Conveyancing fees

Led by Lee Greaves, our experienced team will provide you with a conveyancing service based on your specific needs. We have offices in London, Guildford and Oxford and pride ourselves on being personable and approachable and make every effort to make your move as stress-free as possible.

No two transactions are the same and our fees will reflect the particular details of your sale and your purchase. For example, dealing with the purchase of a flat with a short lease or buying a property in a brand new development, will often involve much more work than buying a freehold terraced house. Because of this, we are not able to give you a reliable estimate of the cost of our services until we have the full details of what your personal transaction will involve, including the type of property that you are purchasing.

Typical fees are set out below. If a transaction has unexpected complications we would always inform you of that and discuss with you the potential consequences, and advise you of the additional work to be carried out, before any extra charges are made. 

Our range of fees for sale and purchases of up to £2 million are set out below and are exclusive of VAT and disbursements. We will be happy to provide you with a personalised fee estimate for sales and purchases with prices in excess of this figure, which we deal with on a regular basis.

Our price range reflects the location and experience of the solicitor(s) dealing with your transaction.  

Our fees

Our fees, disbursements and costs cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) if the property is in England, or land transaction tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales. 

We would welcome a request for a personalised fee estimate. However, by way of an example of a fee estimate, if you are buying a house in England for £1,000,000 then your charges would be on the lines of the following example.

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

We also charge £175 plus VAT to deal with the post completion work such as the compiling and filing of the SDLT return and the registration of your title at the Land Registry. 

SDLT/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 tools on HMRC's website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority's website. 

Please note that our fees do not cover advice on tax planning or analysis as to whether SDLT is payable other than the standard rate, should you require advice on SDLT or tax planning generally we will put you in touch with our tax team, who will provide you with a fee estimate.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the term of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller's solicitors.

• HM Land Registry fee on purchase: this is calculated according to the amount of the purchase price.
• Search fees on purchase: £350-£500 plus VAT.
• Electronic money transfer fee: £30 plus VAT.
• On a leasehold purchase additional fees may be payable to the landlord/management company as set out in the lease.

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6-10 weeks. 

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take anything from 6-18 weeks. It is generally going to be a quicker process if you are not involved in a chain. 

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances and typically include:

• taking your instructions and giving you initial advice;
• receiving and advising on contract documents;
• submission of searches;
• dealing with pre-contract enquiries;
• reporting to you and providing advice on all documents and information received;
• going through conditions of mortgage offer with you;
• exchanging contracts;
• certifying title to your lender;
• completion; and
• post-completion requirements (such as registration at the Land Registry and payment of SDLT/Land Tax).

Mortgages and re-mortgages

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the mortgage or re-mortgage of your new or existing home, including dealing with the redemption of any existing mortgage secured over your property, the registration at the Land Registry of the new mortgage and, if a leasehold property, service of notice of mortgage on the landlord and/or management company. These fees are indicative of acting on behalf of private individuals and do not apply to companies who are looking to raise finance on a property.

The precise stages vary according to the circumstances of each transaction and typically include: 

• taking your instructions and giving you initial advice;
• carrying out searches;
• obtaining further planning documentation if required;
• going through conditions of mortgage offer with you;
• sending mortgage deed to you for signature;
• setting a completion date for the drawdown of funds as well as obtaining a redemption figure if appropriate;
• arranging for all monies needed to be received from lender and you;
• completing mortgage/re-mortgage; and
• dealing with application for registration at Land Registry and if leasehold serving notice of mortgage on the landlord/management company.

Our fees are based upon the amount of the new loan.

If the loan is up to £500,000 our charges are between £1,500 and £1,750 plus VAT and disbursements; if the loan is between £500,001 and £1 million then our charges are between £1,750 and £2,250 plus VAT and disbursements. The Land Registry fee which is chargeable in order to register the charge is calculated on the value of the mortgage advance and we will confirm this to you when we take your initial instructions with regard to the level of the charge.