Price Guide
for Conveyancing
Purchase of a Freehold or Leasehold Residential Property
Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new property, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property is in Wales.
Total costs will depend on the circumstances of your purchase. Please contact us for a fee estimate relating to your purchase.
Disbursements
We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. The disbursements which usually apply to a freehold purchase are:
- Pre-contract searches
- HM Land Registry search fee
- Bankruptcy search fee (per person)
- Electronic money transfer
In addition, if the property you are buying is leasehold, there are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the property. The additional disbursements which we anticipate will apply to a leasehold property are as follows:
- Notice of Transfer Fee
- Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged)
- Deed of Covenant fee (this is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate)
- Certificate of Compliance Fee
These additional leasehold disbursements vary from property to property. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the terms of the lease. We will update you on the specific disbursements upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller’s solicitors.
If the property you are buying is leasehold, ground rent and service charges are likely to be payable 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 Tax on Purchase
You will also have to pay Stamp Duty or (if the property is in Wales) Land Transaction Tax to HM Revenue & Customs. The amount payable 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.
Basis of Fee Estimate
Our fee estimate 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 property is currently held under a single freehold/leasehold title at the Land Registry;
- if leasehold, this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease;
- one contract is submitted to one purchaser;
- the purchase will be on the basis of an unconditional contract and the property is acquired with vacant possession;
- the transaction is concluded in a timely manner, no unforeseen complications arise and completion takes place on the date agreed in the contract;
- 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 – additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
If it becomes apparent that there are unforeseen circumstances in connection with the purchase we may have to increase our charges. If that is the case, we shall inform you before we incur any additional costs.
Who will be working on my property purchase?
We have highly experienced conveyancing solicitors in all 6 offices – use our search tool to find an office and solicitor to advise you further.
How long will my property purchase take?
The time it takes 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 12 and 16 weeks.
Stages of the process
The stages in the purchase of a residential property vary according to circumstances. The key steps we usually take when acting for the buyer are as follows:
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice.
- Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed.
- Investigate the title to the property, to include:
- carrying out searches with respect to title and local government information for the property;
- making any necessary enquiries of the seller’s solicitor and reviewing replies given by the sellers to pre-contract enquiries.
- Obtain further planning documentation if required.
- Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you.
- Advise you on joint ownership if you are buying the property jointly with another person.
- Prepare a report on title giving you advice on all documents and information received.
- Agree completion date (date from which you will own the property).
- Negotiate a purchase contract and send to you for signature.
- Negotiate a transfer document and send to you for signature.
- Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you.
- Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened.
- Obtain pre-completion searches.
- Complete purchase, transferring funds by telegraphic transfer to the sellers’ solicitors.
- Calculate Stamp Duty/Land Tax on the purchase and prepare and submit to HM Revenue & Customs the appropriate tax forms, transferring funds by telegraphic transfer.
- Deal with application for registration at Land Registry.
Receive an estimate in 30 seconds
Complete our contact form and our residential team will be in touch and you can expect to receive an estimate just 30 seconds after our initial conversation.