The Latest Developments for Leasehold Reform On Friday 24 May 2024, the eagerly awaited Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received Royal Assent on the last day of the 'wash up' period before the UK's General Election. This is the period...
Our Residential Property Team has extensive experience in dealing with residential sales and purchases and all ancillary work.
We make every effort to ensure that your work is handled by the most appropriate person based on their expertise and experience. The full details of each member of the team are available through the following links:
- Margurita Geary
Margurita's standard hourly rate is £550.00 - Jessica Groves
Jessica's standard hourly rate is £395.00 - Jacqueline Connolly
Jacqueline's standard hourly rate is £375.00 - Laura Poulloura
Laura's standard hourly rate is £375.00 - Gurjit Kundra
Gurjit's standard hourly rate is £350.00 - Ana Morina
Ana's standard hourly rate is £150.00 - Klara Suleiman
Klara's standard hourly rate is £150.00 - Mia Turner
Mia's standard hourly rate is £150.00 - Ayaan Latif
Ayaan's standard hourly rate is £275.00 - Harry Dennis
Harry's standard hourly rate is £150.00
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Examples of our likely costs
Our fees depend on the complexity of the file, the price and the fee earner dealing with the matter amongst other things. On this basis our fees can be broken down as follows.
Our fees vary according to the nature, type and complexity the of transaction. Whilst no two transactions are the same our fees vary from £1,750 to £6,500. The following are examples of our fees in various situations:
- Our fees for the purchase of a freehold property which would include instigating searches, reviewing search results, raising enquiries and reporting to you generally would be £1,750 to £5,000.
- Our fees for dealing with a leasehold property purchase which would include the above and review of the lease, would attract fees of £3,250 to £6,500.
- Our fees for dealing with the sale of an unregistered property, including the investigation of original title deeds, dealing with rights affecting the property such as the granting of rights of way, rights of support and shelter and/or right of free-flowing services would be £3,000 to £4,500.
Additional fees that may be chargeable depending on the nature of the transaction are as follows:
Mortgage work for lender £250 - £500
Please note that in both of sales and purchases there may be further work required depending on what the issues arise (if any). For example, if a lease extension is required and/or variations to the lease our fees would be charged on a time basis (please refer above to our hourly rates).
Examples of such additional fees are as follows:
Gifted Deposit involvement - £250.00
Where someone contributes to the price of the property further checks and documents will need to be prepared.
Help to Buy ISA - £250.00 per ISA
A Help to Buy ISA is a government scheme designed to help you save for a mortgage deposit to buy a home. To qualify you must be classified as a first-time buyer and not own a property anywhere in the world. Savings are tax free just like with any ISA product, however, a Help to Buy ISA gives you the added bonus of getting government contributions.
Help to Buy Equity - £500.00
With a Help to Buy: Equity Loan the Government lends you up to 20% of the cost of your newly built home, so you’ll only need a 5% cash deposit and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest. There is additional work associated with the drawing down of funds.
Deed of Variation - Minimum £1,000.00
A Deed of Variation is used to change the terms of a lease.
There can be various reasons for a change. Common reasons with long residential property leases are that, on sale, it is discovered that there is an error in the Lease or its plan and this needs to be corrected to satisfy a buyer or lender. In instances where we are changing the lease plan our fees will be £350.00 plus vat.
Another common reason is that, whilst the terms of the lease may have been appropriate for the law when the lease was granted, perhaps 30 years ago or more, they are no longer compliant with good or safe legal practice today, or perceived risks for leaseholders or lenders. In instances where we are amending certain terms of the lease our fee would be £700 plus vat.
In instances where we are dealing with more complex situations such as reviewing and comparing the lease to other leases in the building our fee would be £1,000.
Declaration of Trust - Minimum £750.00
A Declaration of Trust is a legal document which sets out the owners respective interests in a property. It is common for owners of a property to enter into a Declaration of Trust in instances where, for example, they have made unequal contributions to the property.
Our fee for dealing with a simple Declaration of Trust is £750.00. A simple Declaration of Trust would be one that simply states the respective owners percentage interest in the property.
Our fee for dealing with a more complex Declaration of Trust will be on an hourly basis. A more complex Declaration of Trust would deal with issues such as what happens when either party wishes sell the property and the other party does not, what happens where someone is anticipating increasing their respective interest in the property overtime by contributing more to the mortgage or where the declaration records the parties' initial contributions and subsequent percentage contributions
Overage Agreements - £1,000.00
In the context of land sales, an overage (also called “claw back”) is used to describe a sum of money paid in addition to the original sale price which a seller of land may be entitled to receive following completion, if and when the buyer complies with agreed conditions.
Exclusivity Agreements - £500.00 to £750.00
In a property context, an exclusivity agreement is a contract between two or more parties to deal only with each other for a specific period of time. This agreement confirms for the period of time agreed, the Seller will sell to the buyer for the price agreed and usually will prohibit the marketing of the property for that set period.
For an agreement which just cover the points above our fees will be £500.00. Where the document includes more in depth terms e.g. at what point party can withdraw without consequence to the other or involves extended negotiations our fees would be £750.00.
New Build Fees - An additional fee between £500.00 and £750.00 will be applied to the sale or purchase
Contract Race//Expedited exchange deadlines/Attended exchanges - £500.00 - £750.00
A contract race is a situation where the seller-client, who may well be under pressure and at risk of losing their own purchase, agrees that they will exchange contracts with whichever of two, or more, prospective buyers is in a position to go ahead first. Similar to an expedited exchange the parties will be more pressure to exchange as quickly as possible. A premium will be payable as time critical transactions are usually more time intensive.
An attended exchange where the purchaser's solicitor reviews the paperwork and the searches and the Solicitor is in attendance to affect the exchange of contracts on that day. An additional fee of £750.00 is charged in this instance.
It should be noted that the above list is illustrative, and the extent of the variable will be dictated by the individual client circumstances.
Variable factors
Please note that in both of sales and purchases there may be further work required depending on what the issues arise (if any). For example, if a lease extension is required and variations to the lease our fees would be charged on a time basis (please refer above to our hourly rates).
Disbursements
The number and nature of the disbursements will depend on whether the transaction is a purchase or sale.
Property purchase
- Searches - the price of the searches will depend on what borough you are purchasing a property in. Please contact us for more information.
- Land Registry fee - this is dependent on the price of the property you are purchasing. Please contact us for more information.
- Bankruptcy Search - per person £2
- Land Registry Search - £8
- Notice of Assignment and Charge (if mortgage) - this is dependent on what the Landlord would charge and varies from Landlord to Landlord
- Stamp Duty - Stamp Duty Land Tax is dependent on the purchase price of the property. Details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax
Property Sale
- Land Registry fee - £12.00 (including lease)
- Management Pack - this is dependent on what the Landlord would charge and varies from Landlord to Landlord
- Estate Agents fee - this is dependent on what you have agreed with your Agent
It should be noted that the above is not a definitive list and VAT will be charged where appropriate.
VAT
We are obliged to charge VAT (at the standard rate – currently 20%) on our costs and on those disbursements that are subject to VAT at the applicable rate. All cost estimates provided are exclusive of VAT.
Timescales
We usually state that assuming the matter proceeds smoothly and in a straightforward manner, we would expect a transaction to be exchanged within four to six weeks.
Any indication of time for exchange of Contracts is for guidance only and may be extended by changes to scope of the work, difficulties in dealing with other parties and third parties and circumstances out of our control.
