Pricing – Purchase of a Residential Leasehold Property

Leasehold Purchase Costs Amount (excluding any VAT applicable)

Our Legal Fees Range from £600 and £2,500 plus VAT) as set out below.
Bank Transfer Fee (per transfer) £25 (plus VAT)
Electronic Identity Check (per name checked) £10 – £17 (plus VAT)

Purchase Price of the Property Our Legal Fees (excluding VAT)

Up to £100,000: £500 to £700
£100,000 – £250,000: £600 to £800
£250,000 – £375,000: £600 to £800
£375,000 – £500,000: £800 to £900
£500,000 – £750,000: £800 to £900
£750,000 – £1million: £900 to £1,650
£1million and upwards: £1,650 to £5,000

Anticipated Disbursements *

Lawyer Check Search £10 (plus VAT)
Land Registry Search Costs (OS1) £3
Bankruptcy Search Costs (per name searched) £2
Bank Transfer Fee (per transfer) £10 (plus VAT)
* 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 £100-350.
• 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
• Charges ordinarily payable to the freeholder/landlord of the property – for example, the costs of notifying the landlord of the change of ownership of the property and getting any consents required

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 you that 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 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 is 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 leasehold 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 leasehold 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 we receive 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
• Dealing with the freeholder’s change of ownership requirements
• 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 you are purchasing in a company name
• You are purchasing 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
• The term of the lease needs to be extended
• We need to prepare additional deeds as required by the landlord
• 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

How long will your leasehold 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 Residential Leasehold Property

The exact stages involved in the purchase of a residential leasehold 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 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
• Reviewing the lease and terms
• Reporting to you on the terms of the lease
• Reviewing the leasehold property pack provided by the landlord/management company and reporting to you on the content.
• 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 payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with the application for registration at Land Registry of your title to the property