Guidance to our fees for Residential Conveyancing

Our fees cover all of the work* required to complete the sale or purchase of your home, whether it is freehold or leasehold, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England. We do not deal with the purchase of properties in Wales or elsewhere in the UK.

Conveyancer’s Fees

These are based on the value of the property in line with the following scale.

VALUE OF PROPERTYESTIMATED FEE (for Freehold Property)
100,000 – 200,000£950
200,000 – 350,000£1150
350,000 – 400,000£1,300
400,000 – 500,000£1,400
500,000 – 700,000£1,750
700,000 – 900,000£1,950
900,000 – 1,000,000** Please call to discuss fee
1m – 1.5m** Please call to discuss fee
1.5m – 2m** Please call to discuss fee
Above 2m** Please call to discuss fee

** If you are selling or buying a property valued at over £1,000,000.00, many other complexities may be involved in the sale or purchase and we will need to discuss with you the exact details of the transaction, type of mortgage you are having if it is a purchase, and we can then give you a more accurate estimate of our fees, based on the time it would take to deal with the matter, and the complexity of the matter.


Leasehold property*

*Please note that currently we are not taking new residential leasehold property work.

Our fees will be approximately £250.00 more for each transaction if the sale or purchase is of a leasehold property, such sum to be in addition to the fees above estimated for a freehold property. This is because a leasehold property involves us in more work and we have to obtain more information from the landlord or the sellers’ solicitors with regard to the property.

There will also be additional disbursements to pay if you are buying or selling leasehold property. There may be fees payable to the landlord for registration of the change in ownership, and as a seller you may need to pay fees to the landlord to obtain a “leasehold sellers pack” which contains all the necessary information the buyer will need with regard to your leasehold property from the landlord. Additional fees payable on the purchase of a leasehold property may include notice of transfer of the property fee but also the notice of charge fee if you have a mortgage on the property and you may need to enter into a Deed of Covenant with the landlord and the landlords’ solicitors may charge you for this. These fees vary from property to property and from landlord to landlord and we can only give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents. You should also be aware that on leasehold properties ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.

VAT

All the figures for our fees are stated exclusive of VAT and therefore VAT will be added to the figures stated (currently 20%).

Additional Fees

Electronic money transfer fee (for each individual Bank transfer) – £30.00 plus VAT
Electronic identification service provider to confirm your identity for Anti Money Laundering purposes –  £5 plus VAT per person

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. These can comprise of the following:-

Search fees

The average cost of search fees for a residential purchase are £350.00 – £400.00. Normal searches are a local authority search, water and environmental searches and where appropriate a chancel repair liability search. The actual cost depends mainly upon the cost of the local authority search which can vary between different local authorities. When we give you a bespoke estimate of our costs we can give you details of the exact search fees based on the value and address of the property you are buying. You can also check with the local authority for the area in which the property you are buying is situated and ask them direct for the relevant local search fee.

Land Registry fees

The amount of the Land Registry fee on the purchase of your property depends upon the value of the property and on whether the property is already registered or a first registration. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees

Stamp Duty (on purchases)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using the https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro HMRC’s website. Different rates of stamp duty apply according to the value of the property and according to whether you are a first time purchaser, whether this is your main property, or whether this is a second or further property.


How long will my house purchase or sale take

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to or out of your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks. A leasehold sale or purchase is likely to take a few weeks longer.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties or whether the property is in a chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 8 weeks (as long as the property is ready for occupation and you don’t have to wait for it to be built). However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 2 and 4 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply.

The above are guidelines on our fees for a straight forward sale or purchase of freehold or leasehold property. Additional charges may apply if any matter becomes unduly complicated or protracted. Extra charges can apply if unforeseen problems arise during the course of the transaction, including problems with the legal title to the land and whether defective title indemnity policies have to be obtained either by yourself as the seller of the property to satisfy the buyer or by the seller at our request if we are acting for you as the buyer. Extra costs are also likely to apply if you are having a mortgage for your purchase and the lender does not instruct us. Most mainstream lenders will instruct us to act for them as well as yourself on any purchase, but some less mainstream lenders instruct their own solicitors to deal with the matter, and not ourselves, which involves us in additional correspondence and work and in such case additional charges would apply which we would discuss with you when we knew that this was the situation.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. The main stages 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
  • 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 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
  • Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

* Our fee 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.
  • If this is a leasehold transaction this is the assignment of an existing lease and it’s not the grant of a new lease.
  • The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.
  • All parties to the transaction are cooperative 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.

Please note we can always give you a more detailed and accurate estimate of our costs and/or disbursements if you let us know the details of the property you are buying or selling , its address, the value of the property, and your personal situation ie, whether this is a first time purchase, a replacement of your main home, or a further property, and we can then give you a full and further immediate accurate estimate of all monies that you will be liable to pay.

Please note that the cost information given here is general, and we will therefore give you more precise and personalised information when you contact us direct. We will then give you a written formal estimate of our fees in relation to your particular matter. You should then rely on that information sent to you personally for your particular matter rather than any more general information that is included here on our website.

Mortgages and re-mortgages

Our fees in respect of a mortgage of a property (independent of a purchase) or a re-mortgage of a property are normally in the region of £800.00 – £1,000.00 (excluding VAT), depending on the lender and the type of property involved. If the property being mortgaged or re-mortgaged is leasehold, our fees are likely to increase by a further £200.00 – £250.00 (excluding VAT)

Our fees will be more if the lender concerned instructs separate solicitors to deal with this matter, rather than instructing ourselves. Most mainstream lenders will instruct us to act for them so we can act for you and the lender and our costs above are based on this scenario. However if the lender instructs its own solicitors we will be involved in further correspondence which would increase the fees above. We will be able to give you a more accurate estimate of our fees once we have the detailed information from you. Search fees will also be payable on a mortgage or re-mortgage in line with the search fees in relation to a purchase. Land Registry fees will similarly be paid as with a purchase, but stamp duty will not be paid in relation to a mortgage or re-mortgage.

Sales of properties

Our fees above apply to a sale as well as a purchase of a freehold or leasehold property but disbursements on a sale will be less. Search fees will typically be £10.00 – £20.00 on a sale to include the cost of getting Office copy entries of the title to your property from HM Land Registry. There may also be further costs if the property is leasehold to obtain the necessary “Information Pack” from your landlord that will be required by the buyer. There will be no Land Registry fees or stamp duty payable in respect of a sale. If any of the circumstances above apply which mean that our standard fees will be exceeded, we will give you a further estimate of our costs which would be based upon the hourly rate of the lawyer who will be dealing with your matter. Details of the lawyers’ hourly rates are included below.

Please note that we do not deal with shared ownership properties or equity release schemes.

Our residential conveyancing team has over 40 years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to residential conveyancing. The members of the residential conveyancing team are Toni Potter (Head of Department/Partner/Solicitor – hourly rate £280.00), Sue Smith (Associate) – hourly rate £250.00, Lydia Larkman (Conveyancing Executive) – hourly rate £210.00.

Further details of the team can be found in “Our People” page.

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