Residential Purchases
FREEHOLD PURCHASES
Our fees for the purchase of a residential freehold house for up to £500,000 are usually £895 plus VAT (£1,074) without a mortgage and £990 plus VAT (£1,188) with a mortgage.
We charge an additional £100 plus VAT (£120) for every £250,000 by which the price exceeds £500,000. e.g. without a mortgage £500,001-£750,000 = £995 plus VAT (£1,194) or with a mortgage = £1,090 plus VAT (£1,308).
LEASEHOLD AND FLAT PURCHASES
Our fees for the purchase of a residential flat or leasehold house for up to £500,000 are usually £1,195 plus VAT (£1,434) without a mortgage and £1,290 plus VAT (£1,548) with a mortgage.
We charge an additional £100 plus VAT (£120) for every £250,000 by which the price exceeds £500,000. e.g. without a mortgage £500,001-£750,000 = £1,295 plus VAT (£1,554) or with a mortgage = £1,390 plus VAT (£1,668).
Add £495 plus VAT (£594) if it is not a standard London local authority Right to Buy or Right to Acquire lease.
YOU MAY ALSO HAVE TO PAY THE FOLLOWING DISBURSEMENTS
NOTE 1. WE DO NOT MAKE ADDITIONAL CHARGES FOR OFFICIAL COPIES OF TITLES, POSTAGE AND STATIONERY OR ORIGINAL IDENTITY CHECKS 2. WE DO NOT CHARGE FOR PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE ALTHOUGH WE ARE COVERED UP £2M.
You will need to let us have details of the location of the property to confirm the search fees (please check the “Land Charges fees” section of the website of the local authority in which the property is situated) and the price to confirm the Land Registry fees (see http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html for Land Registry fees information) and Stamp Duty (see https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro for Stamp Duty information).
For purchases, please phone or email us for an estimate. Whether our price exceeds the above amounts will depend on several factors such as
(a) whether you are buying a new build, off plan property or a shared ownership property, expect to pay an additional £900 plus VAT (£1,080),
(b) if there are restrictions that require third party consents, e.g. where there is an estate with private roads and service charges, the management company needs to certify the charges are paid up-to date and any shares in the management company are transferred to you before the certificate is given, expect to pay an additional £495 plus VAT (£594) and
(c) if you are buying through a company we will not make an additional charge if you are buying without a mortgage but if you are purchasing through a company with the assistance of a mortgage we will charge a higher rate (£300 plus VAT (£360) in addition), than for individuals buying with a mortgage as more work is required such arranging directors’ guarantees (which will require the directors to instruct another firm), dealing with more complicated instructions from the mortgagees and having to register the mortgage at Companies House as well as the Land Registry
(d) our fees for leasehold purchases do not include additional work such as dealing with lease extensions or deeds of variation. There are charged at our hourly rate (see our fees for Lease Extensions - Acting for Leaseholders)
(e) where the property is unregistered, expect to pay £300 to £500 plus VAT in addition to the fees above
(f) where the mortgagees instruct their own solicitors expect to pay £495 plus VAT (£594) in addition to the fees above
(g) if the property is tenanted expect to pay £295 plus VAT (£354) in addition for checking tenancy documents.
We will accept instructions without receiving any payment on account but on a purchase we will require payment on account of our fees before we start going through any of the documentation involved, usually £600 if we need to advise on a lease, £900 for non-standard London local authority Right to Buy or Right to Acquire leases or newbuild property or £200 for freehold purchases. We will also need payment in respect of disbursements such as the search fee to be paid on account if a local search is required.
We will normally stick to our estimate although the work may be more than we expected. We will normally advise you well in advance if our estimate is likely to be exceeded to give you a chance to obtain prices for the work to be carried out elsewhere.