Buying a property

Our dedicated team ensure your purchase will go as smoothly as possible

We undertake hundreds of purchase transactions for clients each year and have a team of dedicated lawyers and staff to ensure your property transaction goes through as smoothly as possible while protecting your interests.

If you are buying a property you will receive a fully detailed Conveyancing Report about the property, complete with advice, documents and plans which you can keep and refer to in years to come.

Our fees cover the work required to complete the Purchase of your new home. This also includes dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8-12 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first-time buyer, purchasing with a mortgage in principle, it could take 8 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 4 months.

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice
  • Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
  • Receive and advise on contract documents
  • Carry out searches
  • 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
  • Send final contract to you for signature
  • Draft Transfer
  • Advise you on Joint ownership
  • Obtain pre-completion searches
  • 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

The cost of our fees depend on the value of your property:

Property Value

Our Fee

VAT 20%

Total
£0.00 to £350,000.00 £1,600.00 £320.00 £1,920.00
£350,001.00 to £500,000.00 £1,950.00 £390.00 £2,340.00
£500,001.00 to £750,000.00 £2,650.00 £530.00 £3,180.00
£750,001.00 to £999,999.00 £3,200.00 £640.00 £3,840.00
From £1,000,000.00  Costs charged on a time spent basis
plus 0.1% fixed fee applied in the event of completion		    

Our fees cover the work required to complete the purchase of your property. If you are purchasing, this also includes dealing with registration at the Land Registry and payment of Stamp Duty if your property is in England. We also deal with Land Transaction Tax if you are buying in Wales.

Depending on your circumstances and type of property, there may be extra fees for the following reasons as they involve additional work by us:

  • £190 (plus VAT) if you have a standard high street domestic mortgage lender (purchases only).
  • £500 minimum (plus VAT) if you have a non-standard lender (purchases only)
  • £300 (plus VAT) if the property is Leasehold.
  • £365 (plus VAT) if you are getting a Help-to-buy Mortgage.
  • £60 (plus VAT) if you are using a Help-to-buy ISA.
  • £425 (plus VAT) if you are buying through an affordable housing scheme.
  • £500 (plus VAT) if the property you are buying is a brand new home.
  • £300 (plus VAT) if the property you are buying has a septic tank.
  • £300 (plus VAT) if the property you are buying has a private water supply.
  • £350 (plus VAT) if the property involves a management company.
  • £60 (plus VAT) for the transfer of money electronically.
  • £130 (plus VAT) per transaction for international money transfers.
  • £25 (plus VAT) per person for identity (ID) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks. We are bound by Government Regulations to carry out ID and AML checks on all of our clients before we can carry out any work on their behalf.
  • £150 (plus VAT) for complex ID and AML checks.
  • £50 (plus VAT) for checking proof of funds.
  • £40 (plus VAT) if you are purchasing as a company we will need to carry out a company search, then there will be a further £25 for ID and AML checks for each director/shareholder of the company.

Disbursements are costs which we pay to third parties on your behalf. We handle the payment of these costs on your behalf to ensure a smoother process:

  • Search fees: These fees can vary depending on the area the property is located but often around £400. These fees are subject to VAT.
  • Land Registry Application Fees: These are fixed depending on the value of the Property and whether the property is registered or unregistered. There will also be small fees for Bankruptcy and Official Priority Searches. With the exception the of the application fees the Land Registry costs are subject to VAT. Please see the HM Land Registry for full costs and information.

Leasehold properties bring their own additional costs along with them which cannot be avoided. It will not matter who you employ as your lawyers, these fees are charged by others for information or permissions you may need to buy:

  • Transfer or Contingency Fees – To be confirmed upon receipt of the Lease but is usually 1% of the Sale Price (if payable). (Sales only)
  • Management/Leasehold Sale Packs – This fee is provided by the Management Company or Freeholder and can be difficult to estimate. It can range between £50 and £500. (Sales only)
  • Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 and £200.
  • Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 and £200.
  • Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100 and £250.
  • Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease and can range between £100 – £300.

These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of the specific documents.

If you are buying a leasehold property, you should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.

The amount you pay in Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax (this tax is payable in Wales) 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.

Our fees are based on the assumptions 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.
  • This is the sale/purchase of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
  • The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
  • All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
  • No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

Our Team

Our conveyancing department consists of a Licensed Conveyancer, Solicitor, a conveyancing practitioner and two assistants. The team is supervised by Natalie Goulding, one of our Directors.

For further information on any of our services, please call us on 01524 402050 or alternatively complete the enquiry form below.

Enquiry Form

    Zoe was very friendly & knowledgeable and supported our Daughter, who is autistic through a difficult process with kindness & understanding.

    Communication is vital with legal matters so it was encouraging to be able to speak directly with the solicitor acting with us. Very personal service.

    Best Conveyancing & Legal Services Firm in the UK!!!

    When selecting Wright & Lord to provide conveyancing c15 years ago, we were delighted to find that, despite being based 300 miles away from us, they provide a very efficient and personable service for very reasonable fees. Over the years they have handled many property transactions (residential & commercial), with the usual professionalism, to a point where we also used them for wills and other legal or financial services. We have never felt like a “numbered client” as the team are happy for us to know many of them by first names, without straying from their professional duty of care. We are now comfortably retired, having disposed of our property portfolio and would have no hesitation in recommending Wright & Lord as a legal services provider of exceptionally high standards.

    We appreciate your help and guidance which we valued highly when you acted for us.

    More than legal advisors, a family orientated firm who always goes the extra mile.

    Thank you so much for everything you have done for us in sorting my Mum’s estate out in a timely manor and for the way that you kept us informed and up-dated at all stages. The service that you provided was very professional and also very caring. You also made things easy to understand and you made us feel very comfortable, which was a great help to us and I am so grateful that you were our solicitor.

    I would also like to thank you so much for everything you did for my Mum.

    I always see a friendly face or hear a friendly voice. Nothing is too much trouble.

    They totally looked after us in a professional, friendly manner. Thank You.