Purchase of a freehold residential property
Our Fees
Once we have all the relevant information from you about your transaction, we will always provide you with a detailed cost estimate at the very start, which will take into account the specific circumstances and which is likely to be on a fixed fee basis although occasionally we may instead tell you that we will need to work on an hourly fee in more complex or unusual transactions.
The estimate provided to you will 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) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.*
Our typical fees for dealing with the purchase of freehold property for between £250,000.00 and £350,000.00 without any added complexities would be £1350.00 plus VAT at 20%.
Click here for a fees estimate for your transaction.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees, Land Registry fees and Stamp Duty. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
These fees vary from property to property and can on some occasions be more than the estimate supplied. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents. See the box below for a list of examples of what else could be payable.
Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax
This depends on the purchase price of your property, the nature of the property and your circumstances. 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.
Search Fees
When you are purchasing a property a number of searches are undertaken to provide important information for you about issues affecting the property such as services, planning matters or whether the property could be affected by flooding. The cost of a standard search pack varies dependent on the cost of the Local Authority Search. However, you should budget for a sum of around £350/£400 including VAT at 20%. Sometimes additional specialist searches may be necessary, and we will discuss this with you and advise you about the cost.
How long will my freehold purchase take?
How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks.
It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first-time buyer, purchasing an empty property with a mortgage already agreed in principle, it could take as little as 8 weeks. However, if you are buying a property that has several parties in the chain, this can sometimes take significantly longer, between 12 and 16 weeks.
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 title to the property is not unregistered or made up of several separate titles.
- 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.
Stages Of The Buying Process
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, we have set out below a list of the most usual key stages of the work we will do for you as part of the buying process:
- 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
- Deal with application for registration at Land Registry
Purchase of a leasehold residential property
Our fees
Once we have all the relevant information from you about your transaction, we will always provide you with a detailed cost estimate at the very start, which will take into account the specific circumstances and which is likely to be on a fixed fee basis although occasionally we may instead tell you that we will need to work on an hourly fee in more complex or unusual transactions.
The estimate provided to you will 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) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.*
Our typical fees for dealing with the purchase of a leasehold property for between £250,000.00 and £350,000.00 without any added complexities would be £1700.00 plus VAT at 20%.
Click here for a fees estimate for your transaction.
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. There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the term of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller's solicitors.
Anticipated Leasehold Disbursements
Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50.00 - £100.00.
Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50.00 - £100.00.
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 £100.00 - £150.00.
Certificate of Compliance fee - To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £80.00 - £120.00.
These figures 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 the lease and supporting documents.
You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to 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.
Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax
This depends on the purchase price of your property, the nature of the property and your circumstances. 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.
Search Fees
When you are purchasing a property a number of searches are undertaken to provide important information for you about issues affecting the property such as services, planning matters or whether the property could be affected by flooding. When you are purchasing a property a number of searches are undertaken to provide important information for you about issues affecting the property such as services, planning matters or whether the property could be affected by flooding. The cost of a standard search pack varies dependent on the cost of the Local Authority Search. However, you should budget for a sum of around £350/£400 including VAT at 20%. Sometimes additional specialist searches may be necessary, and we will discuss this with you and advise you about the cost.
Stages Of The Buying Process
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, we have set out below a list of the most usual key stages of the work we will do for you as part of the buying process:
- 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.
- Send final contract to you for signature.
- Draft Transfer
- Advise you on joint ownership.
- Obtain pre-completion searches.
- 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
How long will my leasehold purchase take?
How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain.
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.
- This is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
- 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.
Sale of a freehold residential property
Our Fees
Once we have all the relevant information from you about your transaction, we will always provide you with a detailed cost estimate at the very start, which will take into account the specific circumstances and which is likely to be on a fixed fee basis although occasionally we may instead tell you that we will need to work on an hourly fee in more complex or unusual transactions.
The estimate provided to you will cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your home. Where you have a mortgage the fees estimated will also cover the work necessary on behalf of your lender to repay the mortgage.
Our typical fees for dealing with the sale of freehold property for between £250,000.00 and £350,000.00 without any added complexities would be £1250.00 plus VAT at 20%.
Click here for a fees estimate for your transaction.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Official copy entries. Typically, the cost of obtaining copies of your title from the Land Registry is £6.00 for each title and plan.
How long will my freehold sale take?
How long it will take will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks.
It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are selling to a first-time buyer, it could take 8 weeks. However, if you are selling to a buyer who has a property to sell with several parties in the chain, this can sometimes take significantly longer, between 10 and 16-18 weeks.
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 title to the property is not unregistered or made up of several separate titles.
- 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.
Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have listed the most usual key stages:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice.
- Obtaining from you the completed protocol forms
- Obtain Official copies of your title from the land registry.
- Prepare and send out the contract pack to the buyer’s lawyers.
- Deal with any enquiries raised by the buyer’s lawyers.
- Send you the contract to sign.
- Agree completion date.
- Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened.
- Obtain a redemption figure for any mortgage or loan on the property.
- Obtain the estate agents account where applicable.
- Complete sale and account to you for the balance owing to you.
- Repay any mortgage or loan and settle the agent’s account.
Sale of a leasehold residential property
Our Fees
Once we have all the relevant information from you about your transaction, we will always provide you with a detailed cost estimate at the very start, which will take into account the specific circumstances and which is likely to be on a fixed fee basis although occasionally we may instead tell you that we will need to work on an hourly fee in more complex or unusual transactions.
The estimate provided to you will cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your property.
Our typical fees for dealing with the sale of a leasehold residential property for between £250,000.00 and £350,000.00 without any added complexities would be £1600.00 plus VAT at 20%.
Click here for a fees estimate for your transaction.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Official copy entries. Typically, the cost of obtaining copies of your title from the Land Registry is £6 for each title and plan.
We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the term of the lease.
Anticipated Leasehold Disbursements
- Fee for leasehold pack – dependent on the Freeholder/Managing agent could be anything between £100.00-£300.00.
- Sinking Fund Contribution – dependent on the terms of the lease – this can be a % of the sale price.
These figures 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 the lease and supporting documents.
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential leasehold property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have listed the most usual key stages:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice.
- Obtaining from you the completed protocol forms
- Obtain Official copies of your title from the land registry.
- Obtain the leasehold pack from the freeholder/managing agent.
- Prepare and send out the contract pack to the buyer’s lawyers.
- Deal with any enquiries raised by the buyer’s lawyers.
- Send you the contract to sign.
- Agree completion date.
- Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened.
- Obtain a redemption figure for any mortgage or loan on the property.
- Obtain the estate agents account where applicable.
- Obtain an up-to-date service charge/ground rent account.
- Complete sale and account to you for the balance owing to you.
- Repay any mortgage or loan and settle the agent’s account.
How long will my leasehold sale take?
How long it will take from you accepting an offer until completion will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain.
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.
- this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
- 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.
Mortgage or Re-Mortgage of Freehold or Leasehold Property
Our Fees
The estimate provided to you will cover all of the work required to complete your mortgage, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry.*
Our typical fees for dealing with the remortgage of a freehold registered title with a mortgage between £250,000.00 and £350,000.00 without any added complexities would be £1000.00 plus VAT at 20%.
Click here for a fees estimate for your transaction.
Disbursements
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.
*These fees vary from property to property and can on some occasions be more than the estimate supplied. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents. See below for a list of what else could be payable.
What are the stages of the process mortgaging or re-mortgaging?
The precise stages involved in the transaction will vary according to the circumstances. However, our service to you will normally include the following:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice
- Obtain details of amount required to repay any existing mortgages
- Check finances are in place to and contact lender if needed
- Receive mortgage offer which usually includes instructions to act for the lender as well as the client borrower
- Carry out necessary searches
- Obtain further planning documentation if required
- Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
- Send mortgage documents to you for signature
- Agree completion date
- Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender
- Complete mortgage, repay any existing mortgages, and account to you
- Deal with application for registration at Land Registry
- Deal with any necessary Notice of Mortgage or Certificate of Compliance (leasehold properties)
How long will my transaction take?
We completely understand that you would like some idea of how long the matter will take to deal with and we will do whatever we can to complete the matter in accordance with your preferred timescale. However, it is sometimes the case that matters arise which delay a transaction.
We will do whatever we can to identify any such matters as early as possible in order that you may plan accordingly.
In our experience, most mortgages or re-mortgage transactions complete between 6 and 8 weeks from the date that we receive a valid mortgage offer.
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
- No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
Additional Fees you may reasonably be expected to pay (all are subject to VAT at 20%)
| Approving or arranging an indemnity insurance policy (per policy) | £30.00 |
| Dealing with an unregistered title | £250.00 |
| Preparation and completion of a Deed of Covenant | £75.00 |
| Dealing with third party lawyers (eg on a matrimonial sale) | £200.00 |
| Removal of registered cautions/restrictions/second charges | £150.00 |
| Where there is a separate leasehold garage | £200.00 |
| Preparation of a statutory declaration where the title is defective | £125.00 |
| Preparation of a Deed of Easement | £550.00 |
| Where your lender has separate solicitors | £300.00 |
| Where there is a freehold management company | £100.00 |
| Fee for each electronic funds transfer | £30.00 |
| ID Check fee per client or gift donor | £30.00 |
| Lender handbook search fee | £15.00 |