Example Cases
Example of a simple house purchase
For the work involved with the purchase of a freehold home for under £300,000, we charged £1550 + VAT of £310 = £1860 and, with various payments to others, the costs including VAT were £2500. The Stamp Duty was an additional £2500.
With a leasehold purchase, you would also need to pay the landlord’s related costs and our increased costs of £250 + VAT of £50, which would add approximately £2570 to the costs. This would make the total £7,570 including VAT and stamp duty.
Example of a more complicated house purchase
Properties can sometimes have complicating factors, for example we acted for the purchase of a house priced at £505,000. When we examined the deeds it became clear that access to the garden was not adequately legally defined – this then required further work around insurance and negotiation. The completion date had to be moved to accommodate this. We spent considerably more time on the matter due to this complication. Our total fees were £2670 + VAT of £534 = £3204.
The stamp duty land tax was £12,750.
Table of Fees
|
Freehold Purchase
|
Our Fees
|
VAT
|
Total
|
| Up to £300,000 | £1550 | £310 | £1860 |
| £300,001 - £500,000 | £1650 | £330 | £1980 |
| £500,001 - £800,000 | £1750 | £350 | £2100 |
| £800,001 - £1m | £1900 | £380 | £2280 |
| £1m - £1.5m | £2050 | £410 | £2460 |
| £1.5m+ | £2350 + | £470 | £2820 + |
| Leasehold Purchase | Our Fees | VAT | Total |
| Up to £300,000 | £1800 | £360 | £2160 |
| £300,001 - £500,000 | £1900 | £380 | £2280 |
| £500,001 - £800,000 | £2000 | £400 | £2400 |
| £800,001 - £1m | £2250 | £450 | £2700 |
| £1m + | £2450 + | £490 | £2940 + |
Additional Payments / Costs
| Cost | VAT | Total | |
| Electronic anti-money laundering search arrangement fee (per person) | £10.00 | £2.00 | £12.00 |
| Bank Transfer arrangement fee | £30 | £6 | £36 |
| Bankruptcy Search fee (per person) | £2.00 | - | £2.00 |
| International Bankruptcy Search (per person living abroad) | Typically £100 | £20 | £120 |
| Indemnity Insurance Policy | Typically £11.50 -£800 | £2.30 - £160 | £13.60 - £960 |
| Search Fees To include: Local Search, Environmental Search, Water & Drainage Search and Chancel Search |
£350.00 (approx.) | £70.00 (approx.) |
£420.00 (approx.) |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax Return Submission Fee | £10.00 | £2.00 | £12.00 |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax(Dependent on the price payable for the property and ancillary matters for example if you are a first time buyer, or an owner of multiple properties- see more at https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates) | Variable | N/A | Variable |
| Land Registry Official search fee | £3.00 | £0.60 | £3.60 |
| Land Registry Registration Fee(Dependent on the price payable for the property- see more at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees) | Variable | N/A | Variable |
| Leasehold – Landlord’s appointed valuer | £650 - £1200 | £130 - £240 | £780 - £1440 |
| Leasehold – Landlord’s solicitor fees | £1000 - £1250 | £200 - £250 | £1200 - £1500 |
| Deed of Covenant | Typically £150 - £550 | £30 - £110 | £180 - £660 |
| Notice of Assignment and charge (per notice) | Typically £90 - £450 | £18 - £90 | £108 - £540 |
Example Cases
Example of simple house sale
For the work involved with the sale of a freehold house at £390,000, we charged £1550 + VAT of £310 = £1860, and with various payments to others, the total costs came to £1928 including VAT.
Table of Fees
|
Freehold Sale
|
Our Fees
|
VAT
|
Total
|
| Up to £300,000 | £1450 | £290 | £1740 |
| £300,001 - £500,000 | £1550 | £310 | £1860 |
| £500,001 - £800,000 | £1650 | £330 | £1980 |
| £800,001 - £1m | £1900 | £380 | £2280 |
| £1m - £1.5m | £2050 | £410 | £2460 |
| £1.5m+ | £2350 + | £470 | £2920 + |
| Leasehold Sale | Our Fees | VAT | Total |
| Up to £300,000 | £1550 | £310 | £1860 |
| £300,001 - £500,000 | £1650 | £330 | £1980 |
| £500,001 - £800,000 | £1900 | £380 | £2280 |
| £800,001 - £1m | £2000 | £400 | £2400 |
| £1m + | £2350 + | £470 | £2820 |
Additional Payments / Costs
| Cost | VAT | Total | |
| Electronic anti-money laundering search arrangement fee (per person) | £10.00 | £2.00 | £12.00 |
| Bank Transfer arrangement fee | £30 | £6 | £36 |
| Bankruptcy Search fee (per person) | £2.00 | - | £2.00 |
| International Bankruptcy Search (per person living abroad) | Typically £100 | £20 | £120 |
| Indemnity Insurance Policy | Typically £11.50 -£800 | ||
| Official copies of Land Registry Registers of Title, filed plans, and ancillary documents | £3.00 per document | £0.60 | £3.60 |
| If your property is leasehold, the freeholder / Management Company Information Pack (the price is dependent on the individual freeholder or Management Company) | Typically £250 - £750 | £50 - £150 | £300 - £900 |
Mortgages
If you need to take out a mortgage loan unrelated to a purchase, we charge one fee for each mortgage, regardless of the amount of the mortgage. In these transactions we will be acting for both you and your lender. Our fees for a standard residential mortgage are £800 plus VAT OF £160 which totals £960. Including the below mentioned payments to others, the total comes to approximately £1590 including VAT.
Please note that Bridging Loans are a completely different arrangement and outside the scope of this price guidance.
Remortgages
A re-mortgage is where you either change lenders or take out a further loan on your property.
Our fees for a standard residential re-mortgage of a freehold property are £750 plus VAT of £150 which totals £900. Including the below mentioned payments to others, the total comes to approximately £1530 including VAT.
Fees for a standard residential re-mortgage of a leasehold property are £1050 plus VAT of £210 which totals £1260. Including the below mentioned payments to others, the total comes to approximately £1890 including VAT.
Please note that Bridging Loans are a completely different arrangement and are outside the scope of this price guidance.
Additional Payments/Costs
There may also be other payments specific to your mortgage or your property; the cost of payments can be found above in the table of fees for Purchases.
The additional payments if two people remortgage on a simple transaction are likely to total roughly £630. Once we have your mortgage offer we can give you specific estimate.
The firm’s charges are calculated mainly by reference to the amount of time that is spent on a matter. The Firm’s rates are reviewed annually and we shall inform you promptly of any change. Ordinary letters out and telephone calls are charged at six minute units where the time spent does not exceed this.
The hourly rates and unit charges for members of the Conveyancing Department are:
|
Patrick Hunter Partner, Head of Property |
£330 per hour + VAT (£66) – total of £396 |
£33 per unit + VAT of £6.60 = £39.60 |
|
Louise Richardson Solicitor |
£250 per hour + VAT (£50) – total of £300 |
£25.00 per unit + VAT of £5.00 = £30.00 |
|
Annie Arkwright Senior Conveyancer |
£255 per hour + VAT (£51) – total of £306 |
£25.50 per unit + VAT of £5.10 = £30.60 |
|
Michelle Hughes Conveyancer |
£210 per hour + VAT (£42) – total of £252 |
£21.00 per unit + VAT of £4.20 = £25.20 |
|
Sue Wheeler Property Secretary |
£100 per hour + VAT (£20) – total of £120 |
£10 per unit + VAT of £2 = £12.00 |
|
Mary Torrance Property Secretary |
£100 per hour + VAT (£20) – total of £120 |
£10 per unit + VAT of £2 = £12.00 |
VAT: please note that all the above will be charged to you with the addition of VAT at the current rate (to meet HMRC re-charge requirements)
Where a matter is dealt with by a legal secretary or non-fee earner to progress it a charge of £100.00 per hour will be made.
These rates reflect the many overheads which, of necessity, a firm of solicitors must incur to run its business.
Fixed Fees
For some new matters, we offer a fixed fee of £200+VAT for up to 1 hour of general legal advice. If you would like to find out more, please contact us and we will provide more detailed information.
