Our residential conveyancing service is available at the following fixed rates:
Sales:
| Property value | Fee |
| £0 – £100,000.00 | £954 (£795 plus £159 VAT) |
| £100,000.01 – £150,000.00 | £1,014 (£845 plus £169 VAT) |
| £150,000.01 – £200,000.00 | £1,074 (£895 plus £179 VAT) |
| £200,000.01 – £250,000.00 | £1,134 (£945 plus £189 VAT) |
| £250,000.01 – £300,000.00 | £1,194 (£995 plus £199 VAT) |
| More than £300,000.00 | £Please contact our office directly |
Purchases:
| Property value | Fee |
| £0 – £100,000.00 | £1,014 (£845 plus £169 VAT) |
| £100,000.01 – £150,000.00 | £1,074 (£895 plus £179 VAT) |
| £150,000.01 – £200,000.00 | £1,134 (£945 plus £189 VAT) |
| £200,000.01 – £250,000.00 | £1,194 (£995 plus £199 VAT) |
| £250,000.01 – £300,000.00 | £1,254 (£1,045 plus £209 VAT) |
| More than £300,000.00 | £Please contact our office directly |
Re-mortgages:
| Property value | Fee |
| £0 – £100,000.00 | £834 (£695 plus £134 VAT) |
| £100,000.01 – £150,000.00 | £888 (£740 plus £148 VAT) |
| £150,000.01 – £200,000.00 | £930 (£775 plus £155 VAT) |
| £200,000.01 – £250,000.00 | £990 (£825 plus £165 VAT) |
| £250,000.01 – £300,000.00 | £1,050 (£875 plus £175 VAT) |
| £300,000.01 – £500,000.00 | £1,110 (£925 plus £185 VAT) |
| £500,000.01 – £750,000.00
£750,000.01 – £1 Million Over £1 Million |
£1,200 (£1,000 plus £200 VAT)
£1,800 (£1,500 plus £300 VAT) £3,600 (£3,000 plus £600 VAT) |
All fees are exclusive of VAT and disbursements. Our fee assumes that:
- This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including, for example, a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents
- Your objectives and the basis of the work are, and remain throughout the course of the work, as described above;
- The other parties to the matter take a sensible and pragmatic approach;
- The property is currently held under a single title at HM Land Registry with no title defects;
- If it is a leasehold purchase this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.
- There are no strict or short deadlines for exchange and/or completion
- The purchase/sale will be on the basis that the property is to be acquired with vacant possession;
- Completion takes place on the date agreed in the contract
- We are not required to negotiate additional clauses within the contract and there are no changes to the standard conditions of sale
Residential Purchase
What is included in the price?
- Taking your instructions and complying with our client due diligence requirements
- Investigating the title to the property including the information relating to the legal title and search results
- Ordering appropriate searches, raising enquiries on the title of property and if necessary on the results of the searches
- Negotiating the terms of the agreement for the purchase and transfer (if applicable).
- Advising you on the title, the results of the searches and enquiries and the purchase documents
- Sending the Mortgage Deed to you for signature (if applicable)
- Reporting to the lender on the title to the property, including liaising with them to satisfy any requisitions they may raise (if applicable)
- Obtaining your instructions on the ownership of the property and how the equity is proposed to be shared between you on any future sale of the property
- Explaining the contract for the purchase to you, obtaining your signature for the contract and agreeing the provisional completion statement
- Liaising with you and the seller’s solicitors in relation to any conditions which have to be satisfied before completion
- Carrying out pre-completion searches
- Dealing with exchange of contracts and completion including the bank transfer of the purchase monies to the seller’s solicitor on the completion date
- Completing the transfer of the legal title of the property to you
- Completing the Land Transaction Return (Stamp Duty Land Tax) Form and submitting it to HM Revenue & Customs (or the Welsh Land Tax equivalent)
- Registering any mortgage or lending deed at Land Registry and where relevant at Companies House to protect the lender (if applicable)
- Registering title to the property at the Land Registry
The price does not include advice on:
- Valuation, financial or environmental matters or any matter relating to the state and condition of the property
- Issues relating to planning except to advise you on information disclosed by our search of the local authority and enquiries of the seller
- How any equity in the property will be dealt with beyond any Trust Deed setting out any specific percentage shares held in the property
- The commercial merits of the matter
- Taxation advice beyond the amount of SDLT payable
- Extension of a lease on a leasehold property
- Any advice on aspects of company law
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees.
We will pay disbursements for you, provided that have put us in funds to do so. This ensures that your transaction proceeds as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
| Disbursement | Fee |
| Searches (local, drainage, environmental, etc.) | £271.20 (£226 plus £45.20 VAT (this is an approximate figure and will depend on the location of the property) |
| Land Registry Fee | Between £20.00 and £910.00 (this will depend on the value of the property and the nature of the transaction) |
| Land Registry Search fee | £3.60 (£3.00 plus £0.60 VAT) |
| Land Charges Search fee/Bankruptcy Search | £2.40 (£2.00 plus £0.40 VAT per name of individual searched against) |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax | This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the tax using HMRC’s calculator here |
| Notice of Transfer fee | (Leasehold purchases only) – The fee is set out in the lease and often varies between approximately £60 (£50 plus £10 VAT and £420 (£350 plus £70 VAT) |
| Notice of Charge fee | (Leasehold purchases if the property to be mortgaged) – The fee is set out in the lease and often varies between approximately £60 (£50 plus £10 VAT and £420 (£350 plus £70 VAT) |
| Deed of Covenant Fee | (Leasehold purchases) This fee is charged by the management company and often varies from approximately £180 (£150 plus £30 VAT to £300 (£250 plus £50 VAT) |
| Certificate of Compliance fee | (Leasehold purchases) This is a certificate for the Land Registry and varies according to the lease. It often varies from approximately £60 (£50 plus £10 VAT to £300 (£250 plus £50 VAT) |
Sale Transaction
What is included in the price?
Our service includes:
- Taking your instructions and complying with our client due diligence requirements
- Examining the title to the Property to determine what information needs to be disclosed to the buyer’s solicitors or issues that may arise
- Assisting you to complete property information forms
- Preparing the contract for sale and transfer dee
- Asking the mortgage lender(s) how much is needed to redeem any mortgage
- Dealing with enquiries made by the buyer’s solicitors after obtaining any relevant information from the title deeds, other documents and taking your instructions
- Explaining the contract to you and obtaining your signature to it and agreeing with you the provisional completion statement
- Liaising with you and the buyer’s solicitors in relation to any conditions, which have to be satisfied before completion
- Obtaining from you any additional money to complete and any sale costs which could include estate agents fees and money payable to third parties
- Obtaining your signature to and completing the transfer of legal title to the buyer.
- Exchanging contracts on your behalf
- Obtaining a release of any charges on the property, provided we have sufficient funds from the sale or from you to do so
- Sending you the balance of the sale proceeds (if any) and a final completion statement; and
- Ensuring any redundant entries are cleared from the Land Register
Our fee does not include advice on:
- Valuation, financial or environmental matters or any matter relating to the state and condition of the property
- Issues relating to planning except to advise you on information disclosed by our search of the local authority and enquiries of the buyer
- The commercial merits of the matter
- Taxation advice beyond the amount of SDLT payable
- Extension of a lease on a leasehold property
- Any advice on aspects of company law
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees.
We will pay disbursements for you provided that have put us in funds to do so. This ensures that your transaction proceeds as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
| Disbursement | Fee |
| Land Registry Documents | £3.60 (£3.00 plus £0.60 VAT) per document |
| Leasehold Information Pack | Varies depending on the management company / freeholder – an approximate fee could be £370 |
Re-mortgage transaction
What is included in the price?
Our service includes:
- Taking your instructions and complying with our client due diligence requirements
- Examining the title to the property to determine what information needs to be disclosed to your mortgagee or issues that may arise
- Asking you for information about the property. For example, whether any alterations have been carried out and for a copy of your buildings insurance policy in accordance with your mortgage lender’s requirements
- Obtaining search insurance or searches in line with your mortgage lender’s requirements.
- Reporting to your mortgage lender
- Reporting to you on the mortgage offer from your lender and obtaining your signature to the Mortgage Deed
- Asking any existing mortgage lender(s) how much is needed to redeem any mortgage
- Obtaining pre-completion searches
- Completing the transaction and providing you with a completion statement
- Removing any redundant legal charges (mortgages) against the property
- Registering the mortgage against the property and providing up to date title information to you and your mortgage lender
Our fee does not include advice on:
- Valuation, financial or environmental matters or any matter relating to the state and condition of the property
- Issues relating to planning except to advise you on information disclosed by our search of the local authority
- How any equity in the property will be dealt with beyond any Trust Deed setting out any specific percentage shares held in the property. The commercial merits of the matter
- Taxation advice beyond the amount of SDLT payable
- Extension of a lease on a leasehold property
- Any advice on aspects of company law
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees.
We will pay disbursements for you provided that have put us in funds to do so. This ensures that your transaction proceeds as quickly and as smoothly as possible.
| Disbursement | Fee |
| Land Registry Documents | £10.80 (£9.00 plus £1.80 VAT) |
| Searches (local, drainage, environmental etc) or search indemnity insurance if indemnity insurance accepted by your mortgage lender | £271.20 (£226 plus £45.20 VAT (this is an approximate figure and will depend on the location of the property), Search indemnity insurance £60 £50 plus £10 VAT) (this is an approximate costs) |
| Land Registry Fee | Between £20.00 and £910.00 (this will depend on the value of the property and the nature of the transaction) |
| Land Registry Search Fee | £3.60 (£3.00 plus £0.60p VAT) |
| Land Charges Search Fee/Bankruptcy Search | £2.40 (£2.00 plus £0.40p VAT) |
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
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
- No other indemnity policies are required other than search indemnity insurance. Additional disbursements may apply if any additional indemnity policies are required. An indemnity policy is an insurance policy that can be taken out if certain documents which are required in relation to your sale or purchase are not available or if there are any defects in the title to the property.
Additional Fees
The following are fees that may apply if work is required over and above the standard legal work involved in your conveyancing transaction. We have set out some instances where it may be necessary for us to charge an additional fee, however this list is not exhaustive.
| Electronic Payment Fee – this is our fee for transferring monies electronically | £36.00 (£30 plus £6 VAT) per transfer |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax Fee – This is our fee for completing the SDLT form on your behalf | £90.00 (£75.00 plus £15 VAT) |
| Unregistered Property – If the property is unregistered then this is our additional fee for undertaking the extra work that is necessary as a result | £300 (£250 plus £50 VAT) |
| Leasehold Fee – If the property is leasehold then this is our additional fee for undertaking the extra work that is necessary as a result | £240 (£200 plus £40 VAT) |
Our fees are based on the limited knowledge that we have about the property at the time of instruction. In the event that our inspection of the legal title to the property reveals any additional issues then the below is a list of additional fees that might be applicable. These reflect the extra work that the issues below involve.
We will not be aware if any of the below issues are a factor in your transaction until we have received and reviewed the title information. In the unlikely event that a situation arises that is not covered by any of the below additional fees then we will contact you to discuss the issue, how to resolve the same and the likely costs at the time the issue is discovered.
Dealing with Defective Title (approx., depending on issue) – £66 (£55 + £11 VAT)
Dealing with Management Enquiries on freehold property – £150 (£125 + £25 VAT)
Approving draft Lease Extension and registering – £414 (£345 + £69 VAT)
Unregistered Title – £354 (£295 + £59 VAT)
Deed of Covenant – £210 (£175 + £35 VAT)
Where a Guarantor is involved – £90 (£75 + £15 VAT)
Dealing with two titles (excluding Tyneside Flats) – £390 (£325 + £65 VAT)
Purchase share of freehold title in conjunction with leasehold title
(excluding Tyneside Flat) – £354 (£295 + £59 VAT)
Dealing with solar panel documentation – £234 (£195 + £39 VAT)
Dealing with private drainage – £150 (£125 + £25 VAT)
Dealing with Standard Statutory Declaration – £180 (£150 + £30 VAT)
Dealing with and administering Retentions – £90 (£75 + £15 VAT)
Dealing with Restrictions on Register with HM Land Registry – £60 (£50 + £10 VAT)
Help to Buy ISA/LISA – £60 (£50 + £10 VAT)
Donor/Gifted Deposit (per donor) – £60 (£50 + £10 VAT)
New Build Property – £360 (£300 + £60 VAT)
Shared Ownership – £354 (£295 + £59 VAT)
Help to Buy Equity Mortgage – £234 (£195 + £39 VAT)
Discharge of Equity Mortgage – £150 (£125 + £25 VAT)
Lender Administration Fee (depending on lender) – £30 (£25 + £5 VAT)
Receiving payment of completion monies from you in more than two lots (for example, £100,000 due from you, 4 * £25,000 received from you) – £180.00 (£150 plus £30 VAT)
An Example:
The following is a worked example of the typical legal fees involved in the purchase of a freehold residential property for the sum of £300,000.00 assuming two purchasers, that it is their main residence and that they are not first-time buyers.
- Our standard fees £1,050 (£875 plus £175 VAT)
- Completion of SDLT return £90 (£75.00 plus £15 VAT)
- Telegraphic Transfer Fee £36 (£30 plus £6 VAT)
- Search fees £271.20 (£226 plus £45.20 VAT)
- HM Land Registry fee £150.00
- Land Registry Search fee £3.60 (£3.00 plus £0.60 VAT)
- Land Charges Search/Bankruptcy Search fee £4.80 (£2.00 plus £0.40 VAT * 2)
- Stamp Duty Land Tax £2,500
Estimated total: £4105.60 (£3,863 plus £242.40 VAT)
Other Costs
Where we make electronic payments of monies to you or to other parties on your behalf including, but not limited to, payments of conveyancing proceeds, mortgage redemptions and estate agent’s fees, then we will charge an additional professional fee of £36 (£30.00 plus VAT of £6.00) per transfer. Our professional fees in this regard are in addition to any charges made by our bank which will be payable by you as a disbursement.
If we make an electronic payment of monies to you or on your behalf then this will incur a bank charge. That bank charge will be payable by you as a disbursement in additional to our professional fees for making the transfer. The bank charge will vary depending on how a payment is sent but will not exceed £10 per transfer.
How long will the transaction take?
The time taken to complete residential property transactions can vary significantly, often due to factors that are outside of the legal process. This might be, for example, a delay in a mortgage offer being received.
In relation to a purchase 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 but the average process takes between 6-8 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 4 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer. Between 2 and 3 months would not be unusual.
Selling a property often takes between 4 and 8 weeks. Again, however, it can be quicker or slower, usually slower, depending on the parties and lenders involved. If you are purchasing another property simultaneously then this will also have an impact on the speed with which the sale can progress.
Residential re-mortgages are usually relatively quick. The average process takes about 4 weeks but can vary depending on the parties and lender involved. If the property being re-mortgaged is leasehold, for example, then this can cause the re-mortgage to take longer.
We have four members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Paul Dodds, Senior Partner and Head of Conveyancing. Paul Dodds is assisted by Liam Bradshaw, Solicitor, Rob Mason, Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (FCILEx) and Amy Chorlton, Trainee Solicitor.
Paul Dodds – Partner
Senior Partner Paul Dodds qualified as a solicitor in 1979 and opened his own firm, this firm, in 1983. He has over 40 years’ experience in property law and conveyancing.
Christine Mason – Chartered Legal Executive
Christine is an experienced lawyer specialising in property law.
Rob Mason – FCILEx
Rob has been a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives (a non-solicitor lawyer) since 1982 and is now a Chartered Legal Executive. He has over 30 years’ experience in property law and conveyancing.
Amy Chorlton – Trainee Solicitor
Amy is a trainee solicitor who assists the qualified fee-earners in the department.
Each of our fee-earners undertaken regular training on conveyancing to ensure that they remain up to date with the law.