PURCHASE OF A FREEHOLD RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

 

Our fees cover 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 if the property is in England or Land Transaction Tax if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

 

Conveyancers Fees and Disbursements

 

Purchase of a Freehold/Leasehold Residential Property

Legal fees payable:-

Value of Property	Legal Fees	VAT	Searches	OS1 & K16	TT Fee	HMLR Fee Electronic	Stamp Duty	Total (Electronic HMLR Submission)
£0-£80,000.00	400.00	80.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	20.00	N/A	837.20
£80,001-£100,000	425.00	85.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	40.00	N/A	887.20
£100,001-£150,000	475.00	95.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	100.00	TBC	1,007.20
£150,001-£200,000	525.00	105.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	100.00	TBC	1,067.20
£200,001-£300,000	550.00	110.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	150.00	TBC	1,147.20
£300,001-£400,000	630.00	126.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	150.00	TBC	1,243.20
£400,001-£500,000	700.00	140.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	150.00	TBC	1,327.20
£500,001-£750,000	750.00	150.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	295.00	TBC	1,532.20
£750,001-£950,000	850.00	170.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	295.00	TBC	1,652.20
£950,001-£1M	950.00	190.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	295.00	TBC	1,772.20
£1M-£1.1M	1,000.00	200.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	500.00	TBC	2,037.20
£1.1M-£1.250,000	1,200.00	240.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	500.00	TBC	2,277.20
£1.25M-£1,500,000	1,500.00	300.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	500.00	TBC	2,637.20
£1.5M-£1.75M	1,750.00	350.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	500.00	TBC	2,937.20
£1.75M-£2M	2,000.00	400.00	276.00	13.20	48.00	500.00	TBC	3,237.20

 

 

In addition to this there could be extra fees for a purchase in certain situations which are as follows:-

 

Leasehold Purchase – Extra £175.00 plus VAT

Repossession – Extra £125.00 plus VAT

Acting for Lender – Extra – Approximately £165.00 plus VAT

ID Checks – £3.00 plus VAT

Biometric ID Checks – £9.00 plus VAT

Please note stamp duty on additional property is charged at 3%

In addition to this there could be extra fees for a purchase in certain situations which are as follows:-

Unregistered Title – £195.00 plus VAT

New Build – £200.00 plus VAT

Investment Property – £100.00 plus VAT

Help to Buy ISA – £50.00 plus VAT

Shared Ownership – £150.00 plus VAT

 

All of the legal fees will need VAT adding to them which is currently 20%.

There will also be Stamp Duty Tax to pay which is dependent upon the purchase price of your property.  You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s Website, or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s Website.

 

Please note if the matter is Leasehold there is likely to be the following additional disbursements:-

Notice of Transfer Fee – which is the fee that is chargeable and is set out in the Lease

Notice of Charge Fee if the property is to be mortgaged, which again is set out in the Lease

Deed of Covenant Fee which is the fee provided by the Management Company for the property and can be difficult to estimate and again we can only find this out by contacting the Management Company during the transaction as it is a fee charged by them and we clearly have no control over this fee.  This may be something which you wish to enquire about of the Estate Agent or the Seller when deciding whether to purchase a leasehold property

The Certificate of Compliance Fee which again is to be confirmed upon receipt of the Lease

It is very difficult to give you an accurate figure for these fees until we have seen your specific documents.

For leasehold properties you should also be aware that ground rate and service charges are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property.  We will confirm the ground rent and anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.

 

SALE OF A FREEHOLD/LEASEHOLD RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your home.

You will see our legal fees in the table for various properties set out below:-

 

Value of Property	Legal Fees	VAT	Office Copies	TT Fee	Total
£0-£100,000	425.00	85.00	7.20	48.00	565.20
£100,001-£150,000	450.00	90.00	7.20	48.00	595.20
£150,001-£200,000	475.00	95.00	7.20	48.00	625.20
£200,001-£300,000	500.00	100.00	7.20	48.00	655.20
£300,001-£400,000	575.00	115.00	7.20	48.00	745.20
£400,001-£500,000	650.00	130.00	7.20	48.00	835.20
£500,001-£750,000	700.00	140.00	7.20	48.00	895.20
£750,001-£950,000	800.00	160.00	7.20	48.00	1,015.20
£950,001-£1.1M	900.00	180.00	7.20	48.00	1,135.20
£1.1M-£1.25M	1,100.00	220.00	7.20	48.00	1,375.20
£1.25M-£1.500,000	1,300.00	260.00	7.20	48.00	1,615.20
£1.5-£1.750,000	1,500.00	300.00	7.20	48.00	1,855.20
£1.75M-£2M	1,750.00	350.00	7.20	48.00	2,155.20

 

We have also included below the additional legal fees for any extra work that could be carried out on your behalf together with the likely disbursements:-

 

Leasehold Sale – Extra £175.00 plus VAT

Repossession – Extra  £125.00 plus VAT

Unregistered – Extra £195.00 plus VAT

Acting for Lender – £165.00 plus VAT

ID Checks – £3.00 plus VAT

Biometric Checks – £9.00 plus VAT

 

RE-MORTGAGE

Our fees cover all the work required to re-mortgage your home.

Our legal fees are set out below in the table:-

Value of Property	Legal Fees	VAT	No Search Insurance (approx)	OCE, OS1 & K16	TT Fee	HMLR Fee (Scale II)	Total (Electronic HMLR Submission)
£0-£100,000.00	350.00	70.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	20.00	527.60
£100,001-£200,000	400.00	80.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	30.00	597.60
£200,001-£500,000	450.00	90.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	45.00	667.60
£500,001-£750,000	475.00	95.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	65.00	722.60
£750,001-£1M	500.00	100.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	65.00	752.60
£1M-£1.25M	525.00	105.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	842.00
£1.25M-£1.5M	550.00	110.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	887.60
£1.5M-£1.75M	575.00	115.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	917.60
£1.75M-£2M	600.00	120.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	947.60

 

 

We have also included below the additional legal fees for any extra work that could be carried out on your behalf together with the likely disbursements:-

Leasehold Re-mortgage – £120.00 plus VAT

Unregistered Title – £195.00 plus VAT

Acting for Lender – £165.00 plus VAT

ID Checks – £3.00 plus VAT

Biometric ID Checks – £9.00 plus VAT

 

TRANSFER OF EQUITY

Our fees cover all the work required to deal with a Transfer of Equity.

Our legal fees are set out below in the table:-

 

Value of Property	Legal Fees	VAT	OCE, OS1 & K16	HMLR Fee	Total
£0-£100,000.00	300.00	60.00	15.60	20.00	395.60
£100,001-£200,000	350.00	70.00	15.60	30.00	465.60
£200,001-£500,000	400.00	80.00	15.60	45.00	540.60
£300,001-£500,000	500.00	100.00	15.60	45.00	660.60
£500,001-£750,000	525.00	105.00	15.60	65.00	710.60
£750,001-£1M	550.00	110.00	15.60	65.00	740.60
£1M-£1,25M	575.00	115.00	15.60	140.00	845.60
£1.25M-£1.5M	600.00	120.00	15.60	140.00	875.60
£1.5M-£1.75M	625.00	125.00	15.60	140.00	905.60
£1.75M-£2M	650.00	130.00	15.60	140.00	935.60

 

In addition to this there could be extra fees for a purchase in certain situations which are as follows:-

Unregistered Title – £195.00 plus VAT

ID Checks – £3.00 plus VAT

Biometric ID Checks – £9.00 plus VAT

 

 

TRANSFER OF EQUITY & REMORTGAGE

 

Our fees cover all the work required to deal with a transfer of equity and re-mortgage of your home.

Our legal fees are set out below in the table:-

Value of Property	Legal Fees	VAT	No Search Insurance (approx)	OCE, OS1 & K16	TT Fee	HMLR Fee	Total (Electronic HMLR Submission)
£0-£100,000.00	375.00	75.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	20.00	557.60
£100,001-£200,000	425.00	85.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	30.00	627.60
£200,001-£500,000	475.00	95.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	45.00	702.60
£500,001-£750,000	525.00	105.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	65.00	782.60
£750,001-£1M	575.00	115.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	65.00	842.60
£1M-£1.25M	625.00	125.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	977.60
£1.25M-£1.5M	675.00	135.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	1,037.60
£1.5M-£1.75M	725.00	145.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	1,097.60
£1.75M-£2M	775.00	155.00	24.00	15.60	48.00	140.00	1,157.60

 

DISCLAIMER

Please note that the estimated fees mentioned in the above section are based upon a “standard” transaction and on the basis that no unforeseen matters arise including for example but not limited to a defect in the title which requires remedying prior to completion of the preparation of any additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.

In the case of a leasehold matter the fees outlined assume that the assignment is of an existing lease and not the grant of a new lease.

The above fees do not include auction properties or advice on auction packs nor do they include properties with stringent time limits for exchange/completion.

In all matters the fees estimated above assume that the transaction is concluded in a timely manner with no unforeseen complications and that all parties to the transaction are cooperative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation and no indemnity policies are required as additional fees and disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

The fees mentioned above are also provided on the basis that you have come to the firm directly ie. not through a third party or intermediary, as in those circumstances sometimes the fee/disbursements may differ due to “special arrangements/referral fee arrangements” and alternative search providers being used in those circumstances.

There may also be additional services being provided by the third party/intermediary that are built into the fee in the above circumstances.

 

HOW LONG WILL MY TRANSACTION TAKE?

It is very difficult to accurately estimate how long a transaction will take to conclude as the transaction relies upon a lot of different people/organisations being involved before the transaction is complete, such as the other party ie. the buyer or sellers solicitors, the search company/local authority and the mortgage company, but to name a few.

We would however loosely give an estimate that for a freehold sale/purchase that the process is likely to take between 8 to 12 weeks and for a leasehold sale/purchase between 10 to 14 weeks.

It can obviously be quicker or slower than this depending upon all of the people involved in the chain of transactions if there is one, as this chain of transactions can involve first time buyers or purchasing a new build property can sometimes take longer as well as buying a leasehold property which may require an extension of the lease which can take quite a significant period of time to deal with.  If we are acting in any of these situations mentioned above additional charges are likely to apply.

 

STAGES OF THE PROCESS – PURCHASE

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances but some of the key stages of a purchase can be found below:-

• Take instructions and give you initial advice

 

• Receive and advise on contract documents as the Seller’s Solicitors usually will draft these and send them to the Purchaser’s Solicitors.

 

• Carry out searches.

 

• Obtain further planning documentation if required.

 

• Make any necessary enquiries of the Seller’s Solicitors which the Seller’s Solicitor will need to comply having taken instructions/advice from the Seller as to the state of various aspects connected with the property for sale.

 

• Draft Transfer.

 

• Go through the Conditions of Mortgage Offer with you so that you fully understand the terms of the mortgage.

 

• Give you advice on all the documents and information received from the Seller’s Solicitors/the Seller and send the Title Report and Contract to you to sign.

 

• Agree completion date (the date from which you do own the property)

 

• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from the lender and you in the event of a purchase.

 

• Exchange Contracts and notify you that this has happened (if either the Buyer or the Seller pulls out of the transaction at this stage after Contracts have been exchanged but completion has not yet taken place, there is likely to be heavy financial penalties to pay to the other party to the transaction, which is usually a percentage of the purchase price).

 

• Complete purchase.

 

• Deal with the payment of stamp duty/land tax.

 

• Deal with the application for registration at the Land Registry.

 

• If the matter is a leasehold purchase the process is almost identical for a freehold purchase but the process takes longer in most situations on the basis that all enquiries are likely to be raised due to the purchase being on a leasehold basis (in effect the property is owned for a set period of time in years and is subject to various terms and conditions of the freehold owner) and therefore extensive enquiries usually need to be made of the freehold owner as well as any Management Company which relate to both rights and responsibilities and various charges that are due both upon purchase and throughout the duration of ownership of the leasehold property.

 

STAGES OF THE PROCESS – SALE

 

The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances but some of the key stages of a sale can be found below:-

• Take instructions and give you initial advice

 

• Obtain Copies of Title from the Land Registry and draft Contract to submit to Buyer’s Solicitors with Protocol Forms.

 

• Reply to any enquiries raised by Buyer’s Solicitors.

 

• Request a redemption statement if there is a mortgage and send to you for approval.

 

• Send Contract and TR1 to you to sign.

 

• Agree a completion date (the date from which you don’t own the property).

 

 

• Complete and discharge mortgage and arrange to pay the Agents.

 

• Provide evidence mortgage has been repaid to the Buyer’s Solicitors.