Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including considering all title documents, requesting searches, raising enquiries dealing with your mortgage lender (if applicable), transmitting monies to complete the purchase, registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.
The prices below do not include VAT unless otherwise stated and do not include disbursements.
Legal Fees
| Purchase price | Legal Costs (excl VAT) | VAT at 20% | Total |
| Up to – £149,999 | £850.00 | £170.00 | £1020.00 |
| £150,000 – £249,999 | £895.00 | £179.00 | £1074.00 |
| £250,000 – £349,999 | £1020.00 | £204.00 | £1224.00 |
| £350,000 – £424,999 | £1140.00 | £228.00 | £1368.00 |
| £425,000 – £499,999 | £1260.00 | £252.00 | £1512.00 |
| From £500,000 upwards | Individual prices available on request |
* Additional fees of £100-£300 will be payable if the property is leasehold
*Additional fees of £100-£300 will be payable if the property has an unregistered title
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.
| Disbursement (excl VAT) | VAT at 20% | Total | |
| Land Registry Search fee | £7.00 | £0.00 | £7.00 |
| Bankruptcy/Official Search fee (Per person) | £6.00 | £0.00 | £6.00 |
| Search Pack | Price dependant on the Local Authority in which property is situated. | Up to £350. This includes official local authority, official Water & Drainage & Enviro – Mining Searches. | |
| Land Registry Registration Fees | The fee payable is determined on the price of the property and the type of application. | In order to accurately assess this please click on the link below to confirm the fee payable. http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html | |
| Stamp Duty Tax / Land Transaction tax | This is determined by the price of the property and in some instances the circumstances of your purchase. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website: (https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro) | or, if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website: (https://beta.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator). |
How long will my house purchase take?
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 10 – 18 weeks.
It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 6-8 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 – 6 months. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.
We are unable to guarantee that your transaction will exchange/complete before the expiration of any SDLT/LTT incentives.
Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages:
- 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;
- 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 Stamp Duty / Land Tax;
- Deal with application for registration at the Land Registry.
Exclusions
Please note we are unable to provide you with any tax advice. Whilst we have tried to put together reliable estimates as detailed above, there are many factors that can increase the estimates provided. We aim to inform you as soon as possible with full details of any changes in fees. Please see below a list of potential additional costs.
Our fee assumes that:
- The title is a registered title;
- All documentation requested has been provided to us;
- 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;
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arises;
- 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 will apply if indemnity policies are required;
- You do not instruct us that an exchange of completion must take place in less than 6 weeks; if you do require these timescales then this will incur additional costs.
Potential Additional Conveyancing fees (if applicable)
Additional fees may become payable in respect of the following
| Description | Legal Costs (excl VAT) | VAT at 20% | Total |
| Declaration of Trust | £425-£600 | £85-£120 | £510-£720 |
| Statutory Declaration | £200-£500 | £40-£100 | £240-£600 |
| Corresponding with a third party eg matrimonial matters and management companies | £150-£500 | £30-£100 | £180-£600 |
| Buy to let (unoccupied) Buy to let (occupied) | £250 £550 | £50 £110 | £300 £660 |
| Acting for an attorney Providing certified copies of LPA | £150 £50 | £30 £10 | £180 £60 |
| Appointment of a Second Trustee | £150-£250 | £30-£50 | £180-£300 |
| Each Additional Land Registry title | £150-£300 | £30-£60 | £180-£360 |
| Gifted deposits/third party payment of deposits | £150-£300 | £30-£60 | £180-£360 |
| Negative Equity | £200-£600 | £40-£120 | £240-£720 |
| Help to Buy ISA | £50 | £10 | £60 |
| Dealing with retentions (other than service charge retentions on leasehold flats) | £250-£500 | £50-£100 | £300-£600 |
| Late Completions after contractual completion | £250-£500 | £50-£100 | £300-£600 |
| Obtaining regulatory documents | £50-£150 | £10-£30 | £60-£180 |
| New Builds and properties less than 10 years old | £500 | £100 | £600 |
| Conservatory Questionnaire | £50-£100 | £10-£20 | £60-£120 |
| Solar Panel Questionnaire Owned | £50-£150 | £10-£30 | £60-£180 |
| Solar Panel – Owned Questionnaire – Leased | £100-£150 £250-£450 | £20-£30 £50-£90 | £120-£180 £300-£540 |
| Arranging defective title indemnity policy Arranging bespoke defective title indemnity policy | £50 £150-£300 | £10 £30-£60 | £60 £180-£360 |
| Application for first registration (independent of a purchase) | £495-£750 | £99-£150 | £594-£900 |
| Land Registry removal of a restriction | £150-£400 | £30-£80 | £180-£480 |
| Shared Equity – sale Share Equity – purchase | £350-550 £500-£750 | £70-£110 £100-£150 | £420-£660 £600-£900 |
| Third Party Consents | £150-£250 | £30-£50 | £180-£300 |
| Report to Lender other than certificate of title | £100-£300 | £20-£60 | £120-£360 |
| Each additional Mortgage or Charge | £150-£450 | £30-£90 | £180-£540 |
| Leasehold Notice | £50-£100 | £10-£20 | £60-£120 |
| Deed of Covenant compliance | £150-£300 | £30-£60 | £180-£360 |
| LMS Portal Admin fee | £35 | £7 | £42 |
| Principality Building Society/Home Loans portal fee SMOOVE PLC | £25 | £5 | £30 |