Client Guide to Fees

Freehold properties

Leasehold properties

Client Guide to Conveyancing Transactions

This guide is provided in order to explain the steps which are usually taken and the factors which dictate when these steps must be taken.

• The Conveyancing Process
• For the Buyer
• For the Seller
• For The Buyer and the Seller
• Disbursements
• How long will my house purchase take?
• Stages of the process
• Complaints

However, after reading this guide, should you still have any worries then please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Conveyancing Process

The process of conveyancing is to transfer the ownership of land together with the many rights and obligations that may have been created in relation to it. They are often not evident on an inspection of the property. For example, someone may have a right to occupy the property, or a part of it though they may not be there when you inspect the property. A neighbour may have a right to enter the property and dig up drains in order to inspect or repair his drains.

The public too may have claims, for example, there may be a footpath across the property, the council could have rights, for example, compulsory acquisition or unpaid charges for making up a road. The planning authority may perhaps be considering schemes which may affect the environment of the house you are thinking of buying.

Further, does the seller have the right to sell the property? If he inherited the property were the correct steps taken to transfer legal ownership to him or is it still in someone else's hands?

These are some of the problems which may arise during the various stages of conveyancing and it is your legal advisor's duty to safeguard your interests and to discover if they exist and to advise you about them.

For the Buyer:

The stages between finding your dream home and exchanging Contracts

You have found your new property and the seller accepts your offer. Your legal advisor will now request a draft Contract from the Seller's Conveyancer, carry out all the necessary searches and receive your mortgage instructions from your Lender ( if you are buying with the aid of a mortgage) and make sure that all the mortgage conditions are complied with.

Once we are satisfied with all of the above we shall arrange for your signature to the Mortgage Deed and the Contract. It is our duty to ensure that contracts are not exchanged before you have all the available money necessary to pay for the property and that all other necessary searches and enquiries have been made with satisfactory results. Further, if you are also selling we shall aim to synchronise your purchase with your sale. This means ensuring that matters on both transactions are satisfactory in order that we can exchange on both together. This prevents you owning two properties or none at all !

For The Seller:

We shall forward to you the necessary Property Information Forms to complete. These will then be sent to your Buyer's Conveyancer.

We shall obtain the Title Document from your Lender or the Land Registry and prepare a draft Contact to send to your Buyer's Conveyancer. We shall then reply to any enquiries raised about the property.

We shall discuss completion dates with the Buyer's Conveyancer and once a date has been agreed we shall request a final payment figure from your current Lender.

Once you have signed the sale documents and we have checked that the sale proceeds are sufficient to redeem your existing mortgage we shall be in a position to exchange Contracts with the Buyer's Conveyancer with an agreed completion date.

For The Buyer and The Seller:

On exchange of contracts a deposit will be payable and this is normally ten per cent of the purchase price. Once this has taken place the transaction becomes binding. A completion date will now be fixed.

As we approach the date for completion, the financial details will be worked out and the buyer will be asked to provide any shortfall in time for completion. We must always have cleared funds in time for completion.

Once the monies are transferred from the buyer to the seller and the seller's Conveyancer confirms that he has received the purchase money, the buyer will be able to take up occupation of their new property.

The figures quoted above (which all include VAT),  assume a straightforward transaction without unforeseen complexity or issues. If the matter becomes complex then there will be an additional fee, examples of which include (but are not limited to):

• Where your mortgage lender instructs its own solicitor
• Where your lease purchase includes the purchase of a share of the freehold
• Where a lease extension is involved
• Where freeholder consent for any reason may be required
• Where there is a perceived defect in title
• If leasehold, that it is the transfer of an existing lease and not the grant of a new lease
• Shared ownership transactions
• Missing or absentee landlords
• Compulsory Purchase
• Where a transaction is required to be expedited
• Contract races

Obviously all cases are different and we will try our best to inform you as soon as we become aware of any feature that might have an impact on the quoted fee.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs (i.e. expenses), 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.
The following comprise the usual disbursements:

• Search fees - between £250.00 and £400.00 depending on the type and volume of searches required/li>
• Stamp Duty Land Tax - this depends upon a variety of factors . A calculation is available through the HMRC website
• Land Registry fee - current fees are available through the Land Registry website
• Managing Agents pack on sale of leasehold - this can only be ascertained on receipt of documents but the average charge is approximately £250.00 inc. VAT, but can vary depending on the Managing Agent or Freeholder
• Notice and compliance fees on leasehold purchases - these can only be ascertained during the transaction but typically can range between £50.00 to £300.00 inc. VAT

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 6 to 8 weeks.
It can be quicker or longer, depending on the number of parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage offer in place, it could take 6 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 to 4 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase 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
• 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 the conditions of the mortgage offer with you
• Send final Report to you with the contract for signature
• Agree the completion date (date from which you own the property) with the sellers' solicitor
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from the lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Complaints

Should you feel that you have a complaint against this firm then this must be address to Mrs Alison Malam who will respond to you and will attempt to resolve matters with you.
If you obtain no satisfaction from our own complaints procedure or the complaint has not been dealt with within six months of a formal complaint then you have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman whose details are :

Unless it agrees there are good reasons not to do so, the Legal Ombudsman will expect you to allow us to consider and respond to your complaint in accordance with the procedure set out above in the first instance. You can also use the Ombudsman service if we have not resolved your complaint within 8 weeks of us receiving it. A complaint can be referred to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 years of you discovering a problem, or 3 years from when you should have known about the complaint. The ombudsman deals with service-related complaints; any conduct-related complaints will be referred to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.

Please see https://www.clc-uk.org/consumers/reporting-problems/

Also see:
Ombudsman Legal Advice