Property Fees

We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to publish prices and service information in relation to residential conveyancing work we carry out. To comply with this requirement, we set out our charges at the end of this introductory section of our data.

No two transactions are the same and therefore in order to obtain a personalised quote for your transaction, please contact us.

General Notes

Please note that additional expenses are likely to be payable in the event your transaction is being made via a limited company or other corporate structure.
If it becomes apparent that there are unforeseen circumstances in connection with your transaction, we will increase our charges, but if that is the case, we shall inform you before we incur any additional costs.
If, for any reason, your transaction is aborted, we will charge for the work that has been carried out at the hourly rate of £200.00 plus VAT but will not exceed the estimate provided to you, unless we have warned you in advance.

Guidance

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 (Stamp Duty). The Stamp Duty will depend on 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
All prices below are exclusive of VAT. The fees listed are our average fee ranges for a Purchase, Sale and Remortgage transactions. The fees (including additional fees and disbursements) may vary depending on the source of the instruction, location of the property, the property price and the work we are required to do.

Conveyancing Fees

Purchasing Transaction

Value Not Exceeding	Our Professional Fees	Leasehold/Share of Freehold
Up to £400,000	£650 plus VAT	£750 plus VAT
£400,001-£650,000	£750 plus VAT	£850 plus VAT
£650,001-£800,000	£850 plus VAT	£950 plus VAT
£800,001+	£1,200 plus VAT	£1,300 plus VAT

Sale Transaction

Value Not Exceeding	Our Professional Fees	Leasehold/Share of Freehold
Up to £400,000	£650 plus VAT	£750 plus VAT
£400,001-£650,000	£750 plus VAT	£850 plus VAT
£650,001-£800,000	£850 plus VAT	£950 plus VAT
£800,001+	£1,200 plus VAT	£1,300 plus VAT

Remortgage Only (Excludes Bridging Loans)

Value Not Exceeding	Our Professional Fees	Leasehold/Share of Freehold
Up to £400,000	£650 plus VAT	£750 plus VAT
£400,001-£650,000	£750 plus VAT	£850 plus VAT
£650,001-£800,000	£850 plus VAT	£950 plus VAT
£800,001+	£1,200 plus VAT	£1,300 plus VAT

Additions

Additional Work	Comment	Charge	VAT (@20%)	Total
Additional land	If the property being purchased or sold includes an additional piece of land with a separate title this is the fee for each additional title	650	130	780
Auction	If the property is being bought or sold at auction this is the fee for preparing or checking the auction documents – it does not cover attendance at the auction	300	60	360
Bridging loan	If you are obtaining bridging finance in connection with a purchase but this does not cover any work in connection with the bridging lender’s requirements	250	50	300
Contaminated land issues	If the property does not receive a ‘pass’ certificate when an environmental search is undertaken	HR
Declaration of Trust	If two or more joint owners wish to specify in detail the terms upon which they own a property – this is our basic charge for a simple Declaration of Trust	150	30	180
Deed of covenant	This is the charge for each deed	150	30	180
Deed of postponement	If there is more than one lender and the lenders require a deed regulating their respective priorities – this is the fee for the first two lenders	100	20	120
Defective title	If there is a title effect and we have to take action to correct it	HR
Discharge of charge	Our basic price on sales includes the discharge of one registered charge – each additional registered charge attracts this fee	30	6	36
Disputes	Sometimes a dispute arises between the parties and legal advice is required	HR
Expedited completion	If the period between exchange of contracts and completion is less than five working days – if an expedited exchange is required you should discuss your requirements with you conveyancer as the average transaction takes in the region of 8 weeks	300	60	360
First registration at the Land Registry	If the property is not yet registered at the Land Registry	150	30	180
Freehold reversion purchase	If a leaseholder acquires the freehold reversion	195	39	234
Gift (sometimes referred to as a gifted deposit)	If you are receiving a gift of money or property	150	30	180
Guarantee	Sometimes a separate or collateral guarantee is required – this is the charge for each guarantee	150	30	180
Help to Buy	If you are buying a property using the Government’s Help to Buy scheme	350	70	420
Help to Buy ISA	If you instruct us to make an application on our behalf for a Help to Buy ISA bonus	50	10	60
HMO/HIMO	If the property being brought or sold is a house in multiple occupation	175	35	210
Interpreters	If we need to arrange for someone to act as an interpreter	HR
Lease amendment	If the lease being transferred needs to be amended – this is our standard charge for straightforward amendments and does not include any other party’s legal costs	150	30	180
Lease extension	If the lease being transferred needs to be extended – this is our standard charge for straightforward extensions and does not include any other party’s legal costs	650	130	780
Lender’s separate lawyers	If your lender is separately represented	200	40	240
Licence to assign a lease	If a licence is required before a leasehold property can be transferred – this is our standard charge for a straightforward licence and does not include any other party’s legal costs	250	50	300
Merger of leasehold and freehold	If a freehold and leasehold title are to be merged	150	30	180
New build properties or plots of land	If the property is newly built and we did not know about this when we provided our estimate	200	40	240
Occupiers	Your lender may require occupiers to sign a consent or release – this is our fee for dealing with the additional work and is per occupier	50	10	60
Power of Attorney	If the property is being sold under an existing power of attorney or any of the parties to a transaction is acting as attorney, this is the fee for each Power – if we prepare a Power of Attorney our usual hourly rate will apply	100	20	120
Right to Buy	If you are buying a property under the Government’s Right to Buy scheme	200	40	240
Second or subsequent charge	If you are borrowing money from more than one lender and each lender requires a mortgage, this is the fee for the second and each subsequent mortgage	200	40	240
Shared ownership leases	If the property is part-owned and part-leased on a shared ownership basis and we did not know about this when we provided our estimate	300	60	360
Statutory Declaration/ Statement of Truth	If a statutory declaration or statement of truth has to be prepared or approved by us, this is the fee for each declaration/ statement	150	30	180
Tenancy agreement	If we are required to draft or approve a tenancy agreement, this is our basic fee for each tenancy agreement	300	60	360
Tenanted property	If the property is tenanted, this is the price for each tenancy agreement we have to consider	150	30	180
Transfer of charge	If a mortgage or charge has to be transferred from one property to another – this does not include any other party’s legal costs or any work in connection to the lender’s requirements	175	35	210
Transfer of equity/deed of gift	If the property has to be transferred into the correct names of the sellers or the owners taking out a new mortgage	300	60	360
Transfer of part	If the property is only part of a registered title	300	60	360
Verifying identification for non-UK residents	If your identification documents are issued outside of the UK or you cannot provide a satisfactory UK address	100	20	120

Other Additional Fees (if applicable to your transaction):

Help To Buy: £100
Help To Buy ISA: £50
Telegraphic Transfer: £36
SDLT Admin: £100
Acting for Lender: £250
Islamic Mortgage: £250

Disbursements (third party costs):

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

Search Pack: £250 approx. (excluding VAT)
Bankruptcy Search: £2 per person
ID/AML Checks: £6 - £12 per person
Land Registry Search: £6 (Help to Buy) £3 (Non-Help to Buy)
Land Registration Fee: £40 - £910

The Land Registry fees referred to above are not subject to VAT.

Please note the fee range will vary depending on the work required.
Factors which may increase the fees charged include:

If the property is leasehold;
If a lease extension of deed of variation is required;
If there is Help to Buy involvement;
If you wish for us to expedite your transaction;
If we also need to act for your lender;
If the purchase is off-plan;
If we cannot meet you in person and will need to complete an electronic ID check;

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in residential property transaction may vary according to the circumstances; however below we have outlined the traditional stages which will be carried out:

Purchase:

Take your instructions by getting you to complete purchase instruction and Protocol forms and give you initial advice;
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors, if needed;
investigating the title to the property which you are buying, to include:
carrying out searches with respect to title and local government information for the property
reviewing replies given by the seller to pre-contract enquiries
Obtain further planning documentation if required;
Prepare Report on Title and send to you with the contract for signature and supporting documents to include advising on the conditions of your mortgage offer and joint ownership, if required;
Agree completion date (date from which you own the property);
Proceeding to exchange of contracts and completion of the purchase;
calculating stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase and preparing and submitting to HM Revenue & Customs the appropriate SDLT forms; and
registering the purchase and any mortgage at the Land Registry

Sale:

Take your instructions by getting you to complete sale instruction and Protocol forms and give you initial advice;
Check finances are in place to fund any related purchase (if applicable);
Obtain a copy of the Title and prepare a contract pack to send to purchasers Solicitors;
Respond to any pre-contract enquiries;
Obtain a redemption statement from your mortgage lender
Arrange for you to execute the final contract and Transfer Deed
Arrange an exchange and completion date;
Complete sale
Deal with redemption of your mortgage
Pay the estate agents commission account (if any)
Transfer any remaining money from sale to you

Remortgage:

Take your instructions by getting you to complete instruction and Protocol forms and give you initial advice;
Obtain the Title Deeds from HM Land Registry;
Receive your mortgage offer and report to you on this;
Apply for searches or search indemnity (dependent on what your lender requires);
Request an initial redemption statement from the lender;
Report to lender and confirm you can comply with the mortgage conditions;
Set a completion date;
Transfer any remaining surplus to you;
An application will be made to the Land Registry with the new lender’s interest

Please note the fees quoted above assumes that your matter 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 exchange or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction;
Your matter is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease;
Your transaction is concluded in a timely manner and that no unforeseen complications arise;
All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation; and
No indemnity policies are required

Residential Property Estimated Timeline

1. Preparing / 1-2 Weeks

Ensure you have all the legal provisions in place, such as your initial documents, before making an offer. Postponements can be caused by not filling in forms accurately and leaving them to the last minute.

We will ensure that all documents are submitted accurately and in a timely manner.

2. Proceeding / 6-8 Weeks

Once your offer is accepted by the seller you can have a conveyancer to perform all the necessary checks and searches which are needed for your file.

Mortgage offers, and valuations can cause delays, as can slow replies to questions from elsewhere in the chain.

3. Exchanging / 1-2 Days

The exchanging of contracts joins you into a legal agreement to either purchase or sell a property. The actual exchange will be performed by your conveyancer who will inform you when this is complete

Delays can occur due to others in the chain who aren’t prepared or if the release of funds take longer than expected.

4. Completing / 2 Weeks

In order to complete the process, some final checks must be achieved – this is done by your conveyancer and they will organise for you to sign documents and complete payments.

At this point communication is crucial, as interruptions will occur the longer you take to get everything finalised.

5. Contracts / With Immediate Effect

Once the money has been processed and contacts are complete you will have completed the sale or purchase.

Money transferral can regularly take a while, but ensure your property is ready for the move to save time.

6. The Final Details

Stamp duty will need to be paid if the purchase price is over a certain amount. Thereafter, the Land Registry should send you documents of registration.

With years of experience and fully qualified conveyancing solicitors you can rest assured that your transaction will be in safe hands. We alter our services to your needs and take care of mortgage arrangements, boundary issues and easements.