Residential Property Price Transparency
1. THE SERVICE YOU CAN EXPECT
We understand that as our client, you will want clear information as to what your costs are likely to be as part of your transaction.
Our Team
All team members dealing with Residential Conveyancing will be supervised by Ed Tennant who is a Partner and Head of Property. Please refer to the ‘About us’ section on our website for more information about the team including their qualifications and experience.
All our conveyancing staff are highly experienced property lawyers. A dedicated conveyancer will have conduct of your transaction from start to finish.
We shall give you a fee estimate at the start of the conveyancing process and a clear indication of what you can expect as part of that fee. This shall include details of who will be handling your transaction, who you should speak to should you have any concerns, what we shall need from you and our estimate of likely time scales.
2. OUR FEE COMMITMENT
Whilst no two transactions are the same, we shall take the time at the start to fully understand what the transaction will involve so that our fee estimate to you is as accurate as possible.
3. OUR FEE STRUCTURE
Our fees are based on a sliding scale which is in line with other law firms who offer residential conveyancing and reflects our experience of the likely complexity of matters.
Where VAT is referred to, it is charged at the prevailing rate, currently 20%.
You should expect to pay fees as follows:
Freehold sale
Up to £350,000 £1,500 plus VAT*
£350,001 to £500,000 £1,650 plus VAT*
£500,001 to £750,000 £1,900 plus VAT*
£750,001 to £1,000,000 £2,100 plus VAT*
£1,000,001 to £1,500,000 £2,450 plus VAT*
£1,500,001 to £2,000,000 £2,950 plus VAT*
Over £2,000,000 0.15% of the purchase price (with a minimum of £3,500 plus VAT*
*(at the current rate of 20%)
Leasehold sale
Up to £350,000 £1,650 plus VAT*
£350,001 to £500,000 £1,850 plus VAT*
£500,001 to £750,000 £2,100 plus VAT*
£750,001 to £1,000,000 £2,350 plus VAT*
£1,000,001 to £1,500,00 £2,700 plus VAT*
£1,500,001 to £2,000,000 £3,100 plus VAT*
Over £2,000,000 0.15% of the purchase price (with a minimum of £3,500 plus VAT*
*(at the current rate of 20%)
Freehold purchase
Up to £350,000 £1,600 plus VAT*
£350,001 to £500,000 £1,750 plus VAT*
£500,001 to £750,000 £2,000 plus VAT*
£750,001 to £1,000,000 £2,300 plus VAT*
£1,000,000 to £1,500,000 £2,650 plus VAT*
£1,500,001 to £2,000,000 £3,100 plus VAT*
Over £2,000,000 0.175% of the purchase price
*(at the current rate of 20%)
Leasehold purchase
Up to £350,000 £1,750 plus VAT*
£350,001 to £500,000 £1,900 plus VAT*
£500,001 to £750,000 £2,150 plus VAT*
£750,001 to £1,000,000 £2,550 plus VAT*
£1,000,001 to £1,500,000 £2,850 plus VAT*
£1,500,001 to £2,000,000 £3,300 plus VAT*
Over £2,000,000 0.175% of the purchase price
*(at the current rate of 20%)
For New-Build Properties, we shall charge an additional £1,000 plus VAT (at the current rate of 20%)
Re-Mortgage
Freehold Leasehold
Up to £1 million £750 plus VAT* £850 plus VAT*
£1 million and over As there are likely to be special conditions applying
and the lender may well instruct their own solicitors
we cannot apply scale fees and so our charges will
be calculated on an hourly rate basis at £350 plus VAT.*
*(at the current rate of 20%)
Transfers of equity
No mortgage Freehold Leasehold
Selling Party £650 plus VAT* £750 plus VAT*
Purchasing Party £750 plus VAT* £850 plus VAT*
*(at the current rate of 20%)
Existing mortgage Freehold Leasehold
Selling Party £750 plus VAT* £850 plus VAT*
Purchasing Party £750 plus VAT* £950 plus VAT*
*(at the current rate of 20%)
The above charges include dealing with and advising upon all legal aspects of the transaction, all telephone calls, general and incidental correspondence and complying with money laundering and regulatory requirements. The above does not include any tax advice save for the preparation and submission of the Stamp Duty Land Tax return.
Our fees set out above also include our acting on behalf of your lender as part of the conveyancing process (whether in terms of releasing the mortgage as part of a sale or a lender taking security over the property on a purchase).
There will also be sums that will be payable to third parties. These may include:
1. Search fees
We shall apply for a local authority search, drainage and water search, environmental/flood combined search and DevAssess search. You should budget for around £500 plus VAT for these searches. If additional searches are required, we shall advise you of the likely costs.
2. Land Registry fees
There will be fees payable to the Land Registry as part of any application that needs to be made after completion of a matter and are available to view on the Land Registry website. There will also be costs involved in obtaining documents from the Land Registry portal and these vary from £3 to £10 per document.
3. Bank transfer fee
We charge £30 plus VAT for any bank transfers made on your behalf.
4. Stamp duty land tax
As part of the fee estimate, we shall set out what your anticipated stamp duty liability will be based on the anticipated completion date.
5. Other costs payable to third parties
Depending on the transaction, you may also be responsible for additional payments (the exact cost of which are set by third parties and so the figures below are indicative only). These may include:
- Replies to standard form management enquiries – £350 to £600 plus VAT
- Landlord/third party notice fees – £75 to £150 plus VAT
- Licences to assign – £450 to £750 plus VAT
- Deeds of covenant – £100 to £250 plus VAT
- Management company/freehold share transfer – £75 to £100 plus VAT
Value Added Tax
VAT is charged at the prevailing rate which is currently 20%. Where we refer to fees on this page, we refer to VAT exclusive fees and VAT should be added. We are registered for VAT and as such VAT will be payable on our fees. VAT may also be payable on third party charges referred to above.
UNANTICIPATED COSTS
Our above fees are based on our experience of the work a typical transaction will involve. If our fee estimate has to change for any reason, we shall let you know as soon as circumstances arise which necessitate that.
We will always discuss and agree with you beforehand any necessary fee increase (for example, if there is a defect in the title which requires remedying).
If your transaction does not proceed for any reason then we shall charge fees depending on how far the matter has progressed. We shall discuss with you at the relevant time what proportion of our fees will be payable.
We are members of the Law Society accredited Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).
DURATION AND STAGES OF PURCHASE AND SALE
How long will my transaction take?
We shall progress your sale or purchase promptly but time scales will vary depending on a number of factors many of which will be outside our control. These may include:
• The chain that your sale or purchase may be part of. The more properties in the chain the more transactions there are to co-ordinate, each with their own time scales.
• The speed with which you and other parties are able to obtain mortgage offers and surveys.
• The speed with which the parties are able to deal with requests for information about the property.
• Whether the property is freehold or leasehold.
• If there are any issues in the title, planning history, surveys or any other investigations which need to be resolved in respect of your transaction and/or others in the chain.
In our experience:
• The purchase or sale of a freehold property will usually take between 8 and 10 weeks from the date we receive the sales memorandum from the estate agents confirming the agreed terms of the transaction;
• The purchase or sale of a leasehold property will usually take between 10 and 14 weeks from the date we receive the sales memorandum from the estate agents confirming the agreed terms of your transaction.
Key stages in the process
The key stages involved in a standard sale or purchase transactions are broadly as follows. Please note these may vary depending on the circumstances of a particular transaction.
• Taking instructions, providing fee information, client care documents and terms of business.
• ID and other money laundering checks
• Obtaining information and documentation from you.
• Arranging completion of information forms.
• Contacting the buyer’s or seller’s solicitors; obtaining title documents; drafting sale contract and considering the same.
• Dealing with mortgage lenders and obtaining information from them.
• Obtaining information from a landlord or managing agents. To obtain a management pack for leasehold property.
• Dealing with queries arising pre-contract; dealing with any amendments to the documents and agreeing a completion date and providing you with a full report if purchasing.
• Exchange of contracts.
• Dealing with pre completion matters and completing post completion matters to include mortgage redemption, paying estate agents, SDLT (or LTT if the property is in Wales) remitting monies to you and completing the matter satisfactorily to include registering your new title if it is a purchase.