Sale or Purchase of Residential Property

Our Conveyancing Team

Peter Britten. Partner, Solicitor. Peter has specific expertise in all conveyancing matters. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1982.

Richard Temple. Consultant Solicitor. Richard qualified as a Solicitor in 1983. During his career he has dealt with a large number of conveyancing transactions. He now specialises mainly in Auction sales.

Gilliane Smith FCILEx. Gilliane has worked as a Conveyancer (mainly domestic conveyancing) since 2003. She is accustomed to dealing with a heavy workload.

Our Conveyancing Services and Fees

You are free to choose who will represent you and you are not obliged to accept any recommendation by a Mortgage Broker or Estate Agent. You should be aware that most law firms recommended by Estate Agents pay the agent a so-called referral fee which can represent a substantial proportion of the law firm's conveyancing fee. A number of law firms who pay referral fees have no face to face contact with the client and the work is dealt with by a "team". There is no guarantee that the client will deal with the same Conveyancer throughout the transaction.

We are completely independent of Mortgage Brokers and Estate Agents and do not pay referral fees.

We have excellent working relationships with others involved in the sale, purchase and mortgaging of property. We have a large body of satisfied clients who we have represented for many years and we are also very pleased to welcome new clients. Our staff are experienced, professional and committed. We can communicate with you in person, on the telephone or by email or by a combination of all modes of contact.

Like the great majority of Solicitors, we charge a fee based on the value of the property. Our scale of charges is as follows:

Fees

For the sale or purchase of a Leasehold property there is an additional charge of £350 plus VAT

For the purchase of a New Build there is an additional charge of £350 plus VAT

Help to Buy mortgages there is an additional charge of £300 + VAT

What our Standard Fee Includes:

Sale:

1. Routine correspondence including that with Estate Agents and the other party's Solicitors.
   
   
2. The normal work involved in deducing title.
   
   
3. Replying to any enquiries raised by the Buyer's Solicitors.
   
   
4. Dealing with the redemption of your first Mortgage including all correspondence connected therewith.
   
   
5. If you have an endowment type Mortgage, obtaining releases of any policies and formalities in connection therewith.

Purchase:

1. Routine correspondence including that with your first Mortgagee (including correspondence in connection with the drawing down of you Mortgage advance) and the other party's Solicitors.
   
   
2. Making all usual Local Searches, Land Charges Searches and Land Registry Searches.
   
   
3. Raising any enquiries necessary to ensure that the title to the property is free from any restrictions which would affects its re-sale value.
   
   
4. Dealing with your Mortgage including registration and complying with the Mortgagee's normal requirements.
   
   
5. Registering your title at H M Land Registry (including dealing with routine queries from the Land Registry).

What our Standard Fee DOES NOT Include:

For some work, we may make fixed additional charges as follows:

1. Dealing with the Stamp Duty Land Transaction Return - £50.00 plus VAT.
   
   
2. Dealing with the issue of a title Insurance Policy including any necessary correspondence - £80.00 plus VAT. For preparation of any necessary Statutory Declarations there would be a further charge of £125.00 plus VAT per Declaration.
   
   
3. In the case of an unmarried couple purchasing a property, the preparation of a Deed defining their respective rights. (We strongly recommend such a Deed ) - £135.00 plus VAT.
   
   
4. Correspondence with a second Mortgagee or Bank in connection with the redemption of a Mortgage - £65.00 plus VAT in each case.
   
   
5. Dealing with a Licence to Assign - £135.00 plus VAT.
   
   
6. Arranging transfer of monies by direct bank credit - £30.00 plus VAT per transaction. (The Bank also makes an administration charge).

Examples of other work for which we reserve the right to make a reasonable additional charges are:

1. Correspondence and work to resolve a non-routine problem, connected with the property, e.g. a right of way or Planning difficulty or boundary dispute.
   
   
2. In the case of a Leasehold property, additional work required because of service charge provisions or particular problems in the Lease.
   
   
3. Abortive transactions.
   
   

In the event that additional work is carried out and where there is no stipulated fixed supplementary fee, this will be charged for at the rate of £200.00 per hour plus VAT. Routine letters and telephone calls are charged at 10% of this rate.

The Mortgage of a Property:

We do not charge an additional fee for dealing with a Bank or Building Society Mortgage effected at the same time as a purchase. For a freestanding re-mortgage or private mortgage (i.e. where the loan is made by an individual rather than a financial company) we charge a scale fee at the same rate as for a purchase or sale.

Searches:

We may make the following Searches in a purchase transaction

• Local Authority Search. The purpose of this is to discover, e.g.
  
  (i) Whether the road fronting the property is adopted or not
  
  (ii) What Planning Permissions affect the property
  
  (iii) Whether the Local Authority is aware of any breaches of Planning or Building Regulation Restrictions
  
  (iv) Whether the Local Authority has served any Notices adversely affecting the property.
  
  
• Drainage and Water Search. This confirms whether the property is connected to a public sewer and mains water supply.
  
  
• Environmental Search. The main purpose of this is to establish whether there is any risk of flooding or subsidence but also whether the property is built on or affected by contaminated land.
  
  

Institutional Mortgage Lenders require these Searches to be made.

Out of pocket/Third Party Expenses:

• Stamp Duty Land Tax. Please use the link to HMRC which will confirm the level of Stamp Duty Land tax payable. tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax. The rules are complex and we would be pleased to discuss individual circumstances with you.
  
  
• Local Authority Search. This varies depending on the Local Authority and can range from £120 to £300.00.
  
  
• Drainage and Water Search and Environmental Report. Including VAT are approximately £148.00. The cost can vary depending on the area in which you purchase.
  
  
• Pre-Completion Searches. Approximately £7.00. This is for carrying out Bankruptcy Searches against each Purchaser in line with Mortgage Lender's requirements and a Search at the Land Registry to claim a priority period in which to register the purchase.
  
  
• Land Registry Fees. These fees are paid directly to the Land Registry to register your purchase and are based on scale and depend on whether or not the property has a registered or an unregistered title. For example, a registered title for a property up to £200,000 would cost £100.00 and an unregistered title at the same price would cost £230.00. You can visit gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees which sets out the scale of fees applicable.
  
  
• Some Mortgage Lenders provide their instructions via an internet-based platform. They charge £42.00 for issuing Mortgage instructions and if the Lender you choose uses this platform, we would also pass on the £42.00 cost to you.
  
  
• Case Management System Fee. A Case Management System fee of £29.40 inclusive of VAT.
  
  

Generally

1. Our Bill will be rendered to you before completion together with a Statement of your other expenses (e.g. Stamp duty). We need to have cleared funds in our possession before the anticipated completion date.
   
   
2. In the absence of agreement to the contrary, we will account to you by cheque within 4 working days of completion.