Your Purchase of a Leasehold Property

The following is an indication of our expected fees and disbursements in a typical case of a purchase of a leasehold property with a value of no more than £750,000.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry, Managing Agent and search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process

Note: The required searches would usually be dictated by a mortgagee, as well as by the results of your survey on the property. We strongly recommend a survey on all property purchase transactions. Below is listed our expected fees and the basic search costs for some example transactions:

• Legal fees – £2,100.00
• VAT thereon @ 20% – £420.00
• Local Authority Search (approximate including £20.00 handling fee and VAT @20%) – £350.00
• Conveyancing search pack (inclusive of VAT) – £184.71
• Landlord’s Notice fee (estimate as this varies according to the Lease) – £100.00
• Deed of Covenant (estimate as this varies according to the Lease) – £50.00
• Land Registry search fee – £7.00
• Land Charges search fee (£6.00 per name) – £6.00 each
• Lender’s fee for completion (LMS) (This does not apply to all transactions and is dependent on your lender) inclusive of VAT@20% – £18.00 each
• Bank charge for bank transfer – £12.00 each
• Administration charge for bank transfer – £35.00 each
• VAT thereon @20% – £7.00
• Administration charge for general disbursements £60.00 each
• Vat thereon @20% – £12.00
• Administration fee for file Storage – £35.00
• Vat thereon @20% – £7.00
• ‘Safe Harbour’ Anti-Money Laundering search – £9 per name (plus £1.50 per additional search criteria)
• Total: £3,352.71

Additional Costs of your transaction:

Stamp duty (SDLT)

The amount of Stamp Duty you pay depends on the purchase price of your property and your status as a Buyer (first time/additional property/single rate/company). You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.

Land Registration fee electronic filing

The fee payable to the Land Registry to register you as the new owner depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMLR’s website.

Service Charge and Ground Rent apportionments

This is payable if the seller has paid ground rent and service charges in advance. The seller’s solicitor will supply a completion statement before the day of completion setting out what has been paid in advance and apportioning the payment between the parties.

What is included in the estimate of fees above?

• Checking your Identity to comply with Anti Money Laundering Legislation
• Taking your instructions and advising you throughout
• Making all standard searches and standard preliminary enquiries on your behalf
• Advising and reporting to you on the Title documentation including the Lease and service charge accounts and the terms of your Contract and obtaining your approval of and signature to the Contract
• Receiving, perusing and advising you on a standard Mortgage Offer and the Legal Charge, and arranging your execution of the Mortgage Deed
• Drafting and arranging your signature of a basic SDLT return
• Advising on joint ownership
• Effecting exchange of Contracts
• Investigating Title and raising all necessary Requisitions thereon
• Advising you on the Legal Charge and arranging your execution thereto.
• Preparing draft Transfer, engrossing the same and obtaining your execution thereto.
• Commissioning all necessary pre-completion searches and completing the matter on your behalf.
• Registering you as the new owner of the property at HM Land Registry
• Serving Notice of Transfer and Charge on the Freeholder

NB: If this firm does not complete the work we will charge you for the work done and expenses incurred.

What is not included in the estimate of fees above?

The cost of our service may increase if the transaction is more complicated. The list below is not exhaustive but they give examples of when our fees may rise, for example:

• Protracted checks to ensure proof of your Identity is compliant with anti-money laundering legislation
• Responding to extensive calls from estate agents and mortgage brokers
• Acting for your lender. We will charge separately for acting for your lender also and ensuring all conditions of the mortgage are satisfied which are necessary for the release of funds
• Reporting an defects in title to your lender and seeking their approval to proceed
• If the legal title is defective or if the property is unregistered
• If you discover building regulations or planning permission has not been obtained
• If the Lease is defective requiring a rectification
• If there are adverse search results
• If crucial documents pertaining to the legal title are missing
• If we are required to arrange Indemnity Insurance
• If there an unusual number of mortgage conditions which need to be satisfied
• If there are delays in the progression of the transaction
• If there are complex SDLT issues which need to be addressed
• Drafting a Declaration of Trust relating to joint ownership

Please note, if your transaction comprises of any of the following elements, then an additional fee will be incurred based on the time expended and will incur additional fees based on the hourly rate charged by the fee earner:

• Gifted Deposit
• Source of Funds check for significant cash deposits used to fund the purchase
• Lease extension
• Shared ownership Lease/Staircasing
• Defective/Inadequate Lease provisions
• Defective title
• Incomplete planning and/or building control issues
• Purchase funds derived from a Lifetime ISA or Help to Buy or any other government incentive scheme.

If the cost of fees increase, how will these be calculated? See: How We Charge

How long will my property purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your property will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 12 – 14 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, with a mortgage in principle, and all the information pertaining to the Lease and service charges etc is available at any early stage, it could take 12 weeks. However, if you are in a long chain and you do not have a mortgage offer ready or we have to wait for information pertaining to the Lease, this can take significantly longer. These are average times, and transactions can be completed much faster in certain circumstances. We also offer an expedited service for an additional fee if required. Please contact us directly for details of this.

We are here to help make the process as easy and stress-free as possible. All of the work will be carried out by fully qualified experienced solicitors who have also been accredited by the Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Our aim is to provide a bespoke and quality level of service designed to make your house moving experience as stress free as possible.

Further information about the process can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/buy-sell-your-home