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Buying a Property
In this section
Meet the team
The work we do
The Ten Steps to Completion:
- Obtain Local Authority Searches. A local search only deals with the subject property, so if there is any reason to investigate any adjoining property then this should be requested prior to exchange of contracts.
- Review Contract. Receive and check the contract documentation prepared by the seller's solicitors.
- Pre-contract enquiries relating to the contract documentation.
- Confirm Finances. Ensure that your financial arrangements are in place to enable the purchase to proceed.
- Review Details. Go through the contract papers and the title deeds in detail with you. For example, we will check whether there are any obligations due to covenants which may affect the property, boundary rights, any complications regarding insurance (or similar) and when satisfied that everything is in order, proceed to an exchange of contracts.
- Exchange of Contracts. Following exchange of contracts a purchaser is legally committed to complete the purchase of the property and the date for completion or moving date will then be agreed between you and the seller.
- Mortgage Documents. Submit the Certificate of Title to the bank/building society (if applicable) to obtain mortgage funds and obtaining your signature to the mortgage deed, and to the land transaction return referred to below.
- Transfer Ownership. Draft the transfer documentation which acknowledges the new ownership, to be signed by you.
- Stamp Duty Land Tax. Organise submission of a land transaction return and deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT).
- Final Steps. Prepare purchase accounts and obtain any monies due from you so that the purchase can be completed. Register ownership of the property at HM Land Registry (this can take a number of months) or give notice of the transfer in the case of leasehold properties or deal with the issue of a new share certificate where a management company is involved. Once registration is complete we will provide you with evidence that you are now the registered proprietor(s).
Meet the team
OUR FEES
Our fees will generally cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home/property, including dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if the property is in England or Land Transaction Tax (LTT) if the property is in Wales and dealing with registration of your title at HM Land Registry.
Legal Fees – Freehold Purchase
| Purchase price: | Fees exclusive of VAT: | VAT @ 20%: | Fees inclusive of VAT: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £199,999 | £1,300.00 | £260.00 | £1,560.00 |
| £200,000 - £299,999 | £1,350.00 | £270.00 | £1,620.00 |
| £300,000 - £399,999 | £1,400.00 | £280.00 | £1,680.00 |
| £400,000 - £499,999 | £1,500.00 | £300.00 | £1,800.00 |
| £500,000 - £599,999 | £1,600.00 | £320.00 | £1,920.00 |
| £600,000 - £699,999 | £1,700.00 | £340.00 | £2,040.00 |
| £700,000 - £799,999 | £1,850.00 | £370.00 | £2,220.00 |
| £800,000 - £899,999 | £1,950.00 | £390.00 | £2,340.00 |
| £900,000 - £999,999 | £2,050.00 | £410.00 | £2,460.00 |
For purchase prices of £1,000,000.00 and above please contact us for a personal estimate.
Legal Fees – Leasehold Purchase
| Purchase price: | Fees exclusive of VAT: | VAT @ 20%: | Fees inclusive of VAT: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £199,999 | £1,450.00 | £290.00 | £1,740.00 |
| £200,000 - £299,999 | £1,500.00 | £300.00 | £1,800.00 |
| £300,000 - £399,999 | £1,600.00 | £320.00 | £1,920.00 |
| £400,000 - £499,999 | £1,700.00 | £340.00 | £2,040.00 |
| £500,000 - £599,999 | £1,800.00 | £360.00 | £2,160.00 |
| £600,000 - £699,999 | £1,900.00 | £380.00 | £2,280.00 |
| £700,000 - £799,999 | £2,050.00 | £410.00 | £2,460.00 |
| £800,000 - £899,999 | £2,150.00 | £430.00 | £2,580.00 |
| £900,000 - £999,999 | £2,250.00 | £450.00 | £2,700.00 |
For purchase prices of £1,000,000.00 and above please contact us for a personal estimate.
Additional Charges
In circumstances where additional work is required due to the nature of your purchase transaction then we may make an additional charge with reference to the table below. These additional fees are in addition to the fees listed above.
| Type: | Additional fee exclusive of VAT: |
|---|---|
| Help to Buy ISA | £50.00 |
| Lifetime ISA | £250.00 |
| Gifted Deposit | £250.00 |
| Declaration of Trust | £350.00 |
| New-Build | £600.00-£900.00 |
| Shared Ownership | £600.00-£900.00 |
Third Party Payments (Disbursements)
In addition to our legal fees above, there are further payments which will need to be made as part of your purchase transaction. These are called disbursements and are costs relating to your matter that are payable to third parties such as Stamp Duty payable to HMRC and HM Land Registry fees. We handle payment of the disbursements on your behalf as part of our service.
The usual disbursements payable on a purchase transaction are set out below:
Client Onboarding
We carry out our client onboarding through our partner firm InfoTrack. The cost of onboarding is £14.40 inclusive of VAT per person.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (or Land Transaction Tax in Wales)
The amount payable will depend on the purchase price of your property and whether you own any other residential property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s Stamp Duty Land Tax calculator or, if the property is located in Wales, by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.
Local Authority/Drainage/Environmental Searches
We will normally obtain a search package through our partner firm InfoTrack. This will include a Local Authority Search, Water and Drainage search an Environmental search. The cost of this search package is £180 inclusive of VAT.
Should you require official searches by the Local Authority or direct Water and Drainage searches from Bristol/Wessex Water, we are able to provide these and can confirm costs on request.
Pre-Completion Search Fees
These are Land Registry searches against the property title and against each purchaser and are undertaken prior to completion.
The HM Land Registry search fee is currently £10.20 inclusive of VAT and the search fee per individual is £9.00 inclusive of VAT.
Land Registration Fee
This depends on the purchase price of the property and the table below sets out the current Land Registration Fees:
| Value or amount | Registration fee* |
|---|---|
| 0 to £80,000 | £20 |
| £80,001 to £100,000 | £40 |
| £100,001 to £200,000 | £100 |
| £200,001 to £500,000 | £150 |
| £500,001 to £1,000,000 | £295 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £500 |
*The Land Registry fees quoted above are on the basis of the reduced (50%) fee scale which applies where we are able to deal with the registration digitally through the Land Registry portal. Generally, this applies to the registration of transfers involving the whole of an existing registered title. Transactions which will be subject to the 100% fee will include purchases from developers of new build properties and purchasers where the seller’s title is not already registered at HM Land Registry.
Additional Disbursements for Leasehold Properties*
In addition to the disbursements set out above in respect of freehold properties, leasehold transactions will usually also involve payment of the following further disbursements:-
- Notice of Transfer/Charge fee: This charge is payable to the freeholder/management company following completion of the purchase. The cost can vary from £25 plus VAT in older leases but can rise to in excess of £100 plus VAT. We will advise you of the fee payable when we report to you on the lease.
- Deed of Covenant fee: Where the lease requires a new owner to enter into a deed of covenant with the freeholder/management company, a deed of covenant fee will be payable. The fee is charged by the management company which deals with the property and can be difficult to estimate. The fee is often in the region of £100 to £200 plus VAT. Again, we will confirm this with you once we receive confirmation from the management company.
- Certificate of Compliance fee: This fee is also charged by the freeholder/management company. The fee is often in the region of £75 to £100 plus VAT. We will confirm the fee to you, if applicable, when we report on the lease and receive the management company information.
*these fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We will provide you with an accurate figure once we have had sight of your specific documents and the information from the seller’s solicitor and the management company.
You should also be aware that ground rent and service charges are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the leasehold property. We will confirm the ground rent and anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.
PLEASE NOTE:
All payments to third parties included in any estimate may be subject to change.
Estimates provided are an indication only of the likely costs and are subject to confirmation via personal estimate provided by the branch you intend to use subject also to our terms of business. Whilst the legal fees quoted should apply in most cases, these may be subject to change.
Our fees may also increase if your transaction involves any unforeseen issues or complications which result in extra work having to be carried out however should this happen, an estimate of any further charges will be discussed with you at the earliest opportunity and where practicable, prior to the work being carried out.
There are ordinarily very few instances where the scope of the work proves to be greater than what was initially discussed however examples of instances where costs will increase are where the legal title is defective, the title to the property or part of the property is unregistered or the property lacks certain necessary rights for example, rights of way.