Skip to content

Pricing Information

Sales and Purchases of Freehold Residential Property

Our fees cover all of the work listed in our residential sale specification and residential purchase specification.  

Our work will not include :-

  • the provision of tax advice (other than the Stamp Duty Land Tax payable in relation to any aspect of the matter) : That would be a matter for further specialist advice from this firm or elsewhere, should you choose.
  • any other work which is not properly ancillary to the conveyancing process.

We charge on a time basis, by reference to hourly charging out rates.

The applicable hourly charging out rates for this work are :-

Susannah Taylor : £245 plus VAT at 20% per hour.

Andrew Williamson: £245 plus VAT at 20% per hour.

Natalie Linehan: £205 plus VAT at 20% per hour.

David Thorp : £258 plus VAT at 20% per hour.

On average the work in connection with a sale takes between 4 and 6 hours to complete and the work in connection with a purchase takes between 5 and 8 hours to complete.

This means that, on average, our costs will be :-

(i) between £980 and £1,470 plus VAT at 20% in connection with a sale at Susannah Taylor’s and Andrew Williamson’s hourly charging rates, £820 and £1,230 plus VAT at 20% at Natalie Linehan’s charging out              rate, and £1,032 and £1,548 plus VAT at 20% at David Thorp’s hourly charging rate.

(ii) between £1,225 and £1,960 plus VAT at 20% in connection with a purchase at Susannah Taylor’s and Andrew Williamson’s hourly  charging rates, £1,025 and £1,640 plus VAT at 20% at Natalie Linehan’s charging out rate, and £1,290 and £2,064 plus VAT at 20% at David Thorp’s hourly charging rate.

The exact number of hours it will take to complete the work depends on a variety of factors. Those factors include, but are not limited to :-

  • The number of attendances on you, the other party’s Solicitors and any relevant third parties (such as Estate Agents) which are necessary in each transaction.
  • The complexity of the title to the property.
  • The complexity of the documents which we have to draft and/or approve on your behalf.
  • The time which we have to spend in dealings with your mortgage lenders.
  • Whether there are any problems or difficulties with the title documents (for example if any relevant documents are missing).

We stress that these examples are not a complete list of the potentially relevant factors.  Often it is, at the outset of a transaction, impossible to know which factors may become relevant during the course of it.

The payments out which we will, typically, have to make are :-

1.       on a sale:-

  • Online identification evidence verification fee : £2.72 plus VAT at 20% per individual.
  • Land Registry fees : £6 plus VAT at 20% for a freehold property and £12 plus VAT at 20% for a leasehold property
  • Electronic funds transfer fee (mortgage redemption): £35 plus VAT at 20%

2.      on a purchase :-

  • Online identification evidence verification fee : £2.72 plus VAT at 20% per individual
  • Search fees : There is an extent to which these will vary from transaction to transaction but, typically, these will be approximately :-
  • Local Land Charges Search : £121.40
  • Drainage and Water Enquiries : £34
  • Environmental Search : £96
  • Coal and Brine Report : £45.50
  • Chancel Liability Check : £24
  • Land Registry Search : £3 plus VAT at 20%
  • Bankruptcy Search : £2 per individual plus VAT at 20%
  • Land Registry fee : This will vary depending on the price which you pay for the property.
  • Electronic funds transfer fee : £35 plus VAT at 20%
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax : This depends on the purchase price of the property. You can calculate the amount which you will need to pay by using the Revenue’s website https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-ratesor if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website https://beta.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator.

Estimated totals :

This means that, on average, the likely total cost (excluding Land Registry fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax on a purchase) will be :-

i.  for a sale : between £1,228.46 and £1,816.46 at Susannah Taylor’s and Andrew Williamson’s hourly charging rates, £1,036.46 and £1,528.46 plus  VAT at 20% at Natalie Linehan’s charging out rate, and £1,290.86 and £1,910.06 at David Thorp’s hourly charging rate.

ii.  for a purchase : between £1,838.90 and £2,720.90 at Susannah Taylor’s and Andrew Williamson’s hourly charging rates, £1,598.90 and £2,336.90 plus VAT at 20% at Natalie Linehan’s charging out rate, and            £1,916.90 and £2,845.70 at David Thorp’s hourly charging rate.

We do stress that, by providing this information, we are not providing a fixed fee quote.

We reserve the right to revise the estimates given above for our costs upwards on our notification to you if either :-

a.   any relevant factors other than time and value prove to be significant.

b.   the work proves to take :-

      On a sale : More than 6 hours or

      On a purchase : More than 8 hours.

c.   we are required to carry out any work outside the scope of our original instructions.

We will let you know if we have to do or anticipate having to do any additional work.

Timescales :-

How long it will take from acceptance of an offer until you can move in or out of your property will depend on a number of factors. However, and on average, the process takes between approximately 6 and 10 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, and if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take approximately 8 weeks, provided of course that the house is ready for occupation.

If you are buying a leasehold property, which may require an extension of the Lease, it could take significantly longer, perhaps between 3 and 6 months.  In that situation, additional costs would be payable.

Sales and Purchases of Leasehold Residential Property