Residential Sales & Purchases
Buying or selling a home or an investment property, in the UK or from overseas. A fixed fee, a named lawyer from offer to keys, and no surprises on completion.
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Typical matters we cover
Purchases
Freehold and leasehold, new-build and second-hand, cash and mortgage.
Sales
Contract pack, enquiries, redemption and a clean completion.
Buy-to-let & portfolio
Individual and company purchases, incorporation and refinance.
Overseas buyers
ID, funds, tax surcharges and remote signing for non-UK residents.
Leasehold
Lease reviews, extensions, ground rent and service-charge diligence.
Transfers & remortgages
Transfers of equity, gifts, declarations of trust and remortgages.
Proudly serving founders, businesses & private clients
Our services in this area
Explore the specific services within this practice. Each links through to a dedicated page.
Commercial Sales & Purchases
Offices, retail, industrial and mixed-use — bought, sold and leased for owners, occupiers, investors and developers.
Off-Plan Developments
Buying a property that doesn't exist yet — from a plan, a show flat and a developer's promise.
Property Lending & Refinance
Bridging, development and term lending secured on property — for lenders who need it done to standard, and borrowers who need it done fast..
Landlord & Tenant
Tenancy agreements, rent, deposits, notices and possession — for private landlords who want to get it right first time, and to know exactly where they stand when a tenancy goes wrong..
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Tell us about your matter and a solicitor will come back to you with a plan and an estimate of our costs.
Specialists who know your case inside out.
You will not be passed down a chain. Your matter is run by solicitors who know the detail, are easy to reach, and keep the commercial outcome in view from the first letter to the last.
Quality, effective service with transparent costs
Our focus is on delivering a high-quality, effective service and achieving the right outcome for you, efficiently and without unnecessary cost.
Before any work begins, we confirm in writing how we will charge and provide an estimate of costs. We keep you informed as the matter progresses and notify you in advance of any change, so there are no surprises.
What it costs
Our fees for this work are published under the SRA Transparency Rules, shown including VAT; disbursements are extra unless stated, and we confirm your fee in writing before we start.
Purchase — outside London
| Property value | Our fee | With enhanced checks |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £250,000 | £1,080incl. VAT£900 + £180 VAT | £1,800incl. VAT£1,500 + £300 VAT |
| £250,001 – £500,000 | £1,440incl. VAT£1,200 + £240 VAT | £1,800incl. VAT£1,500 + £300 VAT |
| £500,001 – £1,000,000 | £1,560incl. VAT£1,300 + £260 VAT | £2,100incl. VAT£1,750 + £350 VAT |
Purchase — London
| Property value | Our fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £1,000,000 | £2,280incl. VAT£1,900 + £380 VAT |
| £1,000,001 – £1,500,000 | £2,640 – £3,060incl. VAT£2,200 – £2,550 + £440 – £510 VAT |
| £1,500,001 – £2,000,000 | £3,060 – £4,200incl. VAT£2,550 – £3,500 + £510 – £700 VAT |
| £2,000,001 – £2,500,000 | from £5,700incl. VATfrom £4,750 + £950 VAT |
| £2,500,001 – £3,000,000 | from £7,800incl. VATfrom £6,500 + £1,300 VAT |
| £3,000,001 – £3,500,000 | from £9,480incl. VATfrom £7,900 + £1,580 VAT |
| £3,500,001 – £4,000,000 | from £10,560incl. VATfrom £8,800 + £1,760 VAT |
Sale — outside London
| Property value | Our fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £100,000 | £780incl. VAT£650 + £130 VAT |
| £100,001 – £500,000 | £1,140incl. VAT£950 + £190 VAT |
| £500,001 – £750,000 | £1,320incl. VAT£1,100 + £220 VAT |
| £750,001 – £1,000,000 | £1,560incl. VAT£1,300 + £260 VAT |
Sale — London
| Property value | Our fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £1,000,000 | £1,560incl. VAT£1,300 + £260 VAT |
Leasehold — additional
| Leasehold supplement (purchase or sale)our fee | £300incl. VAT£250 + £50 VAT |
|---|---|
| Purchase — Notice of transfer feeset out in the lease; VAT at 20% where the landlord or agent charges it | £50 – £200 |
| Purchase — Notice of charge fee (if mortgaged)VAT at 20% where the landlord or agent charges it | £50 – £200 |
| Purchase — Deed of covenant feeset by the management company; VAT at 20% where charged | £50 – £200 |
| Purchase — Certificate of compliance feeVAT at 20% where charged | £50 – £100 |
| Sale — Managing agent's packVAT at 20% is usually charged | £200 – £450 |
| Sale — HM Land Registry copy of the leaseelectronic (£11 by post); no VAT | £7 / copy |
The leasehold supplement is our fee, shown with VAT; the other figures are the landlord's or managing agent's charges, which vary from property to property.
Disbursements, timescale and scope
- Purchase — Search fees: £300 – £500 (the precise amount depends on the local authority; it includes VAT at 20% where the search provider charges it (most do))
- Purchase — HM Land Registry fee: £20 – £1,105 (Scale 1 by price, for a transfer of a whole registered title applied for online (by post in brackets): £20 (£45) up to £80,000, £40 (£95) to £100,000, £100 (£230) to £200,000, £150 (£330) to £500,000, £295 (£655) to £1,000,000, £500 (£1,105) above; a new lease or a transfer of part, as on many new builds, pays the higher figure even online; no VAT)
- Purchase — Land Registry priority search and bankruptcy search: £13 – £19 (the priority search £7 and a bankruptcy search of £6 for each buyer (portal fees; £11 and £7 by post); no VAT)
- Purchase — Stamp Duty Land Tax: (a tax on the price — where it will be the only residential property you own: nil up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above; a first-time buyer pays nil up to £300,000 and 5% to £500,000, with no relief on a price above £500,000; an additional property adds 5% to every band (on a price of £40,000 or more) and a buyer who is not UK resident pays a further 2%; the conveyancing calculator works out your figure; no VAT (a tax, not a fee))
- Sale — HM Land Registry copies of register, plan and deeds: £7 (per copy, electronic (£11 by post); no VAT)
- Typical timescale: 8 to 12 weeks from an accepted offer.
- Fees assume a standard transaction up to £1,000,000; non-standard transactions (for example separate solicitors for your lender, an unregistered title, a new build, shared ownership, right to buy, an auction, or an overseas or company client) are quoted individually.
Remortgages, transfers of equity and declarations of trust
| Remortgagea fixed fee, given before we start, depending on the lender's requirements | Quoted on request |
|---|---|
| Transfer of equitya fixed fee, given before we start, depending on whether a mortgage lender is involved | Quoted on request |
| Declaration of trust for property ownership | from £600incl. VATfrom £500 + £100 VAT |
Plus disbursements, set out below.
Who does the work, and how long it takes
Conveyancing executives or licensed conveyancers carry out most of the work, and legal executives may also do some of it, under the supervision of a qualified solicitor. In the main, the work is carried out by qualified solicitors or trainee solicitors, though certain work may be delegated to secretaries and paralegals.
The time from an accepted offer to completion depends on a number of factors, but the typical range is 8 to 12 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the chain, whether there is mortgage finance, how long the local authority takes to return the searches, any issues raised by the survey and how complicated the title is.
Assumptions
- 01The property is worth no more than £1,000,000 (a bespoke quote is given above that)
- 02No unforeseen matters arise — for example a defect in title that must be put right before completion, or additional documents ancillary to the main transaction
- 03The transaction is concluded in a timely manner, every party co-operates, and third parties provide documents without unreasonable delay
- 04No indemnity policies are required (additional disbursements apply if they are)
- 05Our fee covers all of the work we do to complete the transaction, including registration at the Land Registry and arranging payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax, but not the third-party expenses we incur for you; if a transaction is complex or becomes protracted we may charge more, and we speak to you about it first
Key stages — sale
- 01Taking your instructions, identity checks and the contract pack — 1 to 2 weeks
- 02Answering the buyer's enquiries — 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the buyer's searches
- 03Exchange of contracts — typically 6 to 10 weeks from an accepted offer
- 04Completion: redeeming any mortgage, paying the estate agent and sending you the balance — usually 1 to 2 weeks after exchange
- 05After completion: confirming the transfer to the buyer's solicitor — within a week
Key stages — purchase
- 01Taking your instructions, identity and source-of-funds checks — 1 to 2 weeks
- 02Searches, enquiries and reporting to you on the title — 3 to 6 weeks
- 03The mortgage offer and the lender's requirements — alongside the searches
- 04Exchange of contracts and the deposit — typically 6 to 10 weeks from an accepted offer
- 05Completion — usually 1 to 2 weeks after exchange
- 06The Stamp Duty Land Tax return within 14 days of completion, then registration — the Land Registry takes from a few weeks to several months
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Frequently asked questions
The typical range is eight to twelve weeks from an accepted offer to completion. It can be quicker or slower depending on the chain, the mortgage, how long the searches take, the survey and the title — and leasehold management packs can add time. We tell you what's waiting on whom, every step.
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