Buying or selling your property – need conveyancing help?
With recent market increases, a property is probably now the most expensive individual asset that you will own throughout your lifetime. If you are moving up/down the property ladder or maybe buying a property for the first time, it is important for your own peace of mind, that the process is dealt with by experienced conveyancing staff who act on your behalf in a professional manner. Our conveyancing team provide support from our Wales and England offices. Our conveyancing departments are in both our Cardiff and Twickenham premises but offer support to the conveyancing client across the country.
It is hard to find any other conveyancing and property law department that can have greater experience in this area of the law. The department is headed by Rachel Ip Fung Chun, assisted by George Keppe and Rachel Rees-Gralton who are lawyers with over 40 years of combined experience.
Costs
Our fees are on a fixed fee basis and depend on which part of the UK the property is situated and the carrying out of the transaction.
For a usual sale or purchase (freehold or leasehold):
England (serviced from our Twickenham office)
Our average fees range from £900.00 to £2000.00 plus disbursements* and VAT
For a remortgage our average fee is £800.00 plus disbursements* and VAT
Wales (serviced from our Cardiff office)
Our average fees range from £550.00 to £900.00 plus disbursements* and VAT
For a remortgage our average fee is £500.00 plus disbursements* and VAT
(*Fees are based on each transaction)
VAT is charged at 20%.
In addition to our fees there will be a fee of £40.00 plus VAT for each bank telegraphic transfer that we make during the transaction.
Our fees are based on the sale/purchase price of the property therefore please do contact us to obtain a more specific quote for your sale or purchase.
For matters in England, if we believe that it would be beneficial for your matter to be dealt with by the Cardiff office we shall advise you accordingly.
Disbursements and other costs
The usual disbursements associated with a sale are:
- Land Registry Official Copy Entries (title deed) £3.00 plus VAT each document
- Other Land Registry documents (if required) £3.00 plus VAT each document
- Anti-Money Laundering/ID Check (per person) £6.00 plus VAT
- For leasehold properties, a management pack may be required and the landlord/managing agent may charge a fee for this which can range from £50-£400 depending on the managing agent or landlord involved, we will not know the exact amount until enquiries are made with the landlord/managing agent.
The usual disbursements associated with a purchase are:
- Stamp Duty – this is based on the purchase price and can be calculated using the following link: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro
- Land Registry Fee – this is also based on the purchase price and can range from £20.00 – £915.00. The fee scale can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees#scale-1-fees
- Searches (approximate) £300.00 -£400.00 plus VAT
- Bankruptcy Search (per person) £2.00 plus VAT
- Land Registry Priority Search (per title) £3.00 plus VAT
- Anti-Money Laundering/ID Check (per person) £6.00 plus VAT
- Lawyer Checker £12.00 plus VAT
These disbursements are payable to third parties and we do not have any influence over these charges.
Other disbursements may arise during the transaction but we shall advise you of this before incurring any costs.
Abortive Costs
Abortive fees are based on the work already carried out up until the time that the transaction is aborted, but will not be more than what was quoted. All abortive costs will also be in addition to any disbursements incurred.
Process and Services
On a sale, you would be required to complete a set of forms which will form the sale pack for the Buyer which we will send to the Buyer’s solicitor who will investigate the documents and order their searches. Following receipt of the sale pack, the Buyer’s solicitor will raise any enquiries with us. Once all enquiries have been dealt with and all matters have been dealt with on both sides, the transaction will proceed to the exchange of contracts stage where each party will contractually bind themselves to sell and purchase the property. At the time of exchange a completion date would be set which will be added to the contract. Following exchange, the file will be prepared for completion. On completion, we would receive the completion funds and redeem any mortgages on the property, pay legal fees and disbursements and transfer the net proceeds of sale to you.
On a purchase, we will receive the sale pack from the Seller’s solicitor and investigate the title to the property and associate documents as well as order searches to form part of our investigations and raise enquiries with the Buyer’s solicitor. Once all enquiries have been dealt with we shall send you a report detailing our investigations before exchange of contracts. If you are happy to proceed, we will exchange contracts with the Seller’s solicitor whereupon a completion date will be added to the contract. Following exchange, we will request your lender (if applicable) to release funds in time for completion. On completion, once we are in receipt of all the completion funds, we will send it to the Seller’s solicitor who upon receipt of which will confirm completion.
During the transaction we will liaise with the other party’s legal representative and any third parties which are specifically connected to the sale (i.e. lenders, management companies, agents etc.).
We will pay the disbursements on your behalf and deal with payment of stamp duty to HMRC.
We will not deal with any applications to HMRC for a refund of stamp duty, for example, when the higher rate has been paid but needs to be refunded because the main residence has been sold within the stipulated time.
The average timescale for a sale or purchase is around 8 weeks but there could be other factors effecting the timescales, such as a long chain or dealing with third parties.
The average timescale for a remortgage is around 4 weeks but this could be more or less depending on when the mortgage offer is received.
Your matter will be dealt with by a member of our conveyancing team formed of solicitors and legal executives/licensed conveyancers who have experience in both residential and commercial matters. Their supervisor is Rachel Ip Fung Chun who is a Senior Associate Solicitor and she has over 15 years’ experience in both residential and commercial matters.
For any other transaction or non-usual matters please contact us to obtain a more specific quote.