

– Land Registry fee (per document) – £3.00

On a purchase, the following disbursements are common:

– Land Registry fee – £20-910.00

– Search fees* – £450.00

– Priority search fee – £3.00

– Bankruptcy search fee (per person) – £2.00

– Landlord’s registration fee (if leasehold)* – £100.00

*These figures are estimates and the actual sum payable may be higher or lower.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Stamp Duty This is payable on a purchase and the amount will vary depending on the price you pay for the property and whether you (or your spouse) own any other residential property, anywhere in the world. If the property is in England, you can check the stamp duty land tax payable on the HMRC website. If the property is in Wales, you can check the land transaction tax payable on the Welsh Revenue Authority website.

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, the key stages are generally:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• 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
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Draft Transfer
• Advise you on joint ownership
• 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

On a sale, the main stages of the process are as follows:

• Taking instructions from you and verifying your identity and address
• Drafting and agreeing the contract for the sale
• Obtaining the title documents to the property from the Land Registry (including the lease, if the property is leasehold)
• Requesting the management information from your landlord or managing agents (if the property is leasehold)
• Dealing with enquiries raised by the buyer in respect of any matters referred to in the above documentation
• Advising you on how to deal with any issues that may arise
• Liaising with the estate agents and the landlord/managing agents throughout
• Obtaining a mortgage redemption statement from your lender (if applicable)
• Dealing with exchange of contracts
• Preparing a completion statement setting out the sum due to you on completion of the sale
• Agreeing the transfer deed with the buyer’s solicitor
• Dealing with completion of the sale
• Dealing with the redemption of your mortgage (if applicable)
• Transferring the net sale proceeds to you

Please note that the following circumstances may require an increase in our fees:

• The value of the property
• The lease requires the consent of the landlord to the transfer of the property to you
• Your mortgage lender chooses to appoint their own solicitors, rather than instructing us
• The transaction has to be expedited
• A lease extension is required
• An exclusivity agreement is required
• There is a defect in the title
• The transaction involves the grant of a new lease
• There is more than one lease (if the property is leasehold)
• Your require a declaration of trust or co-habitation agreement
• There is conditionality in the contract
• You are buying in the name of a company
• The property is not registered at the Land Registry
• The property is subject to a tenancy that will continue after completion
• Completion does not take place on the contractual completion date
• An indemnity insurance policy is required
• You require translation of any documentation
• You require tax advice
• You are buying or selling a shared ownership property
• You are using a help to buy ISA
• You are buying or selling at auction
• There is an abnormal delay on the part of one or more of the parties to the transaction

Please note that the following items are not included within our fee:

• Arranging a survey of the property
• Arranging your mortgage and agreeing its terms
• Arranging buildings insurance
• Advising you on the tax aspects of the transaction (though we are able to provide you with this advice for an additional fee)

Timeframe

We generally estimate that a transaction will take between 4 to 12 weeks from the initial agreement of terms to exchange of contracts (when both parties become legally bound to proceed with the sale and purchase), though it can be done within a day in certain circumstances, or it can take a few months.