Pricing – Purchase of a Residential Freehold Property

Freehold Purchase Costs Amount (excluding any VAT applicable which will be charged at 20%)

Our Legal Fees Range from £595 to £3,000 (plus VAT charged at 20%) as per the below.

Purchase Price of the Property and our Legal Fees (excluding VAT which will be charged at 20%)

Up to £100,000: £575 – £695
£100,000 – £250,000: £595 – £725
£250,000 – £375,000: £645 – £900
£375,000 – £500,000: £695 – £950
£500,000 – £750,000: £750 – £1,100
£750,000 – £1million: £795 – £1,200
£1million and upwards: £1,000 – £3,000

The following additional fees will also apply, where applicable

Dealing with a new mortgage (per mortgage or charge ) £150 (£180 inc VAT)
Dealing with a third party gift (per gift) £125 (£150 inc VAT)
Dealing with an unregistered property £250 (£300 inc VAT)
Dealing with the involvement of a Freehold Management Company and their requirements £150 (£180 inc VAT)
Dealing with a Help to Buy ISA £50 (£60 inc VAT)
Dealing with a Lifetime ISA £100 (£120 inc VAT)
Arranging an indemnity insurance £75 (£90 inc VAT)
SDLT Administration fee £75 (£90 inc VAT)
Preparing a standard Declaration of Trust £200 (£240 inc VAT)
Bank Transfer Admin Fee (per transfer) £25 (£30 inc VAT)
Electronic Identity Check (per name checked) £20 (£24 inc VAT)
Complex title – up to £500 plus VAT (£600 inc VAT)
Dealing with a new build transaction – up to £500 plus VAT (£600 inc VAT)

Anticipated Disbursements*

Lawyer Check Search £12 (including VAT at 20%)
Land Registry Search Costs (OS1) £7 – VAT does not apply
Bankruptcy Search Costs (per name searched) £6 – VAT does not apply
Bank Transfer Fee (per transfer) £12 (including VAT at 20%)

* not listed in these expenses or included in our legal fees is:

• Conveyancing Search Costs the cost of which varies depending on the search and provider. Typical searches include but are not limited to a search of the local land charge register and standard enquiries of the local authority, water and drainage search and mining search. We can only estimate that these will be between £100-450 including VAT at 20%.
• The HM Land Registry Registration Fee, which is based on the value and nature of the property. Please see current list of Land Registry fees by clicking on the following link: www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees – VAT does not apply

Stamp Duty Land Tax / Land Transaction Tax

In addition to the above costs, you may also have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on your purchase or if the property which you are buying is in Wales, Land Transaction Tax. You can work out what you will need to pay in respect of such tax using one of the following links:
www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro (England)
gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator (Wales)

Your specific circumstances and those of the individual transaction may alter the amount of tax that you have to pay. Once we have all the necessary information from you, we will be able to make a calculation and let you know the likely amount owed in respect of stamp duty land tax. The amount will be based on the relevant tax rates in force on the day of completion of your purchase (rates do change from time to time, particularly following the budget in October / November each year).

What’s included in this price and what factors might affect what you have to pay?

The above range of figures are based of the purchase of an existing residential freehold property by one or more individuals (as opposed to a company or business partnership) with a title which is already registered at HM Land Registry and with the help of a mortgage from a traditional high street mortgage lender. Most property purchases in England and Wales will fall within this category. The fees include the following work:

• Setting up your file
• Checking and processing your instructions including carrying out the identity and anti-money laundering checks that we are required by law to carry out
• Checking the title deeds and other standard documentation that we receive from the seller’s legal representative
• Ordering any necessary searches and checking the results
• Clearing up any discrepancies or ambiguities in the information from the seller’s legal representative and obtaining any missing information
• Reporting our findings to you and preparing paperwork for you to sign
• Liaising with your mortgage lender and ensuring any conditions attached to the release of the mortgage money are satisfied
• Exchanging contracts
• Completing your purchase
• Submitting a Stamp Duty Land Tax / Land Transaction Tax return on your behalf
• Ensuring your purchase is registered with HM Land Registry
• Closing and storing your file in accordance with our data retention policy
• Keeping you and any relevant third parties updated throughout as appropriate

Additional work may need to be carried out on your purchase which we are not aware of at the outset but which leads to an increase in our legal fees and/or the third party expenses which you will need to pay. If any such additional costs arise we will tell you about them as soon as possible. Examples of situations that might lead to an increase in costs include:

• If the property is leasehold (separate pricing)
• If the property is freehold but there are estate maintenance charges to pay
• If you are buying in a company name
• You are buying a share in a property jointly owned by a housing association (shared ownership)
• The property is newly built
• The property has not been registered at Land Registry
• You are taking a mortgage from a non- high street lender
• There are problems with the title deeds
• You are buying the property to let
• You are using the Government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme
• You are using a Help to Buy ISA/Lifetime ISA bonus
• We have to pay a referral fee to the professional who referred you to us
• You are receiving a third party gift or contribution towards your purchase price
  

How long will your freehold property purchase take?

Generally speaking we say that a straightforward purchase takes ten to twelve weeks from receipt of Contract paperwork from the sellers solicitors. However, this can vary, and will depend on several factors including the speed at which the sellers solicitors corresponds with us, the speed at which any dependant sale or purchase of either yourself or the seller proceeds, anything unusual or adverse raised on the register of title, in any searches or in response to any enquiries that we raise, and any lender that may be involved. If we find that the timescale in your mater is likely to exceed this, we will of course let you know and explain why.

Key Stages in the Purchase of a Freehold Property

The exact stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the individual specific circumstances. However, the following are the key stages of a typical transaction:

• Accept your instructions and provide you with our initial advice
• Check finances are in place to fund your purchase and contact the 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 legal representative
• Give you advice on the documents and information received
• Review the conditions of your mortgage offer
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Agree a completion date (the date from which you legally own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from your lender (and you)
• Complete the purchase
• Deal with the payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax as applicable
• Deal with the application for registration at Land Registry of your title to the property