Conveyancing

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 precise stages involved in the sale 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
• Prepare and advise on contract documents
• Deal with any necessary enquiries raised by the purchaser’s solicitor
• Give you advice on all documents
• Obtain Mortgage Redemption Figure (if applicable)
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Approve Transfer
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Complete sale

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.

Our fees cover the work required to complete the purchase or sale 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 your property is Leasehold.
• £650 (plus VAT) if your property has a Leasehold Staircasing on sale (sales only).
• £365 (plus VAT) if you are getting a Help-to-buy Mortgage (purchases only).
• £60 (plus VAT) if you are using a Help-to-buy ISA (purchases only).
• £425 (plus VAT) if you are buying through an affordable housing scheme (purchases only).
• £500 (plus VAT) if the property you are buying is a new build (purchases only).
• £300 (plus VAT) if the property you are buying has a septic tank (purchases only).
• £300 (plus VAT) if the property you are buying has a private water supply (purchases only).
• £350 (plus VAT) if the property involves a management company.
• £60 (plus VAT) for the transfer of money electronically – this cost is per transaction and would be applied where we transfer money from a sale to your related purchase and also paying lenders. It would also apply if you wanted any sale proceeds sending directly to you electronically rather than by cheque.
• £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.
• £40 (plus VAT) if you are purchasing as a company. We need to carry out a company search then there will be a further £20 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 range between £250 and £300. These fees are subject to VAT (purchases only).
• 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.
• Official Copies of your title deeds from the Land Registry – £3 plus VAT for the registration document and £3 plus VAT for the plan.  (Sales only)
• Additional Land Registry documents and copy leases £3 plus VAT per document.  (Sales only)
• SIM Search (if the property is unregistered at the Land Registry) £4 plus VAT. (Sales only)
• Land Charges Search (if the property is unregistered at the Land Registry) £2 plus VAT per individual. (Sales only)

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 or Land Tax 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:

1. 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.
2. This is the sale/purchase of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
3. The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
4. All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
5. No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.