Regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority
Our Fees
What can you expect to pay for our services?
What do our fees incudes:
Our fees cover all of the standard legal work required to complete a typical sale, purchase or remortgage of property.
Our price structure for residential purchase matters typically ranges from between £795.00 to £1,500.00 plus VAT and disbursements, for residential sale matters from between £695.00 to £1,350.00 plus VAT and disbursements and for re-mortgage matters £295.00 to £795.00 plus VAT and disbursements.
However, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will provide you with a tailormade quotation.
We do offer a number of discounts from time to time which may result in a lower fee! Take a look on our news and discounts page.
Whenever reference is made to VAT , the rate applied is usually 20%.
There will also be disbursements which are payments made to third parties such as the search providers for your searches and HM Land Registry for your registration fee.
We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Below is a summary of the type of disbursements you should expect to incur:
FOR A PURCHASE:
Standard Search Fees £190.00*
Bankruptcy Fee (per person) £2.00
Land Registry Search Fee £3.00
Electronic ID Verification Fee (per person) £9.00
Lawyer Checker Fee £21.60
Bank Transfer Fee £36.00
Case Management Fee £40.03
Land Registration Fee from £20.00 to £680.00* depending upon the value of the transaction
and will vary depending upon the circumstances.
Stamp Duty :
You may or may not need to pay stamp duty. This depends 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.
FOR A SALE:
Official Copy Documents from £6.00 to £28.00*
Electronic ID Verification Fee (per person) £9.00
Bank Transfer Fee £36.00
Case Management Fee £33.36
FOR A RE-MORTGAGE:
Official Copy Documents from £6.00 to £28.00*
Electronic ID Verification Fee (per person) £9.00
Land Registry Search Fee £3.00
Bankruptcy Fee £2.00 per borrower
Standard Search Fee £190.00*(or approximately £20.00 to £80.00* if your lender will accept no search indemnity insurance)
Bank Transfer Fee £36.00
Case Management Fee £30.00
Land Registration Fee from £20.00 to £680.00* depending upon the value of the transaction.
ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO NOTE IF THE PROPERTY IS LEASEHOLD:
If you are selling or buying a Leasehold property there are likely to be additional disbursements payable to the Landlord.
If you are buying a Leasehold property, these are likely to include a notice of purchase fee (as an estimate this is usually between £20.00 to £200.00),* notice of mortgage fee (again, as an estimate this is usually between £20.00 to £200.00)*, deed of covenant fee (usually between approximately £50.00 to £250.00)*, and a certificate of compliance fee (usually between about £50.00 and £200.00)*. Depending on the nature of the Lease, you may incur all or just some of the above.
If you are selling a Leasehold property, the Landlord is likely to charge a fee for providing required replies to standard Leasehold questions . This is usually within the region of £100.00 to £400.00.*
*These figures are typical estimates, but can vary from property to property.
Example Quotation for a freehold purchase at a price of £275,000 where there is a mortgage and no stamp duty is payable:
Our Legal Fees £895.00
VAT upon our Legal Fees £179.00
Bank Transfer fee for sending the purchase funds to the Seller's Solicitor £30.00
VAT upon the Bank Transfer Fee £6.00
Disbursements to third parties:
Standard Search Package to include local authority search, drainage and water search and environmental search £190.00*
Bankruptcy Search Fees (per person) £2.00
Final Land Registry Fee £3.00
AML Identification Fee (per person) £9.00
Case Management Fee £40.03
Lawyer Checker Fee £21.60
Land Registry registration fee £150.00
Total - £1,536.63
What are the main stages of the process?
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages:
- Take your instructions.
- Check finances are in place to fund the purchase and contact lender's solicitors if needed
- Receive and advise on contract documents
- Check title
- Carry out searches
- Check and report upon search results
- 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
How long will my house purchase take?
How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your property will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 5-10 weeks from the date the initial contract papers are received from the Seller's Solicitor. Sometimes it takes longer and sometimes it happens sooner. The timing will be directly affected by matters that may be outside of our control such as the time it takes third parties lenders, surveyors and search providers. The wishes, needs and circumstances of other parties in the chain may affect the timing. However, we will always do our best to keep you abreast of progress along the way.
When we may need to increase our estimate:
If we need to increase our original estimate, we will always discuss the matter with you before incurring the additional charges. This does not happen very often, but it may if the transaction was to become particularly complicated or protracted.
Examples of when this situation may arise:
- A defect in the legal title is discovered.
- There have been extensions or additions to the property where planning permission or building regulations have not been obtained.
- A material delay with the transaction / chain
- If there is a requirement to vary the Lease terms or extend the Lease.
- We are asked to deal with more than one Lender or the Lender instructs their own Solicitor.