SALE COSTS
PROPERTY VALUE | LEGAL CHARGE |
£1 to £100,000 | £900 – £1,000 plus VAT |
£100,001 to £300,000 | £900 – £1,400 plus VAT |
£300,001 to £500,000 | £975 – £1,500 plus VAT |
PURCHASE COSTS
PROPERTY VALUE | LEGAL CHARGE |
£1 to £100,000 | £900 – £1,100 plus VAT |
£100,001 to £300,000 | £925 – £1,400 plus VAT |
£300,001 to £400,000 | £975 – £1,600 plus VAT |
PLEASE NOTE IF THE MATTER IS LEASEHOLD there will be extra legal charges of £400 – £500 plus VAT. PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT DEAL WITH HELP TO BUY
DISBURSEMENTS
Disbursements are charged in respect of all the work we undertake for you and some of these are costs payable to third parties that relate to your matter.
Example of usual sale disbursements:-
- Bankruptcy searches – £7.80 per name
- Search of the Index Map – £9.80
- Administration Fee for electronic transfer of funds – £35.00 plus VAT (per transfer and including element of profit cost)
- Official copies of the register – £8.80
- Official copies of the title plan – £8.80
- Administration Fee for Fraud Detection, Postage and Information Technology Costs – £150.00 plus VAT (including element of profit cost)
Example of usual purchase disbursements:-
- Searches – including Local Authority/Environmental/Drainage & Water/Planning – £350.00 – £450.00 (This will vary on the location of the property you are purchasing and if further searches are required for example if the property is in coal mining area there will be extra charges)
- Search of the Index Map – £9.80
- Bankruptcy searches – £7.80 per name
- Administration Fee for electronic transfer of funds – £35.00 plus VAT (per transfer including element of profit cost)
- Administration Fee for Fraud Detection, Postage and Information Technology Costs – £150.00 plus VAT (including element of profit cost)
- Administration Fee for completion and submission of HMRC Stamp Duty Transaction Form – £100.00 plus VAT
(Stamp Duty and Land Registry fees to be added please see below)
Stamp Duty
This will vary for each client depending on your circumstances.
Stamp Duty Land Tax is generally payable on the purchase or transfer of property or land in the UK. Even if the threshold for tax is not exceeded a tax return is still required. We will complete the return on your behalf as your agent and you agree to supply any information we require to carry out the task. You agree that we will not be responsible for any consequential loss resulting from any representation that we make on your behalf that proves to be inaccurate or false. We will charge an administration fee for completing the return. Please note we are not qualified tax advisors.
If you are entitled to claim a refund on higher or alternative rate stamp duty in the future you are solely responsible for making this claim. We do not carry this out for you nor can we advise if you meet the criteria for claiming refunds – if in doubt you should carry out investigations via Government guidance online or seek professional advice from a suitably qualified financial adviser.
To calculate your stamp duty please click on the Government website www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro
Land Registry Fees
This is calculated depending on the value of the property. Please refer to the Land Registry website http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html. Please note we submit our applications electronically.
We can also assist with your re-mortgage, declarations of trust, tenancy agreements and so forth so please contact us for a personalised estimate of costs or enquire about other services if they are not listed. Our legal charges for these services will vary but range from £75 – £375 plus VAT and related disbursements.
Capital Gains Tax
Please note since 6 April 2023 anyone disposing of a UK property that is not their main residence (such as buy-to-let properties, land or inherited property), has to report and pay any Capital Gains Tax (CGT) due via GOV.UK. Between 6 April 2020 and 26 October 2021, this had to be reported within 30 days of completion. As of 27 October 2021, the deadline is 60 days. If you fail to report and pay your CGT within the 60 day deadline you could receive a late filing penalty and be charged interest. HMRC wants to support customers to get their CGT right the first time. For further information and how to report and pay on property disposals please visit the Government website http://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax
As advised we are not financial advisors so you should seek advice from your accountant.
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A PERSONALISED ESTIMATE FOR YOUR CONVEYANCING. YOU CAN TELEPHONE US WITH YOUR FULL DETAILS OR PLEASE EMAIL US.
If your matter requires additional work that is not included in our personalised estimate you will be informed as soon as practically possible. Matters typically exceed the estimate when they are particularly complicated, for example where a lease has to be extended.
A NOTE ABOUT ESTIMATES
Established in 1882 our family business has been providing an honest, professional and friendly service for five generations. Our estimates are designed to give you the most accurate breakdown of what your total expenses will be. Many providers do not operate in this manner and will consequently recommend or insist upon further services after an initial estimate. We believe this takes advantage of clients’ relative naivety as to the conveyancing process. It is imperative when obtaining an estimate of any provider that you ask them to provide you with their full list of further legal charges and expenses. We have found that many ‘optional extras’ are very difficult to avoid and in some cases are actually mandatory under our professional conduct rules.
Beware of:
- Administration fees for ID checking, maintaining a file and for obtaining expenses such as searches, official copies or indemnity insurance. They are regulatory requirements in all matters.
- Under estimating searches. A local search should be a minimum, if you have a lender full searches will be mandatory. Our estimates include full searches.
- Expedition and completion expedition fees. We aim to deal with matters on your file within two working days and treat all of our clients equally. It is not solely in your control when completion takes place from the date of exchange – all parties will negotiate this. A conveyancer can only control their own performance not that of other conveyancers or lenders or clients themselves.
- Representing a lender in redeeming a mortgage.
There are some expenses that cannot be determined at an initial estimate stage, or are matters that are not in our control but you should remember in your budgeting. The most common are:-
- Mortgage application, valuation and broker fees
- Buildings insurance, survey and moving costs
- Estate agents commission
- Leasehold management enquiries – some freeholders have managing agents that provide this information and it is common that the lease will allow them to charge for the information. These costs are unregulated and can vary wildly.
- Receipting notice of transfer, deed of covenants, obtaining consents to register on leasehold properties (and some freehold properties with managed areas) – again our fee includes the preparation of this paperwork but often the freeholder or the managing agent will charge a fee to receipt them.
- Indemnity insurance – investigations may uncover defects in title or the property that may require indemnity insurance to protect you or the buyer. These can vary but are usually between £15 – £100.
As part of our fraud protection measures we may carry out a Lawyer Checker against the lawyers on the other side of the transaction, to check against their bank details to ensure criminals are not impersonating the firm. We may also carry out electronic verification checks against you as part of our identification process, and a consumer bank account checker before we send you funds to you. We take money laundering very seriously and have a wide range of measures in place and all costs in this respect are included under our administration fee for ‘Fraud Detection’.
Our estimates show our legal fees if extra work is required to be undertaken. We do reserve the right to charge more in transactions where extra work and time is undertaken. Rarely has this occurred but we will keep you updated in the transaction if it appears this is going to be the case.
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A PERSONALISED ESTIMATE FOR YOUR CONVEYANCING. YOU CAN TELEPHONE US WITH YOUR FULL DETAILS OR PLEASE EMAIL US.
REFERRALS
Please note we do have arrangements with some introducers and pay approximately £50.00 per introduction which is a cost bourn by this company and taken from our office account.
If you instruct us to act for you, at the outset you will be provided with our Home Brochure which will include all our terms and conditions and explain the process for you.