top of page
Court House Entrance

Residential Conveyancing Costs
STANMORE LAW PRACTICE

​Costs for residential conveyancing can vary depending on your requirements. The table below is a guide to the fees that we would normally charge for different aspects of conveyancing. When we discuss your specific requirements at the beginning of the matter, we will give you a fixed costs fee to which VAT and disbursements will need to be added. We will inform you of the likely disbursements specific to your transaction at that time. In exceptional circumstances, our fees may be higher than the highest amount given in the table or lower than the lowest amount given. Again, we will discuss this with you when giving you our fixed fee quotation.

The current rate of VAT is 20%. Where VAT is referred to, this is the rate that is used.

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

​

​​​

Minimum Fee

Average Fee

Highest Fee

Freehold Purchase

Freehold Sale

Freehold Remortgage

Leasehold Purchase

Leasehold Sale

Leasehold Remortgage

£1,950

£1,950

£1,250

£1,950

£1,550

£2,150

£2,350

£1,500

£2,250

£1,750

£2,450

£2,350

£3,500

£3,500

£2,750

£3,250

£2,250

£3,500

Our fee will be determined by a number of factors such as the value of the property and whether there is a mortgage to arrange or redeem. For example a freehold sale of a property with a lower value and a mortgage to redeem would usually have costs in the region of £2,350 plus VAT, whereas a leasehold purchase of a very high value property with a mortgage would usually have costs in the region of £3,000 plus VAT.

​

In exceptional circumstances, where we need to do much more work than could reasonably have been anticipated at the outset in order to meet your requirements, it may be necessary to charge you more than the fee agreed at the outset of the matter. In such circumstances, we will always agree this with you in advance of the additional fee being incurred.

​

Who Will Carry Out The Work For You

​

The members of our Firm that undertake Residential Conveyancing work are Graham Morrison-Wood, Stuart Turney, Jat Patti, Jatin Karia and Richa Sangani. Graham, Stuart and Jat are Directors of the Firm and they all have many years of experience in Residential Conveyancing work.

​

Graham and Jat are Senior Solicitors and Stuart is a Chartered Legal Executive. Jatin is a Solicitor who qualified in 2019 and has done Residential Conveyancing work ever since then. Richa qualified as a Bachelor of Laws in India and having worked in conveyancing at another firm in London for seven years, joined Stanmore Law Practice in 2021 and assists with Residential Conveyancing work.

They are all assisted by supporting members of the Residential Conveyancing department

​

Disbursements

​

Below are some examples of disbursements that could be incurred for conveyancing work, which you are liable to pay in addition to our fees. Where we give a range of fees below, we will let you know exactly what you can expect to pay when we give you our fee quotation. If this changes at any time during the matter, we will let you know.

​

  • Searches – The Searches fee will depend on what searches are required but the average amount is £500 inclusive of VAT

  • Land Registry fees are based on the purchase price or remortgage amount. For freehold or leasehold purchases Land Registry fees can vary from £20 to £455 but the average is £270. For freehold or leasehold remortgages, Land Registry fees can vary from £20 to £125 but the average amount is £60. Land Registry fees are not subject to VAT.

  • For leasehold sales and leasehold remortgages there will be a fee charged by the management company and/or the freeholder to provide the leasehold sales pack which must be provided to the buyer’s solicitor. In our experience these can range from £100 to £500 plus VAT but the average is £250 plus VAT.

  • For leasehold purchases and leasehold remortgages there will be a landlord’s registration fee charged by the management company and/or the freeholder for registering the transfer and/or new mortgage with them. In our experience these can range from £50 to £400 plus VAT but the average is £150 plus VAT.

  • Bank transfer fee – For every bank transfer we make we charge £35 plus VAT. Examples of when we would charge this fee include when we send funds to a lender to redeem a mortgage, sending funds to the seller’s solicitor on completion of a purchase and sending funds to our client if there is a surplus amount from a sale.

​​

VAT is currently 20%.

​

Timescale

 

In our experience, conveyancing cases often take between one and three months to complete, but this is always dependent upon outside factors, particularly where there are other linked transactions. We will discuss the likely timescale with you after discussing your particular requirements and will keep you updated throughout if any circumstances arise that lead us to think that our initial estimate may need to be revised.

WHAT SERVICES WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE PRICE

​

Typically the following services will be included in the price.

​

Freehold sale

​

  • obtaining a redemption figure from your lender and checking with you that the figure is correct;

  • obtaining office copy entries and any supporting documents from HM Land Registry which will enable us to prepare the contract to prove that you have the right to sell the property;

  • preparing a bundle of contract documents to be sent to the buyer’s solicitor;

  • answering any enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitor and agreeing any amendments to the contract;

  • approving the transfer deed;

  • exchanging contracts;

  • preparing a completion statement for your approval;

  • on completion, receiving the sale proceeds from the buyer’s solicitors, repaying your mortgage, paying the estate agents and our fees and then accounting to you for the net sale proceeds.

 

Leasehold sale

​

  • obtaining a redemption figure from your lender and checking with you that the figure is correct;

  • obtaining office copy entries and any supporting documents from HM Land Registry which will enable us to prepare the contract to prove that you have the right to sell the property;

  • requesting and reviewing the information supplied by the freeholder and/or managing agent (the pre-sale pack/Leasehold Information Pack);

  • preparing a bundle of contract documents to be sent to the buyer’s solicitor;

  • answering any enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitor and agreeing any amendments to the contract;

  • approving the transfer deed;

  • exchanging contracts;

  • preparing a completion statement for your approval, including the calculation of any apportionments of ground rent and service charges;

  • on completion, receiving the sale proceeds from the buyer’s solicitors, repaying your mortgage, paying the estate agents and our fees and then accounting to you for the net sale proceeds.

 

Freehold purchase

​

  • approving the contract and, if required, negotiating amendments;

  • reviewing the legal title to the property;

  • undertaking searches and raising enquiries;

  • reviewing your funding arrangements;

  • reporting to you on our investigations;

  • acting on behalf of, and reporting to your lender;

  • accounting to you with a completion statement and requesting monies from you;

  • exchanging contracts and undertaking pre-completion searches;

  • completing the purchase for you, paying the purchase price and any monies agreed for any items to the seller’s solicitors;

  • submitting your stamp duty land tax return to HM Revenue and Customs (or where the property is in Wales, submitting your land transaction tax return to the Welsh Revenue Authority) and paying any duty owed;

  • registering your ownership of the property with HM Land Registry;

  • sending copy documents to you following registration together with any other documents which you may need when you come to sell the property.

 

Leasehold purchase

​

  • approving the contract and if required, negotiating amendments;

  • reviewing the legal title to the property, including the lease and freehold title;

  • reviewing the information supplied by the freeholder or managing agent (the ‘pre-sale pack’);

  • undertaking searches and raising enquiries;

  • reviewing your funding arrangements;

  • reporting to you on our investigations;

  • acting on behalf of, and reporting to your lender;

  • exchanging contracts and undertaking pre-completion searches;

  • accounting to you with a completion statement;

  • completing the purchase for you, paying the purchase price to the seller’s solicitors;

  • serving any required notices required under your lease;

  • making an application to the management company for a new share certificate (if applicable);

  • obtaining a certificate of compliance from the freeholder/managing agents for HM Land Registry purposes;

  • submitting your stamp duty land tax return to HM Revenue and Customs (or where the property is in Wales, submitting your land transaction tax return to the Welsh Revenue Authority) and paying any duty owed;

  • registering your ownership of the property with HM Land Registry.

 

Remortgages

​

  • acting on behalf of you and your lender;

  • reviewing the legal title to the property;

  • undertaking searches and raising enquiries of the managing agent and/or freeholder if the property is leasehold, or freehold but served by a management company;

  • reviewing your mortgage offer and reporting to you on any special conditions;

  • attending on you to sign the legal charge (mortgage deed) and ensuring that you are comfortable with the nature and effect of entering into the mortgage;

  • reporting to your lender on its standard form of certificate of title;

  • undertaking pre-completion searches at HM Land Registry;

  • accounting to you with a completion statement;

  • redeeming your existing mortgage;

  • registering the new mortgage with HM Land Registry.

​​

KEY STAGES OF RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCING

​

Freehold sale:

​

Overview of the conveyancing process

​

As members of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme we follow the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol which is designed to make the conveyancing process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

​

The steps involved in the sale of your property will include the following:

​

  • If the title to your property is unregistered, we will ask you to supply your title deeds. It is likely however that your property will be registered, and if it is, we can obtain title documents from HM Land Registry electronically.

  • Once you have instructed us to proceed, we will send to you a short questionnaire and the relevant protocol forms (property information form, and a fittings and contents form) for completion.

  • Once we have received your completed paperwork, along with the memorandum of sale from the selling agents (or details of the buyer’s solicitors from you if it is a private sale), we will prepare the contract pack for the buyer’s solicitors.

  • As soon as your buyer is in a position to proceed (that is once they have concluded their financial arrangements and completed survey and enquiries, and all relevant searches), we shall discuss with you and agree with your buyer’s solicitor a suitable completion date for your sale. If you have a related purchase, we will also need to agree this date with your seller’s solicitor.

  • Once contracts have been exchanged there is a legally binding agreement between you and your buyer for the sale and purchase of your property and you have to complete on the date agreed in the contract.

  • On the completion date we will notify you once the sale proceeds are received and advise your estate agent if the sale was negotiated by them and pay their account. We will also pay off any mortgage which you have secured on your property, and either return the net proceeds to you or apply those funds to your related purchase.

 

 

Leasehold sale:

​

Overview of the conveyancing process

​

As members of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme we follow the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol which is designed to make the conveyancing process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

​

The steps involved in the sale of your property will include the following:

​

  • If the title to your property is unregistered, we will ask you to supply your title deeds. It is likely however that your property will be registered, and if it is, we can obtain title documents from HM Land Registry electronically.

  • Once you have instructed us to proceed, we will send to you a short questionnaire and the relevant protocol forms (property information form, fittings and contents form and a leasehold information form) for completion.

  • Once we have received your completed paperwork, along with the memorandum of sale from the selling agents (or details of the buyer’s solicitors from you if it is a private sale) and requested, paid for and received the Leasehold Information Pack from the managing agents and/or freeholder, we will prepare the contract pack for the buyer’s solicitors.

  • As soon as your buyer is in a position to proceed (that is once they have concluded their financial arrangements and completed survey and enquiries and searches), we shall discuss with you and agree with your buyer’s solicitor a suitable completion date for your sale. We will obtain up-to-date figures from the managing agents and/or freeholders to enable us to calculate apportionments and prepare a completion statement showing the amount due from the buyer’s solicitor. If you have a related purchase, we will agree this date with your seller’s solicitor.

  • Once contracts have been exchanged, there is a legally binding agreement between you and your buyer for the sale and purchase of your property.

  • On the completion date, we will notify you when we have received the sale proceeds and advise your estate agent if the sale was negotiated by them and pay their account. We will also pay off any mortgage which you have secured on your property, and either return the net proceeds to you or apply those funds to your related purchase.

 

Freehold Purchase:

​

Overview of the conveyancing process

​

As members of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme we follow the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol which is designed to make the conveyancing process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

​

The steps involved in the purchase of your property will include the following:

​

  • Once we have received a memorandum of sale from the selling agent, or details of the transaction from you if your matter is a private sale, we will ask you to complete a short questionnaire, provide evidence of identity and your funding arrangements, including evidence as to the deposit, and to put us in funds to enable us to commence searches.

  • The seller’s solicitors will supply us with a contract pack, including title deeds to the property, a plan, protocol forms (a property information form, and a fittings and contents form), a contract and the energy performance certificate.

  • We will check title to the property, order searches, approve the contract and draft a transfer deed. We will also raise any relevant enquiries with the seller’s solicitors so that we can report to you thoroughly.

  • We would recommend you have a survey carried out, as we are unable to advise you on matters such as the physical structure of the building. If you are getting a mortgage, your lender will also carry out a valuation of the property, but please remember that the valuation is only for the benefit of the lender and you should not rely on the valuation. You should let us have a copy of your survey and mortgage valuation.

  • Once we have received your mortgage offer, searches and replies to enquiries, we will provide you with a written report on the property for you to consider.

                     

OR

​

We will report to you on the legal title to the property, the mortgage offer and results of searches as and when we receive them rather  than sending one lengthy report.

​

  • We will also send you a contract and transfer deed to sign, or you can attend the office to sign them and discuss any questions you may have.

  • If we are also instructed in your sale, we will ensure that the two transactions can exchange simultaneously, and supply you with completion statements setting out the costs and disbursements incurred in relation to each matter.

  • As soon as all parties are in a position to proceed, we will exchange contracts. This is the point at which the agreement is binding, and you cannot pull out of the transaction without incurring penalties. At the point of exchange you should book your removals and put your buildings insurance in place, as this is when the risk in the new property will pass to you.

  • We will order your mortgage advance, or ask you to put us in funds for any balance required to complete.

  • On the completion date, funds will be transferred between solicitors and once completion has taken place, we will notify you and the selling agents so that keys can be released to you.

  • Post completion we will submit your stamp duty land tax return to HM Revenue and Customs (or where the property is in Wales, submit your land transaction return to the Welsh Revenue Authority) and pay any duty owed. We will also register you as owner with HM Land Registry and supply you with evidence once HM Land Registry has completed our application.

 

 

Leasehold Purchase:

​

Overview of the conveyancing process

​

As members of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme we follow the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol which is designed to make the conveyancing process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

​

The steps involved in the purchase of your property will include the following:

​

  • Once we have received a memorandum of sale from the selling agent, or details of the transaction from you if your matter is a private sale, we will ask you to complete a short questionnaire and to put us in funds to enable us to commence searches.

  • The seller’s solicitors will supply us with a contract pack, including title deeds to the property, a plan, a copy of the freehold and leasehold title together with a copy of the lease, protocol forms (a property information form, a fittings and contents list and a leasehold information form), a contract and the energy performance certificate.

  • We will check title to the property, order searches, approve the contract and draft a transfer deed. We will also raise any relevant enquiries with the seller’s solicitors so that we can report to you thoroughly; it may be that some of these enquiries have to be forwarded to the managing agents/freeholders and this will be done by the seller’s solicitor.

  • We would recommend you have a survey carried out, as we are unable to advise you on matters such as the physical structure of the building. If you are getting a mortgage, your lender will also carry out a valuation of the property. Please remember that the valuation is only for the benefit of the lender. You should let us have a copy of your survey and mortgage valuation.

  • Once we have received your mortgage offer, searches and replies to enquiries, and the Leasehold Information Pack, we will provide you with a written report on the property for you to consider. We will also send you a contract and transfer deed to sign, or you can attend the office to sign them and discuss any questions you may have.

  • If we are also instructed in your sale, we will ensure that the two transactions can exchange simultaneously, and supply you with completion statements setting out the costs and disbursements incurred in relation to each matter.

  • As soon as all parties are in a position to proceed, we will exchange contracts. This is the point at which the agreement is binding, and you cannot pull out of the transaction without incurring penalties. At the point of exchange you should book your removals and put your buildings insurance in place, as this is when the risk in the new property will pass to you.

  • We will order your mortgage advance, or ask you to put us in funds for any balance required to complete.

  • On the completion date, funds will be transferred between solicitors and once completion has taken place, we will notify you and the selling agents so that keys can be released to you.

  • On completion, we will serve notice on the freeholder and/or managing agents to advise them that you are the new owner of the property so that they may update their records.

  • Post completion we will submit your stamp duty land tax return to HM Revenue and Customs (or where the property is in Wales, submit your land transaction tax return to the Welsh Revenue Authority) and pay any duty owed. We will also register you as owner with HM Land Registry and supply you with evidence once HM Land Registry has completed our application, and send you copies of the title together with all documents which you may need when you come to sell the property.

 

 

Mortgages & Remortgages:

 

Overview of the conveyancing process

 

If you are at the end of your fixed rate with your current lender and wish to switch to a more favourable rate with a different lender, or decide to extract some equity from your property, you may decide to remortgage.

You should take advice from a suitably qualified adviser before proceeding, to ensure the product you choose meets your individual needs.

 

Once we have received your new mortgage offer, we will investigate title to your property to ensure that it complies with your new lender’s requirements. We may need to carry out searches and investigations and if you already have a mortgage secured against your property, we will make contact with the current lender to obtain a redemption figure.

 

On the day of completion, we will obtain the advance from your new lender, pay off your existing lender and deal with registration formalities at HM Land Registry to secure the new charge against your property.

​

  • If you have any concerns about our services, please view our complaints procedure here.

bottom of page