Residential Conveyancing Price Transparency Statement

Our charges are made up of:

1.  our fees for the legal work;

2.  ‘disbursements’ – disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to other people, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process; and

3.  for property purchases, Stamp Duty Land Tax (see below).

Where VAT is referred to below please note that this will be charged at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%.

Our fees

Our fees depend upon the value of the property you are buying or selling, the location, and the particular features of the property. Our charges for a freehold conveyancing transaction begin at £1,100 excluding VAT and for leasehold transactions £1,400 excluding VAT. Please contact us on 01384 811 811 for a bespoke estimate.

If you are buying and selling a property then a charge would be made for both the sale and the purchase.  If you are simply re-mortgaging your property then we charge a fixed fee of £700 excluding VAT.

If you are buying, selling or re-mortgaging a ‘leasehold’ property (rather than a ‘freehold’) then there is an additional charge of £200 – £400 excluding VAT.

Please note that VAT of 20% is also charged on all of our fees or legal work.

If, at any point during the transaction, money needs to be sent by telegraphic transfer, we charge a fee of £35 excluding VAT.

If you are buying a property we will complete the HMRC stamp duty form on your behalf and submit it at the completion of the transaction. This is included in our charges

Disbursements

The ‘disbursements’ which you pay will depend upon whether you are buying or selling property or both, whether you are buying a freehold or leasehold property and the location and type of property concerned. Properties in certain locations for example need more searches and checks than others.

Normally all clients who are buying a ‘freehold’ property will need to pay the following disbursements:

• Search fees £295.00 including VAT
• HM Land Registry fee for registering (when purchasing). This varies depending on the value of the property and is a charge made by HM Land Registry. The current charges are between £20 and £830 Full details can be found at  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
• Land Registry Search £8.40 inclusive of VAT

When selling a property, you will ordinarily need to pay the following disbursements:

• Land Registry Office Copy Entries and Title Plan £8.40 inclusive of VAT, per document

If the property is a ‘leasehold’ property then the disbursements will be different and normally consist of:

• Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £100.00 to £450  excluding vat payable to the freeholders managing agents
• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £100 to £450 excluding vat payable to the freeholders managing agents
• Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100 to £450excluding vat  payable to to the freeholders managing agents
• Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £150 to £450 excluding vat  payable to the freeholders managing agents ].
• Leasehold Management Pack – This fee is chargeable when selling a leasehold property. Often it is between £450.00 and £1,000 excluding vat payable to the freeholders managing agents

If you are simply remortgaging then we do not anticipate you incurring any disbursements [except for Notice of Charge , Deed of Covenant and Certificate of Compliance fees in line with the above for leasehold properties only.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

If you are buying a property you will also need to pay stamp duty land tax. The amount which you need to pay to the government depends on the price of the 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 here.).

Other costs to consider

If you have a mortgage on the property or have incurred an estate agent’s fee money we would also typically need to pay the money owed directly to your lender and agent as needed from the sale money we receive for you.

 You should also be aware that if you are purchasing a leasehold property then ground rent and service charges 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.

Examples of our charges

 The table below is a typical example of what charges we would make to the client selling a freehold property for £300,000.00:

Whereas the table below is a typical example of what charges we would make to a client selling a property for £200,000.00 and buying a new property for £350,000.00:

How long will my house sale / purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted to completion will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8 and 12 weeks.

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 and the transaction goes smoothly it could take as little as 6 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 6 months. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

What legal work will you be doing for me?

The precise stages involved vary according to the circumstances. However typically in a property sale we need to do the following:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Receive and advise on sale contract documents where applicable
• Carry out searches on the property you are buying where appropriate
• Give you advice on all documents and information received
• 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
• Complete the transaction

In a property purchase we need to do the following:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Check finances are in place to fund purchase where applicable and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
• Carry out searches on the property you are buying where appropriate
• Obtain further planning documentation if required
• Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor where applicable
• 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
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

If we are simply helping you to remortgage your property then we would generally speaking only need to:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Carry out searches on the property you are buying where appropriate
• Obtain further planning documentation if required
• Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you.
• Send final documents to you for signature
• Apply for mortgage advance.
• Redeem any previous mortgages
• Deal with application for registration at the Land Registry.

It would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur other costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

Who will be dealing with my matter?

Your conveyancing transaction will be handled by a trusted member of our experienced conveyancing team.  We have a number of qualified lawyers in the team as well as experienced paralegals specialised in this area of law. Once we know who will be handling your case for you we will introduce you to them and provide you with full details of their background and qualifications.  Full details of the experience and qualifications of our team are available on our website including the types of work normally undertaken.

Regardless of who is working on your case the matter will be supervised by one of our Directors:

Joseph Norton  |  Managing Director and Solicitor  |  Personal Injury/ Clinical Negligence  |  15 years PQE

Belinda Hill  |  Director and Solicitor  |  Residential Conveyancing  |  [      ] PQE