Conveyancing Fees

Battrick Clark Solicitors of Bristol handle property conveyancing for both buyers and sellers of freehold and leasehold properties throughout the UK.

Where clients come to us through a referral source, the legal fees we charge to our clients may differ from the fees shown below under ‘Our Legal fee’. We can only uphold the fees stated if clients come direct to us.

Our fees for property conveyancing services in England and Wales are currently as follows:

1. Purchase of a freehold or leasehold residential property:

Our charges cover all the work needed to complete the purchase of your home, including our fees necessary disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your purchase that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We process the payment of all disbursements on your behalf in order to facilitate the process.

On leasehold properties, there may be additional disbursements set out in the terms of the lease (for more details, see section headed Leasehold Properties Only below). These are not listed exactly because they are different for different properties. We will notify you separately of them once we have received the lease documentation from the seller’s solicitors and reviewed it.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements:

Client fees and costs are made up of:

• Our Legal fee: Range £850 – £1850 – see separate table below for more information
• 20% VAT payable on legal fee
• Scanning and file storage fee: £35 + 20% VAT
• Search fees: Range £240 – £300 – depending on Local Authority fees
• HM Land Registry registration fee: £20 – £1105 (depends in part on the purchase price – see table below)
• Stamp Duty (SDLT) (variable according to property purchase price and whether or not you are a first-time buyer or second property purchaser – see calculator)
• Please contact us for a detailed quote

Estimated total cost:

The total cost of your property purchase varies with the property according to the scheme of fees outlined above (for full details of our legal fees, see Table 4 below; for Land Registration fees, see table 6 below), as well as (for leasehold properties only) the applicable disbursements shown under the heading Anticipated disbursements set out in the terms of the lease below.

It will therefore be based on one of the following two sums depending on whether the property is freehold or leasehold – excluding any extra costs required by the special circumstances separately listed below. Please note that in these sums, the dash denotes a variable range of possible values between the figure shown before it and the one shown after it, and not a subtraction.

• Freehold: ((£850 – £1850) + 20% VAT) + (£35 + 20% VAT) + ((£240 – £300) + 20% VAT) + (£20 – £1105) + SDLT / LTT (variable according to property value).
• Leasehold: ((£850 – £1850) + 20% VAT) + (£35 + 20% VAT) + ((£240 – £300) + 20% VAT) + (£20 – £1105) + SDLT / LTT (variable according to property value) + (£100 – £300) + (£50 – £100) + (£100 – £200) + (£150 – 200)

Fee Assumption:

Our 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
• for transactions on leasehold properties, this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
• 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

Referral fee (if any):

We work with a number of leading Estate Agents and Introducers. The companies support us in marketing our services, providing case tracking and update platforms, collecting initial payments and (in purchase transactions) ordering searches and sales progression. In return for this support, we pay variable referral fees to these companies, which is dependent on the level of support they provide us with. The average fee paid is between £300 and £450.

NB: All known charges will be set out in our initial engagement letter which will need to be agreed and signed before we start work on your behalf.

Extra costs in special circumstances

There could be extra costs incurred in the following special circumstances:

• If the legal title to the property is defective
• If part or the whole of the property is unregistered, in which case a higher registration fee will be payable to The Land Registry
• If construction of the property or alteration to the property has been carried out in breach of buildings regulations or without the requisite planning permission having been obtained
• Additional fees may apply in particular circumstances, as shown in table 6 below. You will be advised which if any of these will apply.

Leasehold Properties only:

Anticipated disbursements set out in the terms of the lease:

• Notice of Transfer fee – typical range, £100 – £300
• Notice of Charge fee (applicable if the property is to be mortgaged) – £50 – £100
• Deed of Convenant fee (provided by management company for the property) – £100 – £200
• Certificate of Compliance fee (to be confirmed upon receipt of the lease) – £150 – £200

These fees vary individually between properties and may on occasion lie outside the typical ranges indicated. We can only provide you with an accurate figure for each once we have seen the lease documents provided by the seller.

You should be aware that ground rent and service charges are likely to apply throughout your ownership of a leasehold property. These are not included in the disbursements we pay on your behalf. You will be directly responsible for paying them. We will notify you of the currently prevailing ground rent and anticipated service charges as soon as we are in receipt of this information.

2. Sale of a freehold or leasehold residential property:

Our charges cover all the work needed to complete the sale of your home. There are no searches involved in the sale side of a property transaction.

Please note that sellers of leasehold properties will also need to obtain a ‘Seller Management Pack’ from the Management Company. Costs vary considerably, and sellers should pay for this separately.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements:

Client fees and costs are made up of:

• • Our Legal fee: £850 – £1850 – see separate table below
  • 20% VAT payable on legal fee
  • Scanning and file storage fee: £35 + 20% VAT
  • Telegraphic transfer fee (if applicable): £40 + 20% VAT
  • Additional fees may apply in particular circumstances, as shown in table 6 below. You will be advised which if any of these will apply.
  • Please contact us for a detailed quote

Estimated total cost:

The total cost of your property sale varies with the sale price of the property according to the scheme of fees shown in Table 4 below.

It will therefore be based on the following sum. Please note that in this sum, the dash denotes a variable range of possible values between the figure shown before it and the one shown after it, and not a subtraction.

Estimated total cost: ((£850 – £1850) + 20% VAT) + (£35 + 20% VAT) + (£40 + 20% VAT)

NB: All known charges will be set out in our initial engagement letter which will need to be agreed and signed before we start work on your behalf.

Fee Assumption:

Our 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
• for transactions on leasehold properties, this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
• 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

3. Time estimate and Stages of the Process

The stages and timescale involved in the purchase or sale of a residential property will vary according to the particular circumstances, including the state of readiness of the other party. An average timescale is between six and ten weeks, but in some circumstances it may take three to six months or occasionally even longer to complete. Circumstances that may commonly cause delays include:

• The property being purchased or sold has not previously been registered at the Land Registry
• The buyer’s negotiations to secure a mortgage
• Any renegotiations over purchase price in the light of problems that may come to light upon survey or from the results of searches.
• The time taken for the seller’s solicitors to give satisfactory responses to questions arising from the results of searches or other concerns
• A chain – e.g. where the buyer can only complete purchase once they have sold and received payment for their existing property

Key stages in the purchase process include:

• We take your instructions and give you initial advice
• We check your finances are in place to fund your purchase, and contact your lender’s solicitors if needed
• We receive and advise on the draft contract documents drawn up by the seller’s solicitor
• We carry out searches
• We send any necessary enquiries to the seller’s solicitor and await their response, following up if necessary with further questions.
• Once all enquiries have been satisfactorily responded to, we give you advice on all the documents and information we have received
• We go through with you the conditions attached to your mortgage offer (if applicable)
• We send the final contract to you to sign
• We agree with the seller’s solicitors the completion date
• We exchange contracts and notify you once this has happened
• We arrange for all monies needed to be received from your lender (if applicable) and from you
• We legally formalise the completion of your purchase
• We deal with the payment of Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax on your behalf
• We handle the application for the registration of your property at the Land Registry

Key stages in the sale process include:

• We take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Once you have provisionally accepted an offer, we check the buyer’s finances are in place to fund their purchase, and contact their solicitors if needed
• We draw up draft contract documents and send them to the buyer’s solicitor
• We respond to any enquiries from the buyer’s solicitor and supply and documentation they may require.
• Once the buyer’s solicitor is happy to proceed, we send the final contract to you to sign
• We agree the completion date with the buyer’s solicitors
• We exchange contracts and notify you once this has happened
• We arrange for your legal fees to be received
• We legally formalise the completion of your sale
• We receive the agreed purchase price from the seller’s solicitor and pay it on to you after deduction of your legal fees

4. Table of our legal fees for purchase and sale of properties:

Exc. 20% VAT. Applies to both freehold and leasehold properties

Please contact us for a detailed quote

5. Table of additional costs for sale / purchase services:

6. Purchase Land Registry Fees:

Exc. 20% VAT.

7. Remortgage Land Registry Fees:

Exc. 20% VAT.

8. Table of our legal fees for Remortgages:

9. Table of additional costs for remortgaging services:

10. Professional Indemnity Cover

Our Professional Indemnity Cover is £5,000,000 any one transaction.