Residential Conveyancing Purchases

General

We at Highcross Law Solicitors pride ourselves in being open and clear with our clients as to the overall costs involved when they instruct us to carry out conveyancing work for them.

Generally, the costs involved vary depending on a number of factors including (but not limited to) whether the property is:

– is freehold or leasehold title,

– a new build or already built (`second hand’)

– unregistered land (i.e. the title to the property has not yet been registered at HM Land Registry)

– transfer of a whole title or part (e.g. sale of part land)

– involves a mortgage or re-mortgage

We will provide you with a detailed estimate of costs for your proposed transaction as early as we can. Wherever possible, this will be a fixed quote to assist you with budgeting. This is not always possible and we may have to (in limited circumstances) vary our fees once your matter progresses. We will keep you fully informed and only incur additional costs/disbursements with your agreement.

The information on this page will give you a guidance of likely costs and disbursements for a normal purchase transaction. We do however recommend you to contact us prior so that we can provide a bespoke quote tailored to your requirements.

Our Fees on Purchase of Property

Our fees depend on the value of the purchase property. As a rule of thumb, we charge a set percentage of value depending complexity and type of transaction, with a set minimum applicable to all transactions.

Price Band Fee (exc. VAT)
   
Under £100,000.00

600.00
100,001.00 – 250,000.00

800.00
250,001.00 – 500,000.00

975.00
500,001.00 – 750,000.00

1700.00
£750,001.00 – £1,000,000.00

3000.00
£1million +

Please enquire

 

Additional fees

In addition the above, you may also need to budget for the following legal costs (depending on your proposed transaction):

Acting for mortgage lender* (including Help to Buy)

as well as purchaser – (fee per lender) £250 plus VAT

If purchase is leasehold or unregistered title £250 plus VAT

If purchase is a new-build property £250 plus VAT

If you require a Declaration of Trust to be prepared £350 plus VAT

Deed of Covenant £250 plus VAT

Certificate of Compliance £200 plus VAT

Buying with a Help to Buy ISA to fund deposit £100 plus VAT

[* Mortgages – Please note that we are not on all lender panels and would request you to enquire with us first before naming us as your conveyancers.]

 

Disbursements

Disbursements are expenses that are payable to third parties, such as search fees, bank transfer, land registry and stamp duty.

We will collect these from you and deal with the payments on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. We do not charge extra for assisting with you with this.

Some of the likely disbursements you will have to pay are:

  • Stamp Duty Land Tax – this will most likely be your biggest disbursement. The amount you pay depends on a variety of factors (including your circumstances as a buyer, the value of transaction etc.) You can use this link to get an estimate of your likely amount of tax: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro . Please note that the advice we can give on taxes is limited and in accordance with our terms of business which can be found here: Terms Of Business
  • Search fees: The cost of these vary typically in the region of £225-£450 depending on the location and type of searches carried out.
  • Land Registry fees – the amount varies according to type of application and value. You can get an idea of the likely amount by using the Land Registry application calculator link: http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html
  • Bank Transfer Fee to transfer purchase monies for completion – £23.00 per Transfer plus VAT
  • If you are buying a leasehold property, a Notice fee will be payable to the Landlord or Management Company. The fee charged varies depending on the Landlord or the Management Company. Amount to be confirmed once contract documents and/or replies to pre-contract enquiries received.

What our fee includes for a purchase

The work that we will undertake for you will include:

– investigating the title to the property,

– carrying out searches with respect to title and local government information for the property;

– reviewing replies given by the seller to pre-contract enquiries;

– negotiating a purchase contract;

– negotiating a transfer document;

– advising you in respect of your mortgage offer;

– preparing a report on title;

– proceeding to exchange of contracts and then completion of the purchase;

– transferring funds by telegraphic transfer to the seller’s solicitors and for relevant taxes;

– calculating stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase and preparing and submitting to HM Revenue & Customs the appropriate SDLT forms; and

– registering the purchase (and the mortgage) at the Land Registry.

– writing to you (and mortgage lender) once registration has been completed and forwarding you evidence of ownership.

– archiving your file for storage for period of time stated in our closing letter to you. Please note there is an archive file retrieval fee payable if you require any documents after file closed.

– Making enquiries with landlord/managing agent and any superior landlord (leasehold title)

– Corresponding with freeholder/managing agents (leasehold title)

– Submitting notice of transfer (and mortgage) (leasehold title)

How long will transaction take place?

This is dependent on a number of factors – most importantly on the parties themselves. We find that no transaction is the same as another and therefore timescales always vary. Here are some of the factors that may have an impact on the speed of progress and conclusion:

  • The position of the seller (e.g. if have a related purchase/transaction, moving preferences)
  • The position of the buyer (e.g. if relying on a related sale and/or mortgage finance)
  • Title investigation – speed of enquiries being responded to
  • Mortgage lender requirements
  • Searches – the speed and content of search results and how quickly any enquiries are responded to.
  • Other stakeholders in the transaction – mortgage advisors, agents, other buyers/sellers in chain of transactions

Generally, we have found that on a stand-alone purchase with no related transactions and mortgage finance being in place (if required), the process should take between 6-8 weeks from receipt of contract documentation from the seller’s solicitors. We have had transactions which completed quicker than these (such as auctions) and some which have taken much longer due to any one or more of the above factors.

We will of course keep you fully up to date as to the progress of your transaction and any possible delays.