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 leasehold property of varying sizes and complexities ranging from studios to mansion flats in central London.

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:

• Nick Morrison – Partner
• Peter Collier – Consultant
• Jenny Austin - Senior Associate

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 leasehold residential property (without a mortgage) involves between 7 to 9 hours’ work at the relevant fee earner’s hourly rate. If a mortgage is being acquired, an additional 1 to 3 hours’ work may be involved. Of course, each transaction is unique and varies in complexity and costs can increase depending on whether or not a matter becomes protracted.

We have provided an example below of the likely costs involved in the purchase of a property for £750,000 (with no mortgage). The 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 to £3,840 plus VAT depending on the fee earner handling your transaction.

Likely disbursements:

• Searches - approx. £350 - £650 (depending on location)
• Official search at the Land Registry - £3 plus VAT
• Land Registry fee for registration – £295 (based on a transfer of the whole of a single registered title)
• Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) - £25,000 (based on an individual who is not a first-time buyer, does not own any other property and the lease is for a term of 999 years with the ground rent at the rate of £100 per year)
• Third party notification fee (e.g. landlord and management company) – approx. £100 - £300 plus VAT

The above costs are reflective of 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, leasehold enquiries, leasehold information 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 lease, if new build.
• 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.
• Dealing with exchange and completion.
• Liaising with the seller’s lawyer and management company in connection with any apportionments due in respect of the ground rent and service charge payable under the terms of the lease and with regard to any retentions which are appropriate.  
• 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.
• Carrying out pre-completion searches to protect your interest in the property and completing the registration of the transfer and lease at the Land Registry.
• Preparing and serving Notices of Assignment/Transfer on any third parties e.g. the Landlord/Management Company.

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 lease/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.