We aim to take the stress out of the house buying and the house selling legal process by providing a pro-active and competitively priced conveyancing service. We offer solid house buying advice and expertise to ensure your house sale and/or purchase will take place quickly and efficiently.
Moving home, buying a house or apartment for the first time, signing a mortgage or selling your home can be a stressful experience. We have an experienced team who, through years of experience, are familiar with the practical and the legal aspects of conveyancing that can help smooth out the process and provide comprehensive guidance and advice. We always try to provide details of the progress and to liaise on your behalf with the bank or building society and we have good working relationships with all the local estate agents.
We keep up to date with all changes in procedures particularly in areas around Help to Buy and First-time buyers. We are familiar with mortgages, legal charges, stamp duty, HM Land Registry practice, searches and all the other factors involved. We aim to provide a prompt, efficient and friendly service at a competitive price. We always provide an estimate of the professional fees and associated costs for each transaction.
Who will work on my matter?
Your file will be handled by the Principal of the Firm, Mr Burton-Baddeley who is a very experienced Solicitor with over 40 years’ experience. We will advise you of their contact details and those of the rest of his team so you know exactly who is working on your matter for you and who you can contact with any queries.
What we will do
The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances.
Timescale _ How long will it take :
How long it will take from an offer being accepted until completion will depend on a number of factors. The average conveyancing takes between 6 – 10 weeks if the matter proceeds smoothly. Completion, is of course, dependent on individuals involved in the transaction, especially where there is a chain. If you have a preferred date for exchange or completion, we shall endeavour to meet that date. However, we are not always able to influence other parties in the transaction and unforeseen complications and delays can arise.
What might it cost
Our Conveyancing fees vary from property to property and depend on many factors, including not only the price of the property but also on whether a mortgage lender is involved and whether the property is freehold or leasehold. We will provide you with a written estimate of costs which will take into account the information you give us at the start. This reduces the possibility of extra costs arising during the course of the transaction.
We hold the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation administered by the Law Society. This is a nationally recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing Solicitors. Your transaction will be dealt with by a Solicitor experienced in all aspects of property law.
Our Fees:
The following sets out the costs and conveyancing fees for the sale or purchase of a residential property. Please note that the fees will vary dependent on the purchase value of your property and a list of our average fees is below. Leasehold properties & shared ownership properties, especially flats, are more complicated to deal with, which is why our fees will be higher than for freehold properties.
Sale:
Freehold Sale:
Our charges are based on the time spent dealing with the matter. Time spent will include meeting with you and perhaps others, considering, preparing and working on papers, correspondence and making and receiving telephone calls.
Our fees for dealing with the sale of your property are from £695 plus VAT and related disbursements as advised in your quotation.
We will add VAT to our charges at the rate that applies when the work is done. At present, the VAT rate is 20%. If the firm does not complete the work, we will charge for the work which we have done.
We will review with you the estimate of total charges whenever you wish us to do so and our charges will not exceed the estimate unless we have first discussed this with you and have confirmed the revised estimate in writing.
Wherefore whatever reason a matter proves to be abortive, then we specifically reserve the right to make a charge for the work undertaken in respect of that matter up to the time the matter terminates.
Other factors which would increase costs are implementing Indemnity Policies for example missing documents, planning permissions, building regulations etc.
Our fee assumes that:
- This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction;
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise;
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation;
- No Indemnity Policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
Estimated conveyancing fees in the sale of a Freehold Residential Property:
| Profit Costs from | £695.00 |
| Electronic Money Transfer Fee | £35.00 |
| VAT @ 20% | £146.00 |
| Office Copy Entries & Title Plans | £6.00 |
| Estimated total from: | £882.00 |
There may be additional fees payable to a third party if we have to order copies of documents of the title from HM Land Registry, which are normally at a cost of £3.00 to £6.00 per copy. There would be a charge for the time spent in dealing with this extra work.
If there is a defect in the title, which can be put right by way of Indemnity Insurance, then there will be a payment to the provider of the Insurance Provider and an administration charge payable to us on a time basis for dealing with this matter.
If there is more than one charge or debt registered against the property, then our fees will be varied and there will be additional Electronic Money Transfer Fees payable.
Please note our fees will change if the property is unregistered land, as this is significantly more complicated.
Leasehold Sale:
Our charges will be from £750.00 plus VAT and related disbursements.
Description of and cost of any likely disbursements:
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, mentioned or referred to in the lease. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Anticipated Disbursements:
Office Copy Entry fee £6.00 per registered title.
If Leasehold sale:
- Obtaining up to date ground rent information/freehold pack – this fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £100.00 to £200.00.
- Obtaining the management pack from the management company. The fee is often between £200.00 to £350.00.
- Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. The fee is often between £100.00 to £250.00.
* 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.
Key Stages of the matter
The precise stages involved both in the sale of a residential Leasehold property and in the sale of a residential Freehold property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice
- Download Land Registry Documents and review the property title
- Draft contract documents and send to the Buyers’ solicitors
- Deal with any enquiries raised by the Buyers’ solicitors
- 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
- Deal with any ground rent and service charge apportionments
- Complete sale
- Discharge any mortgages or charges registered against the property.
- if additional enquiries are raised and need to be answered by third parties, freeholders and management companies, additional fees will be payable. Furthermore, if further planning documents are required and have to be applied for, then again a further cost and disbursements will be incurred
Timescales
The position may change due to a number of uncertainties. However, on the basis of the information you have provided to us, our current view is that the matter should be completed within 10-12 weeks. This timescale does not take into account any third-party complications and non-straightforward issues arising.
Our Service Levels
We will regularly keep you updated with the progress of your case and the costs involved.
We will always try to return your calls and emails within the same working day, but if that is not possible, on the next working day.
We will respond to your letters within 24-48 hours.
We will use straightforward language and use legal ‘jargon’ only when necessary.
We will be friendly and approachable at all times.
We will deal with you in a respectful and professional manner.
We will ask you for your feedback on the service we have provided.
Purchase:
Freehold:
Our charges are based on the time spent dealing with the matter. Time spent will include meeting with you and perhaps others, considering, preparing and working on papers, correspondence and making and receiving telephone calls.
We estimate that the costs in this matter will be from £750.00 plus VAT and disbursements as advised in your quotation.
We will add VAT to our charges at the rate that applies when the work is done. At present, the VAT rate is 20%. If the firm does not complete the work, we will charge for the work which we have done.
We will review with you the estimate of the total charges whenever you wish us to do so and our charges will not exceed the estimate unless we have first discussed this with you and we have confirmed the revised estimate in writing.
Wherefore whatever reason a matter proves to be abortive, then we specifically reserve the right to make a charge for the work undertaken in respect of that matte up to the time the matter terminates.
Additional fees that are not included in the cost estimate are as follows:
| Bank Transfer Fee (plus VAT) | £35.00 per transfer |
| Help to Buy ISA (plus VAT) Gifted Deposits |
£50.00 per ISA £50.00 plus VAT |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax Charge | £75.00 plus VAT |
| Mortgage Legal Fee | Between £100.00 to £200.00 inc. VAT |
| * The Mortgage Legal Fee depends on the lender and amount of work required for the lender. This will also vary if the lender chooses to use their own solicitors. Cost to be advised once we are aware of which Solicitors are instructed by the lender. | |
Other factors which would increase costs are implementing Indemnity Policies, for example, missing documents, planning permissions, building regulations etc.
Our fee assumes that:
- This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including, for example, (but not limited to), a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
- No Indemnity Policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if Indemnity Policies are required.
However, the following are the main steps we would take in the vast majority of cases: -
- Complying with Law Society and Government regulations including client identification procedures
- Communicating with the Solicitor(s) and estate agents (if any) acting for the other parties
- Preparing or considering the Contract documentation and reviewing those pages in detail
- Arranging searches and considering the replies
- Preparing or considering the list of fixtures and fittings in the property and replies to the Law Society’s Property Information Form together with enquiries arising out of the documentation provided
- Negotiating the draft Contracts and reporting to you with regard to the Contract terms
- Reporting to you with regard to the legal and associated matters affecting the property, including the Lease and freehold financial arrangements (if applicable)
- Considering the mortgage lenders instructions, reporting relevant matters to the lender and ensuring compliance with its requirements (if applicable)
- Reporting on the Contract and arranging for it to be signed and providing instructions for payment of the deposit
- Obtaining authority to exchange, exchanging contracts with the seller’s Solicitor and paying over the deposit
- Drafting the Land Registry Transfer and carrying out pre-completion searches
- Reporting to the lender and requesting the mortgage funds in accordance with the lenders requirements (if applicable)
- Preparing a financial statement, calculate the balance required to complete & provide instructions for payment of funds
- Completing the SDLT Return
- Obtaining or repaying the mortgage funds from or to your lender (if applicable)
- Sending or receiving the completion monies from the other Solicitor on completion and finalising completion
- Obtaining the completion documents from the seller’s Solicitor
- Account to you for the proceeds of sale
- Submitting SDLT Return to HMRC
- Submitting the Land Registry application and advising all relevant parties when it has been completed
- Dealing with the lender's standard post-completion requirements (if applicable)
Additional charges
Every transaction is different and once we have established the facts of your individual purchase, we can give an indication of any additional legal costs that may be incurred so that you are aware of the costs involved. However, matters do sometimes only come to light during the course of a transaction.
If we are required to incur additional work in obtaining deeds or documents relating to your property or in correcting a defect in title or obtaining Title Indemnity insurance then there would be an additional charge which would be notified to you as soon as we are able. This list is not exhaustive but we will notify you if matters arise that affect the cost of your transaction.
Anticipated Disbursements
The disbursements likely to be involved in a purchase are as follows:
Searches (including but not limited to):
| Local Authority Search | £55.00 |
| Con29 Drainage Search | £65.00 |
| Coal Mining Search | £53.00 |
| Energy Report | £30.00 |
| Flood Search | £30.00 |
| Ground Stability Report | £30.00 |
| Environmental Search | £49.00 |
| Groundsure Planning | £29.00 |
| HS2 Search | £30.00 |
| * We will advise you of the cost of searches at the beginning of the transaction | |
| Bankruptcy Search | £2.00 per name |
| Priority Searches per title number or if unregistered land, per name we have to search against | £2.00 |
| Land Registry Fee | Dependant on the purchase price |
| Stamp Duty Land Taxhttps://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro - Properties in Englandhttps://www.revenue.scot/land-buildings-transaction-tax/tax-calculator/lbtt-property-transactions-calculator - Properties in Scotlandhttps://lttcalculator.wra.gov.wales/ - Properties in Wales | Dependant on the purchase price |
| Copy Planning/Building Regulations Consents | |
| Indemnity Insurance Premium | |
If a company is buying other fees will apply for Companies House, Company Search, Winding Up Search (if necessary), additional fees payable for a letter of no crystallisation is required.
Leasehold:
Our charges will be from £795.00 plus VAT and related disbursements.
Description of and cost of any likely Disbursements:
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Disbursements include, but are not limited to, the following:
| Local Authority Search | £55.00 |
| Con29 Drainage Search | £65.00 |
| Coal Mining Search | £53.00 |
| Energy Report | £30.00 |
| Flood Search | £30.00 |
| Ground Stability Report | £30.00 |
| Environmental Search | £49.00 |
| Groundsure Planning | £29.00 |
| HS2 Search | £30.00 |
| * We will advise you of the cost of searches at the beginning of the transaction | |
| Bankruptcy Search | £2.00 per name |
| Priority Searches per title number or if unregistered land, per name we have to search against | £2.00 |
| Land Registry Fee | Dependant on the purchase price |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro - Properties in Englandhttps://www.revenue.scot/land-buildings-transaction-tax/tax-calculator/lbtt-property-transactions-calculator - Properties in Scotlandhttps://lttcalculator.wra.gov.wales/ - Properties in Wales |
Dependant on the purchase price |
| Copy Planning/Building Regulations Consents | |
|
Indemnity Insurance Premium Notice Fees to Landlord Management Company Administration Fees |
|
In Leasehold Transactions, the following fees may also apply:
- Notice of Transfer Fee – this fee is chargeable and set out in the lead, often the fee is between £100.00 to £200.00.
- Notice of Charge Fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – this fee is set out in the lease and is often between £100.00 to £200.00.
- Deed of Covenant Fee – this fee is provided by the Management Company for the property and is difficult to estimate. The fee is often between £200.00 to £300.00.
- Certificate of Compliance Fee – to be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, but can range between £100.00 to £250.00.
* 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.
Other factors which would increase costs are implementing indemnity policies for example missing documents, planning permissions, building regulations.
Key Stages of the matter
The precise stages involved both in the sale of a residential Leasehold property and in the sale of a residential Freehold property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice
- Check finances are in place to fund purchaser 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 solicitors
- 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 on 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 for the lender and you
- Complete purchase
- Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
- Deal with application for registration at the Land Registry
Timescales
The position may change due to a number of uncertainties. However, on the basis of the information you have provided to us, our current view is that the matter should be completed within 10-12 weeks. This timescale does not take into account any third-party complications and non-straight forward issues arising.
Our Service Levels
We will regularly keep you updated with the progress of your case and the costs involved.
We will always try to return your calls and emails within the same working day, but if that is not possible, on the next working day.
We will respond to your letters within 24-48 hours.
We will use straightforward language and use legal ‘jargon’ only when necessary.
We will be friendly and approachable at all times.
We will deal with you in a respectful and professional manner.
We will ask you for your feedback on the service we have provided.
Property mortgage/remortgage
Mortgage/Remortgage costs from £595 plus VAT.
Basis for charges
- Bank transfer fee £35.00 plus VAT per transfer
Other factors which would increase costs are; implementing indemnity policies, for example, missing documents, planning permissions, building regulations, title defects etc
Our fee assumes that:
- this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction including any transfer of equity or dealing with restrictions on the title
- the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise
- all parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
- no indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
Description of and cost of any likely disbursements.
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Possible Anticipated Disbursements*
- Office Copy Entry Fee £6.00 per registered title
- Bankruptcy Searches £2.00 per name
- Priority searches £2.00 per title number or if unregistered land £2.00 per name we have to search against
- Land Registry fees will be payable to register the new mortgage.
The current Land Registry fee scale is;
Scale 2 fees
| Value or amount | Apply by post | Apply using the portal or Business Gateway, for transfers of whole, charges of whole, transfers of charges and other applications of whole of registered titles | Apply using the portal or Business Gateway for registration of transfers of part, and all other Scale 2 applications that do not affect the whole of a registered title |
|
0 to £100,000 |
£40 |
£20 |
£40 |
|
£100,001 to £200,000 |
£60 |
£30 |
£60 |
|
£200,001 to £500,000 |
£80 |
£40 |
£80 |
|
£500,001 to £1,000,000 |
£120 |
£60 |
£120 |
|
£1,000,001 and over |
£250 |
£125 |
£250 |
Fee reductions when using Scale 2
The reduced fees in the table above apply in the following circumstances:
- transfers or assents of whole
- charges of whole
- transfer of charges
and many other applications of whole for registered titles when using the portal or Business Gateway.
There are no reduced fees for:
- transfers of part
- other applications affecting part of registered titles even when using the portal or Business Gateway
- Further information regarding current land registry fees can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
Other possible required searches – if required by the mortgage lender.
- Local Authority Search £55.00
- Con29 Drainage Search £65.00
- Coal Search (if required and if the property in a coal mining area) £53.00
- Energy report £30.00
- Flood search £30.00
- Ground stability report £30.00
- Environmental search £49.00
- Ground sure planning £29.00 search
- HS2 search £30.00
If the property is leasehold and is required to obtain a copy of the lease an additional fee of £3.00 will be charged by Land Registry
Additionally, there may be additional fees to be paid to the freeholder and/or management company in respect of enquiries and/or notice of charge fees
Key stages of the matter
The precise stages involved in the re-mortgage of a residential property vary according to the circumstances and the mortgage lenders requirements. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice
- Download Land Registry Documents and review the property title
- Obtain relevant documents such as planning documentation, building regulations consents etc, if required
- Carry out searches, if required
- Receive mortgage offer
- Go through conditions of the mortgage offer
- Send mortgage deed to you for signature
- Agree completion date for the mortgage
- Obtain pre-completion searches
- Receive mortgage funds
- Discharge any mortgages of charges registered against the property.
- Deal with application for registration at Land Registry
Timescales
How long it will take from your mortgage offer being issued until you complete the new mortgage will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6 – 8 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the mortgage lenders requirements and any title issues.
Our Service levels
We will regularly keep you updated with the progress of your case and the costs involved.
We will always try to return your calls and emails within the same working day, but if that is not possible, on the next working day.
We will respond to your letters within 24 – 48 hours.
We will use straightforward language and use legal ‘jargon’ only when necessary.
We will be friendly and approachable at all times.
We will deal with you in a respectful and professional manner.
We will ask you for your feedback on the service we have provided
