The Sale and Purchase of Leasehold Residential Property – Pricing Information

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale or purchase of your new home, including (as appropriate) dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales. Should you require mortgage finance to assist in your purchase, our fees also include acting on behalf of any lender provided that they are a UK Finance member save for fees charged by Lender Marketing Services. .

No two property transactions are the same and each client will have specific requirements. We therefore provide each client with an individual estimate giving full details of our fees and the other costs involved in a transaction. If there are any unforeseen difficulties we will let you know right away and explain any impact this may have on costs before incurring additional expense.

Our fees are based on the value of the property and the work likely to be involved and will be subject to Value Added Tax at the current rate. Our normal fee for a straightforward leasehold sale or purchase with no unforeseen problems will range between £1,390 plus VAT for a property valued at up to £250,000 to £2,560 plus VAT for a property valued at up to £1M. For properties valued at over £1M we have a minimum charge of £2,560 but the actual charge will depend on will depend on the property and specific circumstances of the transaction.

We have a minimum charge of £1,500 plus VAT for dealing with a purchase under the Help to Buy Scheme.

In addition we will charge:-

£25.00 plus VAT for dealing with an electronic money transfer
£25.00 plus VAT for completing an SDLT return (purchase only)

Additional work may sometimes be charged by agreement with the client at an hourly rate and the fees chargeable by each of the residential conveyancing team can be seen here

Payments to Others

There will usually be payments to others (sometimes called “disbursements”) such as search fees, LMS fees, fees payable to HM Land Registry, Stamp Duty Land Tax (payable on the purchase of a property) and Value Added Tax. We deal with payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
We do not make payments to others in respect of referral fees.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using the HMRC Website. There is currently no SDLT payable on a first time purchase up to a value of £300,000. The amount of SDLT payable otherwise will depend on the value of the property, , whether you are a UK national, whether or not it is a second property and on the ground rent.

Example Estimate

Based on the purchase of a leasehold property with registered title at a value of £300,000 our charges and disbursements would be:-

	Purchase	Sale
Our charges	£1540	£800
Search fees	£300
Fee for Official Copy Entries		£15 plus VAT 3.00
HM Land Registry fee	£150
Electronic money transfer fee	£35 + VAT	£35 + VAT
Land Registry Search fee	£3 + VAT
Land Charge Search (£2 per name)	£2 + VAT
ID verification check £10 (each individual)	£10 + VAT	£10 + VAT
Source of Funds check £2 (each individual)*	£2 + VAT
VAT payable	£318.40	£295
TOTAL	£2360.40	£1770

Other payments for leasehold properties

Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the Management Pack. Often the fee is between £100.00 and £400.00 plus VAT
Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the Management Pack. Often the fee is between £75.00 and £150.00 plus VAT.
Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £150.00 and £300.00 plus VAT.
Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease and Management Pack, as can range between £150.00 and £200.00 plus VAT.

The above payments relate to Purchase transactions only.

When selling a Leasehold property you will be required to pay the Freeholder for a Management Pack, the price of these range from £190 – £500.

Under the terms of the Lease, you may also be required to pay a Contingency fee and Transfer fee to the Landlord upon completion. This is usually a small percentage of the sale price.

These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.
You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information. Upon completion you may be required to pay an apportionment for any charges paid by the seller that exceed beyond the legal completion date.

When selling, should the current year accounts not yet be complete, your Solicitor may be required to retain an agreed sum pending receipt of these, to cover any unknown expenses from your period of ownership.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the stages of the purchase process?
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential leasehold property vary according to the circumstances. However, our service to you will normally include the following:-

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on contract documents and lease requirements
Carry out searches
Obtain further planning documentation if required
Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
Give you advice on all documents and information received
Go through conditions of mortgage offer
Send final contract to you for signature
Draft Transfer
Advise you on joint ownership
Obtain pre-completion searches
Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
Complete purchase
Deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax
Deal with application for registration at Land Registry
Deal with any necessary Notice of Mortgage or Certificate of Compliance (leasehold properties)

The work in connection with a sale is broadly similar but without the need for searches or dealing with mortgage finance (although it my be necessary to repay a mortgage on completion)

How long will my house sale/purchase take?

We completely understand that you would like some idea of when you will be able to move into your new home and we will do whatever we can to complete the matter in accordance with your preferred timescale. However it is sometimes the case that matters arise which delay a transaction. We will do whatever we can to identify any such matters as early as possible in order that you may plan accordingly.
In our experience, most purchase transactions complete between 9 and 12 weeks from the date that we receive a contract from the seller’s conveyancers.

Who will deal with my transaction?
Our conveyancing team is made up of Solicitors, Chartered Legal Executives and Legal Assistants who are experienced in dealing with property transactions and well qualified to help guide you guide you through what can be a very stressful process and provide you with the support you need from start to finish.

They can help you with a wide range of matters, including:-

Residential property sales and purchases
Re-mortgages
Shared & joint ownership
Matrimonial transfers
Probate sales
Residential property investments and lettings
New homes
Help to Buy loans and redemptions
Transfers of Equity
Equity Release mortgages

What if something goes wrong?

If there is a problem you should contact the person who is dealing with your matter as soon as possible with details of your concern. If it is not possible to resolve the matter quickly and informally we have a complaints handling procedure which you can read here.

Important points to remember when comparing charges

The fees estimated above assume 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.
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 complication arise.
all parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
no indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
SDLT is not included as this varies depending on the value of the property and other.