Residential Conveyancing – price transparency
Residential Conveyancing is the legal process of purchasing or selling a residential property. We have a specialist team of residential property lawyers and support staff to guide you through your conveyancing transaction whether that is a house sale, house purchase, re-mortgage, equity release or something more specialist.
We understand that you will have some key questions before you decide which law firm you would like to handle your case, including:
What is the process going to cost us?
How long will it take?
Can I speak to the actual lawyer dealing with my case?
Our fees
We have a clear pricing structure for our conveyancing services. Our online conveyancing calculator can be found by clicking here where you can obtain a clear estimate of our legal charges and the disbursements (a disbursement is a payment we make to a third party on your behalf) for your case.
If, however, you would prefer to speak to one of our lawyers, then please contact us on 01388 881 611 and we are happy to talk you through our charges and any queries you may have.
Our fee includes:
| Sale | Purchase |
|---|
| Preparing the draft contract | Approval of the draft contract |
| Deducing legal title | Approval of the legal title and advice to you |
| Answering reasonable enquiries raised by the Buyer’s solicitors | Carrying out searches and reviewing results |
| Approval of the Transfer Deed | Raising enquiries of the Seller’s solicitor |
| Exchange of contracts | Preparing the transfer deed and advising on joint ownership (if applicable) |
| Completion | Preparing and advising upon the mortgage deed (if relevant) |
| Repaying your mortgage (if relevant) | Exchange of Contracts |
| Completion | |
| Submission of your Stamp Duty return to HMRC | |
| Registration at HM Land Registry |
Timescales & Key Stages
The average timescale for house sale or purchase is somewhere between four to eight weeks. If there is a chain of buyers and sellers involved, that might increase to somewhere between eight to twelve weeks, on average.
It is impossible to be precise about how long your transaction will take because there are several factors which may impact upon timescales, including, for example:
- Availability or desired dates by another party to the transaction or within the chain;
- Outcome of the survey and any remedial works;
- Awaiting mortgage offer(s).
We do have experienced lawyers who can guide you through your transaction and advise you if anything comes up which may affect your desired timescale.
Please see our flowchart for an overview of the key stages of a property sale and purchase.
Our lawyers
We pride ourselves on our personal service, at Smith Roddam Solicitors. Your lawyer will deal with your case personally, assisted by their dedicated legal secretary and in each case, you will have their names and contact details, including email.
Our website includes a biography of all of our lawyers including our specialist residential property lawyers so that you can see at the outset who is or may deal with your case. All of our residential property lawyers have at least 10 years of experience in residential property law.
We hope that this information page assists you with your decision and that you will entrust us to handle your case. If there is anything at all you would like to ask us or discuss then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Current Fee Scales
All prices below exclude VAT at the prevailing rate.
Sales
| Price from | Price to | Legal Service Fee |
|---|
| £0 | £100,000 | £495.00 |
| £100,001 | £200,000 | £595.00 |
| £200,001 | £300,000 | £650.00 |
| £300,001 | £400,000 | £695.00 |
| £400,001 | £500,000 | £795.00 |
| £500,001 | £600,000 | £850.00 |
| £600,001 | £700,000 | £950.00 |
Purchases
| Price from | Price to | Legal Service Fee |
|---|
| £0 | £100,000 | £550.00 |
| £100,001 | £200,000 | £650.00 |
| £200,001 | £300,000 | £750.00 |
| £300,001 | £400,000 | £850.00 |
| £400,001 | £500,000 | £950.00 |
| £500,001 | £600,000 | £1,050.00 |
| £600,001 | £700,000 | £1,150.00 |
Remortgages
| Price from | Price to | Legal Service Fee |
|---|
| £0 | £100,000 | £495.00 |
| £100,001 | £200,000 | £550.00 |
Additional £75.00 if Transfer of Equity
Additional Fee Sets
Additional Fees - Sales
| Fee Name | Fee | Sub Fee Type | Condition |
|---|
| Bank Charge | £15.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Office Copies | £6.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Bank Transfer Fee | £15.00 | Professional charges | Always Applied |
| Leasehold Fee | £250.00 | Professional charges | Tenure==Leasehold |
Additional Fees - Purchases
| Fee Name | Fee | Sub Fee Type | Condition |
|---|
| Help to Buy | £150.00 | Professional charges | Help to Buy == Yes |
| New Build | £200.00 | Professional charges | |
| Bank Charge | £15.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Standard Pack | £198.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | New Build == No |
| Land Registry Search | £3.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Bankruptcy Search (per person) | £2.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Bank Transfer Fee | £15.00 | Professional charges | Always Applied |
| Leasehold Fee | £250.00 | Professional charges | Tenure===Leasehold |
| Help to Buy ISA | £50.00 | Professional charges | Help to Buy ISA == Yes |
| New Build search Pack | £158.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | New Build == Yes |
| SDLT Refund | £50 | Professional charges |
Additional Fees - Remortgages
| Fee Name | Fee | Sub Fee Type | Condition |
|---|
| Search Insurance | TBC | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Bankruptcy Search (per person) | £2.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Land Registry Search | £3.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
Additional Fees - New Builds
| Fee Name | Fee | Sub Fee Type | Condition |
|---|
| Help to Buy | £100.00 | Professional charges | Help to Buy == Yes |
| Bank Charge | £15.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| New Build search Pack | £158.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Land Registry Search | £3.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Bankruptcy Search (per person) | £2.00 | Third-Party Disbursements | Always Applied |
| Bank Transfer Fee | £15.00 | Professional charges | Always Applied |
| Help to Buy ISA | £50.00 | Professional charges | Help to Buy ISA == Yes |
Schedule of non-standard conveyancing charges
Our terms of engagement letter sets out:
- Our charges for acting on your behalf in your property transaction; and
- Payments charged by third parties in respect of your transaction (known as disbursements)
From time to time a matter/issue may arise during a property transaction which will incur further legal costs and/or disbursements. As such matters are not part of a standard conveyancing transaction and they are unknown to us at the time we provide you with your estimate then they do not form part of the charges and disbursements set out in our terms of engagement letter.
We have set out below details of matters which may arise and the extra-legal costs and disbursements charged. The list is not necessarily conclusive and if any matter that is not mentioned should arise during your transaction we will discuss with you the options available and anticipated cost to you.
| Redemption of Second or Subsequent Mortgages | £50.00 plus VAT per mortgage charge |
| Redemption of a Charging Order | £75.00 plus VAT per charge |
| Bank Transfers | £30.00 plus VAT per transfer |
| Assisting with Help to Buy ISA | £50.00 plus VAT per ISA |
| Arrangement of Indemnity Insurance | £50.00 plus VAT plus the insurance premium |
| Preparing a Statuary Declaration or Statement of Truth | £75.00 plus VAT |
| Obtaining Historic Planning Documents/ Building Regulation documents (or related documents) | £10.00 plus VAT |
| Obtaining a copy of FENSA Certificates | £10.00 plus VAT plus FENSA charge |
| Transfer of a Guarantee | £50.00 plus VAT per guarantee |
| First Registration of Land | £100.00 plus VAT plus the Land Registry fee |
| Verifying the Identity and Source of Funds of a Third Party (I.e. making a gift towards the purchase price of a property) | £50.00 plus VAT |
| Preparing a Declaration of Trust | From £150.00 plus VAT |
| Preparing a Private Legal Mortgage/Charge/Loan Agreement | From £200.00 plus VAT |
| Preparing a Deed of Covenant | £75.00 plus VAT |
| Preparing Application Forms to Register or Cancel a Standard Restriction | £75.00 plus VAT plus any Land Registry fee |
| Preparing a Notice of Assignment and/or Charge | £50.00 plus VAT |
| An Application for Adverse Possession of Land (if uncontested by any third party) | From £200.00 plus VAT plus the Land Registration fee |