A Guide to our residential conveyancing costs
It is not possible to give precise costs1 figures without first understanding your specific transaction and your exact requirements. This costs guide is only an indication of the likely approximate cost of a transaction. For a costs estimate specific to your transaction, please contact us. This costs guide is intended to give you an approximate idea of the overall legal costs and is based on the average amount of work involved in a basic house sale.
| Typical Sale Costs |
|---|
| PLS Legal Fees2 (Inclusive of VAT at 20%) | £450 - £1900 |
| Additional fees are included in the above range and are applied where applicable. Some typical examples of these are as follows (inclusive of VAT): | |
| Leasehold Fee | |
| ID Verification fee | |
| Banking and bank charges fee | |
| Maintaining Archive fee | |
| Office Copy fee |
| Disbursements3 (no VAT)* (these are not included in the legal fees mentioned above) | |
1 Costs means fees and disbursements, taken together
2 Fees means our charges for the work we do for you (including any VAT element)
3 Disbursements means any costs or expenses paid or to be paid to a third party on your behalf
For leasehold properties or freehold properties with a management company there are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease/transfer deed relating to the Property. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on theterms of the lease/transfer deed.
Leasehold/Management Information Pack – this is a pack of information provided by the Landlord and/or Management Company for the property and the fee can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100.00 and £450.00 per Information Pack. In some instances twoinformation packs maybe required (one from the Landlord and one from the Management Company).
Please contact us for a Free Quote.
A detailed quote will always be provided to you at the beginning of the case.
Our costs quotes for the work to be carried out are made on the following assumptions. If all or any of the assumptions are incorrect, wemay revise our quotation:
- That no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior tocompletion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.
- That all the title documents have been provided and we are not expected to re-constitute the title nor ask you/your mortgagees formissing documents. Nor are we expected to have to prepare statutory declarations or make applications to the Land Registry tocorrect any defects in the title or put in place any indemnity insurance for the Property.
- That the property is registered land.
- That no third parties’ consents are needed to the sale proceeding or assignment of lease.
- 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 providingdocumentation.
- That the mortgagees will provide appropriate discharge/consent on request.
- That in the case of leasehold land that there is no freeholder’s or superior lessor’s consent required as a pre-condition of the saleproceeding or assignment of lease.
How long will my house sale take?
The average length of a conveyancing transaction from instruction to completion is currently about 15-20 weeks. However, the time an individual case takes to complete can vary greatly, depending on the particular circumstances, and is largely the result of the readiness and willingness of all parties to proceed, the property title (eg freehold, leasehold, registered, un-registered), responses from landlords ormanagement companies, and other factors.
The following are some examples of factors which can affect the timescale in a conveyancing transaction. This list is not exhaustive:
- Delays by third parties, e.g. the other side’s solicitor
- A delay elsewhere in the chain
- Probate or divorce proceedings
- Obtaining necessary information from third parties such as management companies or landlords
- Complex titles
- Leasehold properties and flats
- Unforeseen work e.g. existing tenants in the property or obtaining planning and building regulation consents for worksundertaken, specialist reports required.
Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, a standard sale transaction will usually involve the following stages (the typical stages listed below are reflected in the indicative costs referred toabove):
- Take your instructions and give you initial advice
- Preparing the contracts for sale
- Issuing the contracts
- Dealing with additional and standard enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitors
- Liaising between you and the buyer’s solicitors on any enquiries
- Completing the sale
- Dealing with post completion matters
If the property being sold is leasehold or freehold with a management company, the following stages may also apply:
- Sending the Leasehold or Management Information Pack to the Buyer’s solicitor
- Liaising with the Landlord and / or Management company
- Dealing with additional enquiries raised by the Buyer’s solicitor in respect of the Leasehold or Management Information Pack.