A Guide to our Fees
- Estimates are split into Fees and Disbursements.
- Our fees are calculated based on the property value
- All fees quoted are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate
- Our Basic Fees range between £1,295 – £1,495 for transactions under £1 million
- For transactions over £1 million our fees will be calculated at 0.12% of the property value
If the transaction involves one or more of the following issues then a standard charge of £495 per issue that applies will be added as appropriate to cover the additional work required:-
- New Builds
- Leaseholds
- New Lease/Extensions
- Unregistered Title
- Shared Ownership
- Transfers of Part
- Retirement Homes
- Deeds of Trust
If there is any other additional legal work required that is outside of a normal residential conveyancing transaction and that is be subject to an additional legal fee, we will advise you before undertaking any such work.
Disbursements
We will list these on your estimate so you can see what additional costs may be payable to third parties in your transaction.
Sale Transactions:
- Official copy entries and filed plan from HM Land Registry.
Purchase Transactions:
- Search Pack fee
- Bankruptcy Search fee
- Land Registry Fee please see link to prevailing rates – https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fees-hm-land-registry-guides (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fees-hm-land-registry-guides)
- Stamp Duty Land Tax please see link to prevailing rates – https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax (https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax)
If you are selling a Leasehold Property, we will need to request a leasehold Information Pack from your Freeholder/Managing Agent and they will charge a fee to supply this. Upon instruction we will contact them to obtain the cost of the pack and then advise you accordingly.
Disbursements include any VAT.
Referral Fees
Most property professionals such as estate agents or mortgage brokers are paid a referral fee for recommending a property lawyer. Typically, such fees are £150-£300 + VAT per property and they are a lucrative source of income for the referrer. This is the reason that so many property professionals will recommend conveyancing factories outside London as they typically pay the highest fees.
We do not believe referral fees are in the best interests of our clients as in our opinion (1) These are not usually true recommendations as they are based on payment rather than service 2) We believe that it can compromise the independence of the property lawyer if they are financially dependent on the referrer 3) It can make the fees more expensive for the client as the property lawyer has to recoup the cost somehow, so it usually makes the client’s bill higher 4) Many clients accept the estate agents referral in the mistaken belief that this somehow secures the property for them but this is not the case. 5) We believe clients should have freedom of choice based on the reputation, cost and proximity of the firm
We did have one or two such arrangements with estate agents in the past but made the decision to stop as we do not believe they are in the best interests of the client. We are proud to say that all of our work is now through returning clients and personal recommendations or reviews and we do not pay referral fees or advertise.