We will always provide an estimate of our legal fees for the sale of a residential property, including disbursements, before we start work for you.
Key Stages
When you are selling a property, the key stages of transaction are set out below. We will:
- Set you up as a client on our systems, take instructions from you, and agree a scope of work for your transaction, which will be set out in a client care letter to you
- Review title to your property to check if there are any special requirements we need to be aware of
- Work with you to complete property information forms for your property
- Draft a sale contract and provide a sales pack to the buyer’s solicitors
- Deal with any further enquires that the buyer’s solicitors may have and report back to you
- Negotiate and agree the sale contract and transfer deed (which the buyer’s solicitors typically draft) plus any other deeds or documents required
- Exchange contracts
- Complete the sale and account to you regarding the proceeds of sale
- Take care of all post-completion matters, including repayment of any outstanding mortgage on the property
You should be aware of the services that we will not carry out for you:
- We do not advise on the value of the property
- We will not physically inspect your property
- We will not provide any advice on any tax implications of the transaction
- We will not provide any planning or building regulations compliance advice
- We will not provide any advice in respect of any environmental liability at the property
This list is not exhaustive, and we will let you know of anything else we will not be able to provide advice to you on.
Our Fees
Our fees are based on the value of the property, although there will be additional fees payable dependent on the transaction we are being asked to advise on. Below is a list of the fees we will charge on your sale.
Base Fee
| Value of Property | Fee | 20% VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 – £500,000 | £1,500 -£1,700 | £300 – £340 | £1,800 – £2,140 |
| £500,001 – £1,000,000 | £1,800 – £2,000 | £360 – £400 | £2,160 – £2,400 |
| £1,000,001 – £1,500,000 | £2,100 – £2,300 | £420 – £460 | £2,520 – £2,760 |
| £1,500,001 – £2,000,000 | £2,400 – £2,600 | £480 – £520 | £2,880 – £3,120 |
| Above £2,000,000 | On Request |
Where we are instructed in the Administration of an Estate, there is a deduction of 10% of our fees for dealing with the sale of the deceased’s main residential property.
| Value of Property | Fee with 10% reduction | 20% VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 – £500,000 | £1,350 – £1,530 | £270 – £306 | £1,620 – £1,836 |
| £500,001 – £1,000,000 | ££1,620 – £1,800 | £324 – £360 | £1,944 – £2,160 |
| £1,000,001 – £1,500,000 | £1,890 – £2,070 | £378 – £414 | £2,268 – £2,484 |
| £1,500,001 – £2,000,000 | £2,160 – £2,340 | £432 – £468 | £2,592 – £2,808 |
| Above £2,000,000 | On Request |
Our fee for dealing with the assent of the deceased’s main residential property is £500 (£600 inc. 20% VAT).
Likely Disbursements
A ‘disbursement’ is expenditure incurred in order to progress your matter. Search Fees and Land Registry fees are examples of disbursements. We endeavour to inform you in advance of the disbursements you should expect to pay during your matter and why they are necessary; if this changes we will let you know and explain why. Disbursements are billed at cost and once paid to the relevant third party, are usually non-refundable.
| Disbursement | Fee | 20% VAT | Total | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land Registry Official Copies | £7.33 per document | £1.47 | £8.80 | How much the overall disbursement will be depends on the transaction. For a freehold sale, the minimum disbursement will be £17.60, but this may be higher depending on the title. For a leasehold sale, the minimum disbursement will be £26.40, but this may be higher depending on the title. |
| Sale pack from landlord or management company | Variable, typically between £100 and £500 | Variable, typically between £20 and £100 | Variable, typically between £120 and £600 | This will only be required for some leasehold transactions, but may also be required on a small minority of freehold sales. |
| Expedited Postage | £8.75 – £10.00 | £1.75 – £2.00 | £10.50 – £12.00 | Used when a faster or trackable delivery service is needed |
Factors that may increase costs
Your matter may attract additional fees in the range of £200 to £750 (£240 – £900 inc. 20% VAT). For example, when your matter involves shared ownership, indemnity insurance or an auction/leasehold property. This is not an exhaustive list and you will be advised when further fees apply, how much they are and why.
Here are some further examples of situations that can arise during a property matter that will require additional work and therefore, increase our fees:
- If there is a defect in your title that requires remediation before completion
- If a statement of truth or statutory declaration is required
- If there is more than one mortgage or charge on the property
- If the property is in turn subject to a lease to a tenant in occupation
- If any consents are required in order to sell the property, including retrospective consents or permissions
Abortive Fees
If your matter unfortunately aborts, fees will still be payable for the work we have done. It does not matter who is at fault or the reasons that led to the termination. For example, if your buyer withdraws from the purchase, you will still be charged for all the work we have carried out for you prior to this. Equally, if you decide to take your house off the market, we will still charge you for the work we have undertaken up to that point.
Timescales
How long it takes to complete your transaction is difficult to anticipate and is typically dependent on a variety of factors that may not always be within our control. Here is a list of factors that impact on how quickly a transaction takes to proceed:
- Whether the property is freehold or leasehold. Freehold transactions tend to be faster to complete. For leasehold properties, there is more title due diligence required, and it may take some time for landlords or management companies to provide a management sales pack
- Whether you are getting a mortgage. Mortgage lenders tend to have their own list of requirements that must be satisfied before we can proceed to completion, and so transactions which involve a new mortgage tend to take a little longer
- How long your chain is. If the transaction is dependent on a lot of other transactions exchanging and completing at the same time, this does require a degree of coordination on the part of the solicitors acting for the various parties, and this can mean your transaction takes a bit longer
- How quickly the searches come back. Many of the desktop searches for property purchases come back very quickly. There are however some searches like a local search that can take some time to come back depending on the local authority responsible for supplying it
- How efficient the other parties involved in the transaction are. Rest assured that we will progress your matter as quickly and efficiently as possible, but we have noticed in some matters that other parties involved (other side’s solicitors, mortgage lenders, management companies) tend not to move as quickly
- How complex your property’s title is, and whether any additional work is required as a result
What are your next steps?
Please get in touch with us. We look forward to helping you.
Chartered Legal Executive
Senior Conveyancer
Specialist Property Lawyer