Pricing guidelines - Purchase of a freehold residential property

Our fees cover all of the legal work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty).

Conveyancers’ fees depend on the complexity of the transaction. Some of the disbursements depend on the purchase price.

By way of an example a purchase of a £350,000 property would incur the following fees and disbursements.

Conveyancer's fees 

Conveyancing Disbursements 

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

Stamp Duty

This depends on the purchase price; whether you are a first time buyer; own another property; or are a non UK resident.  

You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC's website. 

If you are buying for £350,000, not a first time buyer, do not own another property, and are a UK resident, the stamp duty will be £5000.

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8- 20 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 8 weeks.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, the following is an outline of typical stages:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender's solicitors if needed
• Receive and advise on contract documents
• Carry out searches
• Obtain further planning documentation if required
• Make any necessary enquiries of seller's solicitor
• Give you advice on all documents and information received
• Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Our example fee assumes that:

• This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction;
• This is a purchase of whole and not part of the land;
• The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise;
• All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation;
• No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

Feedback from our clients

Our clients tell us they are happy: year after year, 94-96% of those providing feedback say they would recommend us and/or use us again. You can find out what our residential property clients say about us by clicking here.

Related services

We also undertake:

• New build properties
• Transfers of equity on a divorce
• Lettings (landlord and tenant)
• Property disputes
• Commercial property transactions

For full details of the services provided by our Residential Property Team, please click here.