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Residential Conveyancing Fees

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with the 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.

We would estimate our fee for a purchase transaction to be 1% of the purchase price subject to a minimum of £1,250 plus VAT at the current rate plus disbursements.

For Sale transactions, we would estimate our fee for a purchase transaction to be 1% of the sale price subject to a minimum of £1,100 plus VAT at the current rate plus disbursement

We also charge for remitting funds by telegraphic transfer at £50 plus VAT for each transfer.

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Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees and land registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.   

Searches. Our usual search package costing around £240.00 inc VAT consists of the following searches:

  • Regulated Local Authority Search

  • Drainage & Water Search (Thames Water)

  • Groundsure Homebuyers

  • Groundsure Planning

  • Chancel Check

It may be necessary to carry out additional searches depending on the nature and location of the property.

Bankruptcy search £2.00  per name.

Land Registry Search £3.00 per title.

Stamp Duty Land Tax - this is dependent on the value of the property and whether you own any other property anywhere else in the world. Please go to the following link to ascertain the rates applicable:-

https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates

A separate regime exists for property situated in Wales. Please follow the following link for further information.

https://gov.wales/funding/fiscal-reform/welsh-taxes/land-transaction-tax/?lang=en

Land Registration fees - these are dependent on the value of the property being purchased. Please go to the following link for the current fees:-

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees

Electronic Filing Fee – Stamp Duty Land Tax £60 inc VAT

 

Additional Legal Services

The above is based on a standard freehold purchase. If you are buying a leasehold property we will charge an additional fee of between £150 - £250 plus VAT. Additional fees may also apply if you are purchasing a new build property, or purchasing with the assistance of Help-to-Buy or Shared Equity or if there are any aspects of additional legal work to undertake further fees may be payable. We will advise you of any additional fees as soon as we are able.

 

How long will my purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6 to 8 weeks to exchange of contracts, with completion usually taking place 2 weeks after exchange. However, it can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take longer depending on the stage reached in the construction of the development.

However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 2 and 6 months. Again this will be dependent on other variable factors of such a transaction. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

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Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we mention below some key stages which are usually required on a normal purchase transaction:

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

Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you

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/Land Transaction Tax

Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Provide you with a copy of the   completed registration

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Leasehold Property

In addition to additional fees for acting on a leasehold purchase there would be further anticipated disbursements* in respect of leasehold property:-

Notice of Transfer fee – usually between £50 to £100 plus VAT.

Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) - usually between £50 and £100 plus VAT.

Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is charged by the management company/landlord for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100 and £200 plus VAT.

Certificate of Compliance fee – In some cases it may also be necessary to obtain a certificate of compliance from the management company/landlord for which they will charge a fee. If such a fee is payable it is normally between £150 to £200 plus VAT.

*These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge will apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.

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Not Included in the fixed fee:

  • Tax advice.

  • Face to face meetings (other than to verify identity)

  • Interpretation of planning documents other than on a superficial level

  • Advice regarding neighbouring and adjoining properties

  • Preparation of lock out  / exclusivity agreements if required

  • Drafting of co-habitation agreements / trust deeds

  • Preparation of supplemental documents eg licences / tenancies / deeds of variation

  • Negotiating finance terms

 

We reserve the right to raise further charges if the complexity or amount of work involved exceeds levels anticipated at the outset. Please note that the cost of disbursements are subject to any increases (which are out of our control) which may be imposed by third-party suppliers, or if some of the information on which our quotation is based proves later to be incorrect. In some cases an indemnity policy may be required and we will advise you of the cost of the policy if applicable. Our fees are applicable only to property situated in England and Wales.

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