Residential Conveyancing

Conveyancing is dealt with by our Paul Hawkes, a first-class qualified solicitor with over 20 years’ experience dealing with property matters, both residential and commercial, which experience was picked up at some of the country’s more prestigious law firms.

The conveyancing process differs depending on whether the transaction is a sale or a purchase.

Purchase

A purchase transaction involves us carrying out some (but not necessarily all) of the following steps:

Taking your instructions and looking into the transaction.
Providing you with initial advice
Checking that your funding is satisfactory
Raising enquiries on the property
Checking and, if necessary, amending contract documents
Carrying out searches over the property (and the locality if required)
Obtaining and reporting on the property’s planning history and/or checking planning is satisfied
Reporting and advising on property documents and replies to enquiries raised
Drafting a transfer document (or approving the lease if a new leasehold)
Working through the contract, transfer, mortgage and other finance documents with you
Preparing a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) form (if relevant)
Arranging to have you sign the contract, transfer, lease and/or mortgage, and SDLT form
Negotiating/setting a date for completion of the transaction
Ensuring the deposit is received from you
Exchanging contracts and confirming with you
Arranging for the balance of monies to come to us from yourself and the mortgage company
Completing the purchase
Dealing with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax
Making an application to register the transfer

Sale

A sale transaction involves us carrying out some (but not necessarily all) of the following steps:

Taking your instructions .
Providing you with initial advice
Obtaining title and other property information
Providing you with seller’s property information forms for you to fill in
Checking these forms when returned, clarifying their content with you
Drafting and sending contract and title documents, including the property information forms, to the buyer’s solicitors
Replying to any enquiries raised by the Buyer’s solicitors
Obtaining and approving a draft transfer from the Buyer’s solicitors
Obtaining a mortgage settlement statement from your mortgage lender
Arranging to have you sign the contract, transfer or lease
Negotiating/settling a completion date
Exchanging contracts and notifying you that this has happened
Arranging the transfer from the buyer’s solicitors of the monies to complete the sale
Completing the sale
Settling the existing mortgage
Settling our fees and disbursements
Settling the estate agent’s account
Accounting to you for the balance of monies

Costs

A simple conveyancing matter for registered property up to a property value of £250,000, such as a straightforward freehold purchase, including title checking, obtaining and reporting on searches, drafting and approving contractual documents, and applying for registration would be likely to cost in the region of £850.00 plus charges, VAT and disbursements.

A leasehold purchase of a registered property valued at up to £175,000 would generally cost in the region of £1,100 plus charges, VAT and disbursements.

For more complex matters, for example, purchasing unregistered land, new-build purchases, tenancies or large estates, our hourly rates (currently £270 plus VAT per hour) will apply and we will discuss charges at the time of instruction or when we have full property information, if later.

If the estimated costs are likely to be exceeded we will let you know at the time and seek to agree any further costs which may be payable.

The costs may increase if, for example, the transaction becomes unduly complicated or protracted, delays occur in the chain, additional work is required due to title or other issues arise requiring some form of indemnity policy being put in place.

Disbursements

These are payments made to a third party, such as the Land Registry or search providers. We deal with payment of these on your behalf, but do require you to provide us with funds for these in advance.

Sale

The disbursements payable on a sale of property are as follows:

Bank transfer fees. These are payable to a bank on transfer of monies using the CHAPS system. This can be up to £30 per transfer. We may deal with the transfer in house instead, and if we do, we will let you know. In those circumstances you will instead be charged an administration fee by ourselves for administering bank transfers. This will be £30 plus VAT per transfer.
HM Land Registry fees. These are fees payable to obtain up to date details of the property for sale. They include title information, and a plan of the property, plus may include deeds and documents relevant to the property. They generally cost £3 per document.
Additional leasehold disbursements. These can include the costs of a management company to provide management information packs, details of service charges, costs of registering notices of sale or mortgage, deeds of covenant with the management company or other proofs that the management company can supply. The costs of these cannot be predicted in advance. We would notify you of these as the transaction progresses.

Purchase

The disbursements payable on a purchase are as follows:

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). This is a tax payment on purchase of land or real property. The amount varies based on your circumstances and purchasing history. We cannot speculate what is payable until we know the details of the purchase and your personal circumstances. The Inland Revenue SDLT Calculator will allow you to calculate the SDLT for yourself if you wish to do so.
Land registry fees. These vary on a sliding scale based on the purchase price of a property. For purchase of the whole of a freehold property valued at up to £80,000 the cost is £20.00, and for a sale of part of a larger property is £40.00. For a sale valued at £80-100,000, the cost is £40.00 or £80.00 and up to £200,000 the cost is £95 for a sale of whole, and £190 for a sale of part. For full details please check the Land Registry Fees listing online.
Search fees. These range from between £250 to £350. We use search providers, who charge VAT on their services, so these sums are VAT exclusive. The search fees vary between local authorities, so this figure is a guideline only.
Bank transfer fees. These are payable to a bank on transfer of monies using the CHAPS system. This can be up to £30 per transfer. We may deal with the transfer in house instead, and if we do, we will let you know. In those circumstances you will instead be charged an administration fee by ourselves for administering bank transfers. This will be £30 plus VAT per transfer.
Land Registry pre-completion search costs. These costs are paid to the Land Registry before completion, and they protect the applicant against claims by third parties. They are required by a mortgage company and are recommended in any event. The cost is £3.00 per title searched against.
Land Charges fees. These are required by a mortgage company and reveal information as to insolvency of the person searched against, and title information in some cases in an unregistered purchase. These cost £2 per name searched against, but we are required to search against name variations, so the cost can vary per person.

VAT is payable at 20% where chargeable.

Timescales can vary widely, especially in the context of a chain transaction where there may be a number of purchasers, all with their own timescales in mind, or a lease transaction where there may be information awaited from a landlord.

However, the average process takes about 10-12 weeks on average, but this figure should not be relied on as definitive, as every transaction is different.

0114 331 0162

Residential Conveyancing