Conveyancing Pricing

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete a purchase or sale of your property, including (in the case of purchases) dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with payment of the Stamp Duty Land Tax. This includes preparing/reviewing the contractual paperwork, checking the titles and reporting to you.

Fees will depend on the price of the property being bought or sold and whether the property is a freehold, leasehold interest or a leasehold with a share of the freehold. The table below gives an indication as to our pricing structure. We would always ask you to telephone our Mr John Bayer to discuss your exact requirements.

Where VAT is charged, the current rate is 20%.

Sale:

Value	Freehold	Leasehold/share of freehold
£200,000 - £500,000	£1,000 plus VAT *	£1,300 plus VAT *
£500,001 - £750,000	£1,300 plus VAT *	£1,600 plus VAT *
£750,001 - £1 million	£1,600 plus VAT *	£1,900 plus VAT *
£1 million - £1.5 million	£2,500 plus VAT *	£2,800 plus VAT *
£1.5 million to £2 million	£3,000 plus VAT *	£3,300 plus VAT *
Above £2 million	On application - based on hourly rate (£240 plus VAT) and complexity *	On application - based on hourly rate (£240 plus VAT) and complexity *

* plus expenses (see below)

There would be some standard additional expenses connected with the sale of a property. These would be paid to third parties and would generally be as follows:-

1. Copies of the Land Registry title documents. These generally cost £3 per document. The number of documents needed will depend on the nature of the title, but generally you should budget for between £6 to £12. No VAT is chargeable on Land Registry documents.
2. Bank transfer charges. These are charged at £30 plus VAT for dealing with a same day bank transfer. Usually budget for two transfers; one being the balance to you and the second to pay off any mortgage.
3. If the property being sold is a leasehold then it is usual to apply to the managing agents for their standard selling pack (a buyer will expect this). Managing agents seek to charge for providing this information and charges can vary from between £300 plus VAT to £600 plus VAT. Also, a Licence from the landlord to assign the lease may be required and the seller would be expected to pay the Landlord’s fees for that. These are charges set by the managing agents/landlords over which we have no direct control.

Purchase:

Value	Freehold	Leasehold/share of freehold
£200,000 - £500,000	£1,100 plus VAT *	£1,400 plus VAT *
£500,001 - £750,000	£1,400 plus VAT *	£1,700 plus VAT *
£750,001 - £1 million	£1,700 plus VAT *	£2,000 plus VAT *
£1 million - £1.5 million	£2,600 plus VAT *	£2,900 plus VAT *
£1.5 million to £2 million	£3,100 plus VAT *	£3,400 plus VAT *
Above £2 million	On application - based on hourly rate (£240 plus VAT) and complexity *	On application - based on hourly rate (£240 plus VAT) and complexity *

* plus expenses (see below)

With regard to a purchase, there are standard expenses payable to third parties, usually:-

• Local authority search (this depends on the local authority, but in Maidenhead is currently £177.10 (including VAT)).
• Drainage search – currently £93.60 (including VAT).
• Environmental search - currently £66 (including VAT).
• Coal mining search – currently £66 (including VAT).
• Chancel check search - currently £26.40 (including VAT).
• Lawyer checker search - currently £19.80 (including VAT).
• Bankruptcy search - £2 each (no VAT).
• Land Registry priority search - £3 each (no VAT).
• Stamp duty – please refer to the stamp duty calculator at www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#!/intro. The exact rate will depend on the value of the property being purchased and whether this property will result in you owning two or more properties.
• In the case of leaseholds/share of freeholds there would be notice fees for the landlord/managing agents that can usually range between £100 to £200 plus VAT.
• Land registration fees:-

These work on a sliding scale, as per the details below. Information can also be found on the Land Registry’s website www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees:-

Value	Fee for transfers or surrenders affecting the whole of a registered title using the Land Registry’s portal
0 to £80,000	£20
£80,001 to £100,000	£40
£100,001 to £200,000	£100
£200,001 to £500,000	£150
£500,001 to £1,000,000	£295
£1,000,001 and over	£500

If instructed, generally we would give a fixed fee quote, but there can be occasions when it would be necessary to review fees. We would always discuss this with you first. Examples of cases where fees may have to be reviewed or where there could be additional expenses could be in situations where there was a defect in the title to the property or lease that would require fixing before the transaction could proceed. Sometimes this would involve drafting additional documents and on other occasions it can involve obtaining specialist indemnity insurance policies.

It is difficult to estimate the timescale for conveyances as these depend on a number of factors and are also dependant on third parties (e.g. other solicitors, the Land Registry, local authorities). An average conveyancing transaction takes about two months. Generally, the seller’s solicitors send out a contract pack with copies of the Land Registry title documents and some standard information about the property. The buyer’s solicitor will review the documents and raise applicable searches of the local authority and raise queries on the documents. Once that process is complete, the parties can move to an exchange of contracts and it is only at that point that the transaction becomes legally binding between the parties. On exchange of contracts, a deposit (usually 10%) is paid and the completion date is fixed; that is when the parties physically move and the balance of purchase monies are paid.

Before taking on any instructions, we would need to discuss the exact circumstances of your case and please contact our Mr John Bayer.