General:
Please note that our base legal fees are scaled depending on the final sale/purchase. The scale reflects our risk and professional indemnity insurance costings. Our Conveyancing Services are carried out by a Solicitor or other equivalent Fee Earner such as a Fellow of CILEX. The terms of our engagement letter when instructed will confirm whom will be acting on any given matter and who their supervisor is.
Our Solicitors have varying hourly rates depending on experience but for conveyancing transactions we work on a fixed fee basis. All fees are subject to change should circumstances require it during the course of the transaction. You will be notified of any change in fee before the additional work is undertaken on your behalf.
Our fees and pricing do not include VAT. When applicable, VAT will be applied at the rate of 20%. VAT is charged at the standard rate the details of which are found here: VAT rates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Not all parts of the search pack attract VAT.
For your information we use the term 'disbursements' to mean any costs or expenses paid or to be paid to a third party on behalf of a client (including any VAT element) except for office expenses such as postage and courier fees.
Matters likely to affect the cost:
The purpose of this web page is to help you make an informed choice about the costs of our conveyancing services, before formally approaching our firm and instructing us. A formal estimate will be provided to you once we are instructed.
Scope, Key Stages and Assumptions:
The scope of work we undertake covers standard conveyancing practice under the CQS Protocol from opening the initial file to completing registrations with HM Land Registry. The terms of our engagement letter when instructed provide a breakdown of the specific scope of work that will be relevant to each matter. More information on the stages of the process can be found below.
Assumptions:
Timescales:
In terms of time frames, typically it takes around four to six weeks to reach exchange of contracts on a straightforward freehold sale. Leaseholds can take a little longer depending on management and leasehold enquiries. Completion typically takes place two to four weeks from exchange.
If all information is available and all parties act without delay, you should allow a period of approximately 4-6 weeks on average to exchange. This will give us time to review the documents, produce a report for you and allow you time to digest it.
Completion can take place at any time after exchange on a date agreed by the parties at exchange. Banks will usually require up to 5 working days' notice to draw down mortgage funds and sellers will often request between 2-4 weeks to vacate a property after exchange.
The actual speed of the transaction will depend on a number of factors some of which are set out below.
Referral Fees
We may, on occasion, pay referral fees to introducing agents. These are paid by us and not by the client. We will inform you of the exact referral fee that we are paying in the client letter of engagement at the outset of the matter.
| Property Sale or Purchase Price | Base Legal Fee |
| £0–£1m | £1,950+VAT |
| £1,000,001–£1,500,000 | £2,650+VAT |
| £1,500,001–£2,000,000 | £2,950+VAT |
| £2,000,001–£2,500,000 | £3,950+VAT |
| £2,500,001–£3,000,000 | £4,950+VAT |
| £3,000,001–£5,000,000 | £5,950+VAT |
| £5,000,001–£9,000,000 | £9,950+VAT |
| £9,000,001–£15,000,000 | £14,950+VAT |
| £15,000,001–£20,000,000 | £19,950+VAT |
| £20,000,001–£30,000,000 | £29,950+VAT |
| £30,000,001–£35,000,000 | £34,950+VAT |
| £35,000,001–£40,000,000 | £39,950+VAT |
Included in the cost:
Sale:
Not included in the cost of the sale:
Included in the Costs of Purchase
Not included in the cost of the Purchase:
Key Stages:
The precise stages involved in the sale or purchase of any residential property will vary according to the circumstances, however, the key stages are set out below:
Sale:
The precise stages involved in the residential sale will vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
Purchase:
The precise stages involved in the residential purchase will vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
| Property Value | Base Legal Fee |
| £0–£500,000 | £1,250+VAT |
| £500,001–£1,000,000 | £1,500+VAT |
| £1,000,001–£2,000,000 | £1,950+VAT |
| £2,000,001–£3,000,000 | £2,950+VAT |
| £3,000,001–£5,000,000 | £5,950+VAT |
| £5,000,001–£9,000,000 | £9,950+VAT |
| £9,000,001–£15,000,000 | £15,950+VAT |
Included in the cost:
Remortgage
Not included in the cost
Key Stages:
Re-mortgage:
The precise stages involved in the residential remortgage will vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:
| Individual e-AML / ID Fee from | £14.95 plus VAT (each) / £9.99 plus VAT (for giftors) |
| On purchases – Local Authority, Drainage and Environmental approx. Search Fees (incl. VAT) | £400–£600 |
| On purchases – Land Registry and Land Charge Search Fees (incl. VAT) | £8.40 |
| On purchases – Stamp Duty Land Tax | https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro |
| On purchases – Land Registration Fees | https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html |
| Our fee for making Bank CHAPS payments (including the banks’ fee and VAT) | £60 |
| On sales – Land Registry fees (incl. VAT) | £18 |
| Lawyer Checker Fees | £15 plus VAT |
Please note: The usual third-party costs and disbursements mean any costs or expenses paid or to be paid to a third party on behalf of a client (including any VAT element). These costs will vary from property to property. There is no accepted amount and on occasion can be significantly more than estimated above. We will provide accurate figures once we have contacted the parties involved in your transaction.
For attended or expedited exchanges, please note that an additional is payable on top of our Base Legal depending on the circumstances and complexities of the matter.
| Submitting the SDLT Return | £200+VAT |
| Declaration of Trust | £950+VAT |
| Exchanging contracts where Completion is less than 5 working days from Exchange of Contracts | £350+VAT |
| Simultaneous exchange of contracts and completion | £550+VAT |
| Dealing with the transfer of a Share Certificate | £50+VAT |
| Transfer of Equity | £950+VAT |
| Approval of landlord's Licence to Assign | £750+VAT |
| Rent Deposit Deed | £750+VAT |
| Approval of landlord’s Deed of Covenant | £550+VAT |
| Dealing with Building Safety Act enquiries | £550+VAT |
| Licence for Alterations | £1,950+VAT |
| Guarantee / Independent Legal Advice | £750+VAT |
| Dealing with a Help to Buy ISA | £50+VAT |
| Dealing with a Help to Buy Loan | £750+VAT |
Not sure where to start? Contact us.