| Price | Buying Fixed Fee (plus VAT at 20%) | Selling Fixed Fee (plus VAT at 20%) |
| £0 - £1,000,000 | £3,500 | £3,000 |
| £1,000,000+ - £2,000,000 | £4,000 | £3,500 |
| £2,000,000+ - £3,000,000 | £5,000 | £4,500 |
| Over £3,000,000 | Please contact us to discuss |
Additional fixed charges:
| Price | Fixed Fee (plus VAT at 20%) |
| Unregistered Title | £500 |
| Leasehold Title | £500 |
| New Build (Freehold) | £250 |
| Management Company on Freehold Title | £250 |
| Shared Ownership | £500 |
| Help To Buy Second Charge | £500 |
| Help To Buy ISA | £50 (per ISA) |
| Transfers of Part | £500 |
| Declaration of Trust | £500 |
| HMO Property with 4 or less tenants | £250 |
| HMO Property with more than 4 tenants | £500 |
| Company Mortgage | £250 |
| Arranging Bespoke Indemnity Insurance Policy | £150 |
| Gifted Deposit Administration Fee (UK) | £75 |
| Gifted Deposit Administration Fee (monies coming from abroad) | £350 |
| Mortgage lender separately represented | £250 |
| Stamp duty claim back application (following sale of previous main residence after purchase of new main residence) | £300 |
Remortgage fees:
| Price | Fixed Fee (plus VAT at 20%) |
| £0 - £499,000 | £1,500 |
| Over £500,000 | 0.25% of the price
|
It may be appropriate to carry our work on an hourly rate basis throughout or in addition to your transaction. If this is applicable, our time will be charged adopting the following hourly rates plus VAT at 20%:
Partner £350/400/450
Senior Associate £300
Associate £250
Solicitor £200
Legal Executive £170
Trainee Solicitor £150
Paralegal £130
We will also charge:
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an electronic ID and money laundering check fee of £25 per individual applicable once every 12 months; and
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bank transfer fees as appropriate.
Sale transaction fee includes
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preparing and supplying a sales pack incorporating draft contract, title documents and property information forms;
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agreeing contract and transfer documentation;
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answering additional enquiries from the buyers solicitors;
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exchanging contracts and completing transfer; and
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if relating to a leasehold, obtaining the management information pack and providing it to the buyers’ solicitors.
Purchase transaction fee includes
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considering the sales pack prepared by the sellers solicitors;
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investigating the title and reporting to you;
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commissioning searches and advising on the results;
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raising appropriate enquiries;
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agreeing contract and transfer documentation;
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reviewing a mortgage offer and reporting to the lender (if appropriate);
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exchanging contracts and completing transfer;
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filing the stamp duty or land transaction return for you (excludes providing additional tax advice);
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registration at the Land Registry;
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for joint purchasers, we advise on the ownership options of joint tenants and tenants in common. In certain circumstances we may advise you to engage our trusts team to prepare a declaration of trust; and
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we will indicate whether tax advice is required to benefit from a Stamp Duty Land Tax relief in which case we may advise you to engage our tax team.
What our fee doesn’t include for a sale or purchase transaction
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tax advice;
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advice not covered in the points listed above; and
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advice in respect of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales.
Issues and circumstances that can give rise to additional fees
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defective title issues such as a seller not owning land that they are in possession of, no legal easement to gain access to a property, missing service rights, breaches of restrictive covenants and boundary issues;
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building works carried out without the relevant consents e.g. planning permission, building regulations approval, listed building consent, extensions built over public sewers;
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properties involved in disputes such as neighbour disputes or party wall issues;
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issues with leases e.g. defective leases that need correcting, short term leases that need to be extended, ground rent issues, lease for solar panels; and
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issues revealed by searches such as enforcement notices, compulsory purchase orders and contaminated land.
Where we identify an issue such as the above, we will let you know as soon as possible and will have a discussion about the likely costs involved to resolve the issue. Additional costs will be based on the hourly rates of the fee earners involved in the transaction. These will be confirmed in the engagement letter issued to you upon instruction. In reality, there will usually be a combination of fee earners involved on a matter with an equivalent combination of charge out rates and they will contribute to the matter according to applicable circumstances.
How long will a property sale or purchase take?
The average transaction takes between 6 to 8 weeks from when the contract pack is sent or received until exchange of contracts. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain and mortgage lenders. We will aim to progress the transaction as quickly as you want us to so any delays will only ever be as a result of third parties or factors outside our control. A leasehold transaction may also take longer due to the involvement of third parties such as freeholders and managing agents who are required to provide information.
When we review our fees if the matter has become protracted
We review our fees 12 weeks after the contract pack has been issued on a sale transaction and 12 weeks after the contract pack has been received on a purchase transaction. You will note from the paragraph above that this means that the transaction is taking longer than usual i.e. it has become protracted. At the 12 week point we will have a discussion with you about any increased costs to see the transaction through to completion. Additional costs will be based on the hourly rates of the fee earners involved with the transaction. See above.
Aborted transactions
For transactions that don’t complete we charge based on the work done so if, for example, we have done half the work, we will charge half of the agreed fixed fee
Referral fees
We pay referral fees to some introducers of work such as estate agents and financial advisers but these do not increase our conveyancing fees. If referrals fees apply to your matter details will be provided in your engagement letter upon instruction.
Disbursements are costs related to a legal transaction that are payable to third parties.
Disbursements relating to sales
- Land Registry and other planning or related documents required for the sale - £50 plus VAT at 20%; and
- management information pack for a leasehold sale or a freehold on a development that has a management company - to be confirmed by the freeholder/managing agent.
Disbursements relating to purchases
- search pack - £350 to £500 plus VAT at 20% depending on the area and mortgage lender requirements;
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notice of leasehold assignment fee (leasehold and freehold properties subject to a managament charge only) - variable depending on what is stated in the lease or title documents and the requirements of the freeholder/managing agent. If applicable, these will be confirmed when we receive the management information pack; and
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deed of covenant and compliance certificate fees - sometimes payable on properties where there is a management company or managing agent involved. If applicable, these will be confirmed when we receive the management information pack.
Disbursements relating to remortgages
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search pack - £350 to £500 plus VAT at 20% depending on the area or if the lender will accept search insurance instead, then the cost is likely to be much lower;
- Land Registry fee; and
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a notice fee may be payable on a leasehold property as referred to in the list of purchase disbursements.
Please note that the above lists are not exhaustive.