Residential Property Services

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your home, including meeting with you to execute the contract and transfer. However please note this is on the basis that all legal and financial formalities are in order – if it transpires this is not the case, we reserve the right to alter or increase our estimate of costs to take account of the additional work that may be involved in progressing your matter. Please let us know if any of the figures or actions involved requires clarification and we will be happy to discuss this with you further.

Our estimate of costs is based on the amount of time we expect your transaction will require on the basis of the current information provided to us and the matter having no further issues which require rectification. Sometimes a transaction can become significantly more complex than originally anticipated. If that were to happen, additional work may be necessary and we may have to increase our costs for the additional work involved. Please rest assured that we will notify you of this should this become the case.

Please note that if the property is leasehold, there may be additional disbursements to pay due to leasehold formalities, such as obtaining a leasehold management pack. The cost of this only becomes known once contact is made with the relevant management company and we may need to ask for further monies on account to cover this cost.

We reserve the right to amend our estimate of costs and disbursements should it transpire the information provided is not correct or inaccurate and more work is necessary.

If you have any questions about either this estimate of costs or the house-buying process generally then please let me know. If you would like to accept this estimate, then please pass on my name and the firm’s name to your agent who will then send me details of the sale.

Conveyancer's fees and disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC's website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority's website here..

Stages of the process

How long will my house sale take?

How long it will take from an offer being accepted until legal completion takes place will depend on a number of factors, many of which are outside this firm’s control. The average process of a registered, freehold sale with no mortgage takes between 8 – 12 weeks, but we must stress this is only an estimate and the process can take longer, such as if parties in a chain would like a later completion date, the legal and financial formalities are not in order or the legal title to the property is complex.

However, if you are selling an unregistered or a leasehold property, these do generally take longer due to the additional work involved. Also if a leasehold sale requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, (even months) and in such a situation, additional charges would apply due to the additional work this firm would become involved in.

The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice, assisting you with any queries you may have on your title deeds or the Law Society Protocol forms.
• Prepare and provide the contract and supporting documentation to the buyer’s solicitors.
• Request an initial mortgage redemption statement if you have a mortgage/debt secured against the property. Also request the leasehold management packs for leasehold properties from the freehold or managing agents (please note additional disbursements are involved for this).
• Deal with any enquiries the buyers solicitors may raise, taking your instructions on any we are unable to deal with.
• Prepare a completion statement setting out a detailed financial overview of the transaction.
• Arrange an appointment for you to execute the necessary document allowing you to proceed with the transaction.
• Agree exchange and completion dates with you (date from which you move out of the property and give possession to your buyer).
• Exchange contracts and fix a completion date, notifying you that this has happened.
• Complete sale and forward onto the buyers solicitors any property deeds and documentation.
• Deal with payment of estate agents, mortgage redemptions (if necessary) and any other costs or disbursements.
• Provide evidence of discharge to the buyers solicitors (if necessary).
• Finalise our file, ensuring we have a ‘nil’ client ledger and arrange for file closure.

Bank Transfer Fee (per transfer needed)