Residential Conveyancing

Please contact us for your individual quotation and we shall have this prepared and either emailed or posted to you according to your preference. Each property transaction is different and may be subject to unforeseen circumstances but we will always try to give you the best estimate possible at the beginning of your transaction with no hidden or extra fees. The fees set out below are a general guide. 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 the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (stamp duty), the amount payable depends on the buyers’ status under the new rules and the purchase price of the property. In order to assist you when budgeting for your residential property transaction, please use these guidelines on our prices. It is difficult to estimate how long your transaction will take but we will do our best to work within your preferred timescales.

A number of factors will affect the costs of our services which could include but are not limited to:

• Whether freehold or leasehold
• Whether a new build
• Whether first registration of title (unregistered land)
• Whether a mortgage or not
• Whether a shared ownership scheme
• Whether using a help to buy scheme
• Whether purchase under right to buy
• Whether purchase at auction
• Whether property has been repossessed
• Whether indemnity insurance is required to cure title defects

Costs will vary between £1250 plus VAT and £1850 plus VAT and disbursements depending on the purchase price of the property up to £1,000,000.

The following disbursements will also be charged:-

• Search fees – in the region of £200 – £300 depending on local authority fees, includes additional searches for drainage, environmental and plan search which we always recommend.
• HM Land Registry fee is based on the value of the property.
• As we are electronically linked to the Land Registry and submit registrations online, the fee is 50% of the normal fee.
• Bank transfer fees – £25
• Stamp Duty. You can calculate your potential stamp duty by going to this link https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro
• Mortgage Lender fee – In addition, where you are obtaining a mortgage there is a standard charge of £145 plus VAT for acting for the lender and registering the lenders mortgage on the property after completion.

Costs will vary between £750.00 and £1500 plus VAT and disbursements depending on the purchase price of the property.

Disbursements:-

• Money transfer fee – £25
• Copies of Land Registry documents – £3 per document

If the property you are acquiring is leasehold or includes a share of the freehold our costs will be between £850.00 and £1500 plus VAT and disbursements, but this may also include carrying out any additional work such as dealing with a share of the freehold. In addition there will be disbursements but these will depend on the purchase price.

Disbursements:-

• Search fees – in the region of £200 – £300 depending on local authority fees, includes additional searches for drainage, environmental and plan search which we always recommend.
• HM Land Registry fee is based on the value of the property.
• As we are electronically linked to the Land Registry and submit registrations online, the fee is 50% of the normal fee.
• Bank transfer fees – £25
• Stamp Duty. You can calculate your potential stamp duty by going to this link https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro
• Mortgage Lender fee – In addition, where you are obtaining a mortgage there is a standard charge of £145 plus VAT for acting for the lender and registering the lenders mortgage on the property after completion.

Costs will be between £750.00 and £1500 plus VAT and disbursements

Disbursements:-

• Money transfer fee – £25
• Copies of Land Registry documents – £3 per document

Our fees do vary depending on the property and circumstances and it is always best to contact us directly for a tailor made quotation, which we will be happy to provide.

Why do we need to go through so many checks?
The Proceeds of Crime Act places all solicitors under extremely strict rules to ensure criminals and terrorists do not try to use us as a way to launder money derived from criminal activities.

One of the ways we do this is by being absolutely certain who we are acting for and precisely what the purpose of any transaction is.

When acting for you we are required by law to check your identity and we may also wish to confirm information about your credit status. To verify the information you provide, we may make searches about you with a credit reference or fraud prevention agency; this will include information from the Electoral Roll.

The agencies will record the details of the search and other organisations may share these searches to prevent fraud and money laundering. Scoring methods may be used as part of this process.

What documents will I need to prove my identity?
We will ask you to supply original documents as confirmation of your identity, address or both which we will use along with any electronic checks we perform. Any documents provided to us will be recorded and copied for audit purposes as part of our Anti-Money Laundering requirements.

Suitable items for the proof of identity could be a current passport or driving licence, and for the address, a utility bill, council tax bill or bank statement that is no more than three months old.

We may also require supporting evidence of the source of any money involved, for example bank or building society documents, and full details of any third party to whom you may instruct us to send funds.

Why can’t we deal with everything via telephone and email?
Email and telephone are great ways of dealing with your solicitor throughout a transaction but they can’t be used for every stage in the transaction. Legal documents such as contracts and transfers still have to be signed by hand. In some cases, these documents need to be witnessed.

Many conveyancing transactions are time-pressured, so a quick visit to your solicitor to sign can help you achieve your desired completion date.

Once you have your offer accepted, it’s time to get the ball rolling on legally transferring the ownership to you. 

Purchase Pack
The purchase pack is the initial documentation, containing terms and conditions and the client information questionnaire. Once you have appointed us, we send this to you straight away. We ask you to return the completed pack to us together with your identification documentation. When it is all received, we start the legal work.

Memorandum of Sale
Your estate agents (if applicable) will send us a copy of the Memorandum of Sale, which provides the details of the property, the amount offered and the name of the sellers and buyers and their conveyancers.

Mortgage
We will need to know if you are purchasing with the aid of a mortgage and, if so, who the lender is and how much you are borrowing. We will want to check if there is any element of the purchase that we are legally bound to report to your lender, for example if you receiving funds as a gift or loan from a third party, typically a family member.

Contract Review
The seller will complete a fixtures, fittings and contents form and provide specific details about the property. You will need to check the details and inform us if there is anything that needs clarifying.

Arrange a Surveyor
We recommend carrying out a full structural survey for the property. You should not rely on the valuation report issued by the lender’s surveyor as it is very basic and is produced for your benefit.

Property Searches
We will request searches which will include Local Authority Search, Environmental Search, Planning and Water and Drainage Search which are standard searches. If there is a particular search you would like carried, for example Crossrail or HS2 or a specific infrastructure matter, we will do that for you. See the story opposite for more about searches.

Report
We will examine the documents provided and raise enquiries with the seller’s conveyancer before sending you a legal report. This will contain information about the title to the property and a preliminary draft of the contract and transfer for you to sign.

You should read the contract carefully, sign it and return it to us. The transfer is the legal document which both seller and buyer sign to transfer the ownership of the property. This must be signed in the presence of an independent adult (18+) witness. The original should be sent back to us. We will also report to you with the Mortgage Offer (if applicable) and will send you the Mortgage Deed for your signatures. The Mortgage Deed also should be signed in the presence of an independent adult witness.

Deposit
Once you are happy with the searches and enquiries, we will require the deposit funds to proceed to exchange of contracts. This is normally 10% of the purchase price. We will account to you after exchange of contracts with a financial statement that shows the funds you have paid, the mortgage funds, Stamp Duty and professional fees and disbursements.

If you are buying and selling simultaneously, we would normally use the deposit received from your purchaser to pass on to your seller and, if required, will request the additional funds from you.

Buildings Insurance
It’s important to have buildings insurance in place by the exchange date. This will be a condition of your mortgage lender and will protect your investment in the property and your mortgage lender’s interest as well.

Exchange of Contracts
When the contracts have been exchanged, both seller and buyer are contractually bound to complete on the agreed completion date. The conveyancers usually exchange contracts over the telephone and then send the completed signed contracts by post.

Exchanging contracts by your conveyancer legally binds both parties to transferring the property, so you can rest assured the seller must vacate on the day of completion. Mortgage monies will be requested from your lender and the paperwork will be collated in readiness for completion.

Completion Day
On the agreed day of completion, we will send the outstanding balance of the purchase price which you have provided to us, including the money received from your mortgage lender, to the seller’s conveyancer by telegraphic transfer. As soon as they receive the monies, they will inform us and the estate agents and the keys can be released. The property will then be legally yours.

Application Land Registry
Once completion has been confirmed, we will pay stamp duty land tax on your behalf. We will also make an application to Land Registry with the change of ownership form called the Transfer Document signed by the vendor.

Title Deeds
Once Land Registry has processed the application, you will receive a copy of the title information document showing you as owner. This usually takes a few weeks, slightly longer if the property is a new-build.