Purchase of Residential Freehold Property

Our property lawyers will guide you through every stage of your transaction, advising you in respect of the legal issues facing you when you purchase your property.

We deal with residential property of varying sizes and complexities ranging from flats to holiday homes to large country houses with agricultural land and forestry.

You will receive our friendly and personal service, with back-up as required from the rest of our property team to ensure that your matter is dealt with promptly and efficiently.

We take pride in being the first law firm in Buckinghamshire and one of the first law firms in England to be accepted as members of the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS). This accolade shows that we maintain the highest standards of residential conveyancing.

Fees

Our fees are based on hourly rates which are dependent on the experience and seniority of the fee earner dealing with your work. These are set out below:

Solicitor – £260 plus VAT

Senior Associate /Consultant - £350 plus VAT

Partner – £350 plus VAT

Fee Earners

The members of our property team are:

Our fee earners may be assisted from time to time by paralegals and trainee solicitors. Our supervision policy ensures that all work is appropriately supervised in accordance with the SRA code conduct.

On average, the purchase of a freehold residential property (without a mortgage) involves between 7 to 9 hours’ work at the relevant fee earner’s hourly rate. If a mortgage is required, an additional 1 to 3 hours’ work may be involved. Of course, each transaction is unique and varies in complexity and costs can increase if a matter becomes protracted.

We have provided an example below of the likely costs involved in the purchase of a freehold residential property for £750,000.00 (with no mortgage). This example is for illustration purposes only. Please contact one of our fee earners to obtain an estimate specific to your transaction.

Our legal charges:

Approx. £2,000.00 - £3,840.00 plus VAT depending on the fee earner handling your transaction.

Likely disbursements (payments to third parties):-

  • Searches - approx. £350.00 - £650.00 (depending on location)
  • Land Registry official search - £3.00 plus VAT
  • Land Registry fee for registration – £295.00 (based on a transfer of the whole of a single title)
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) - £25,000.00 (based on an individual who is not a first-time buyer and does not own any other property)

The above costs reflect the following work being carried out on your behalf:

  • Taking detailed initial instructions from you and commissioning appropriate searches.
  • Reviewing the seller’s legal pack and the results of the searches.
  • Raising tailored enquiries with the seller’s lawyer in connection with any issues identified during the due diligence process.
  • Negotiating the terms of the contract to ensure your interests are protected: for example, if you require access to the property between exchange and completion, or if an indemnity policy is necessary as a result of a defect in the title.
  • Presenting at a meeting with you our report on title detailing the results of our investigations and searches and confirming the title which you will acquire to the property on completion.
  • Preparing and negotiating the terms of the transfer deed.
  • Carrying out pre-completion searches to protect your interest in the property.  
  • Dealing with exchange and completion.
  • Advising you on the amount of SDLT payable. In addition, our service also includes filing SDLT returns with HMRC and ensuring that the strict time limits for doing so are adhered to.
  • Completing the registration of the transfer at the Land Registry.

The above estimate is based on the following assumptions:

  • The transaction is straightforward, and no substantial legal issues arise during our investigations.
  • The property is registered at the Land Registry and the transfer relates to the whole of a single registered title.
  • The contract is unconditional and involves only one buyer and one seller.
  • The property is sold with vacant possession.
  • Completion takes place on the completion date and there are no breaches of the terms of the contract.
  • There are no delays which are outside this firm’s control.

We provide our clients with regular (usually weekly) updates on costs on a free of charge basis and if an issue arises during a transaction which was not anticipated when the original fee estimate was given, we will provide a revised estimate.

Time scale

A conveyancing transaction usually takes between 6 – 10 weeks to complete, subject to the length of any chain involved. 

For more information on Conveyancing and to see the Conveyancing team check our services page on Residential Property for Business or Residential Property for Personal