Purchase of a Leasehold property

Purchase of a Leasehold property

Our fees cover all of the 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) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

Our fees and disbursements

Our additional mandatory charges are:
We charge legal fees on a fixed fee basis which depends on the price of the property that you are purchasing and ranges from £800.00 (plus £160.00 VAT) to £1,200.00 (plus £240.00 VAT).
  • Electronic Transfer charge - to provide an efficient service to our clients, where we need to send large sums of money e.g. to the seller solicitors, we do so by bank transfer for which we charge a fee of £42.00 (including VAT of £7.00) per electronic transfer
  • Electronic ID Charge - in order to comply with our obligations under money laundering law, we may need to carry out electronic identity checks to verify your identity for which we make a charge of £7.00 (including VAT of £1.17) per client
  • We charge additionally for the submission of Land Tax Return to HM revenue & Customs. We charge a fee of £42.00 (including VAT of £7.00)
  • If there is a mortgage involved, we do not charge additionally to act for your Lender
In addition to our charges, you will also have to pay for disbursements, which are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as land registry fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the terms of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller's solicitors.
Price list

Anticipated Disbursements

  • Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £100.00 and £500.00.
  • Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £100.00 and £500.00.
  • Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100.00 and £500.00.
  • Certificate of Compliance fee - To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £100.00 and £500.00.
These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.
You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.
Unlike other solicitors' firms, we do not pay referral fees for the introduction of clients, local estate agents recommend us because of the excellent service we offer to our clients

Stamp Duty Land Tax

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC's website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority's website. Stamp duty is payable in addition to our legal fees and disbursements.

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 - 10 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. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 5 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply.

Outline of work

A broad outline of the work that we will undertake on your behalf is as follows:
  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice
  • Check finances are in place to fund the 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
  • Send final contract to you for signature
  • Draft Transfer
  • Advise you on joint ownership
  • Obtain pre-completion searches
  • 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
  • Deal with the registration requirements under the lease
  • Notify you and your lender when registration is complete
*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
  • 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 legal fees and disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
** This range of Land Registry fees is applicable if the transaction can be registered electronically. If not the Land Registry fee will be higher. We can advise you more precisely once you have instructed us to act for you.

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