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Estimated Fees For The Mortgage / Remortgage of a Residential Property

Our fees cover the work* required, including dealing with registration at HM 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 is in Wales.

We do not want you to have any unwanted surprises during the course of your transaction so we will give you an estimate of likely costs and expenses before you decide to instruct us.

Broadly speaking, we will agree a fixed fee with you but if your matter is more complex or it is difficult to know what will be involved, we may agree an hourly rate with you.

We know that every transaction is unique, so we will keep you informed if we identify any additional work which will need to be done in order to successfully conclude your matter.

The Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme

As members of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme we follow the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol which is designed to make the conveyancing process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

Conveyancer’s fees and expenses

Most solicitors charge a fee proportionate to the value of the property, so the fee you will pay depends on the price you are paying for your property, together with a number of factors including the complexity of the title and your funding arrangements.

Example Fees by the Amount of the Mortgage loan*

Hourly rates

It may be necessary to agree on an hourly rate with you if it is not possible to give you an accurate estimate of the likely costs involved with your purchase.

Hourly rates are based on the qualification and experience of your legal representative. These rates are currently:

Partner – £295 per hour plus VAT
Paralegal – £160 per hour plus VAT

All professional costs, whether fixed fee or hourly rate, are subject to the addition of VAT.

*Searches may not be required by your lender. It may be acceptable to you and your lender to implement an Indemnity Insurance Policy as opposed to carrying out the standard Conveyancing Searches. If this is acceptable, we can put in place an indemnity policy instead of searches at a reduced cost. The cost of the Policy is based on the market value of the Property. We will provide details when appropriate.

*In what circumstances may the costs change?

We want to ensure you only pay for the service you receive, so, as an example, a straightforward transaction involving a freehold property and a standard mortgage will cost less than a complex leasehold property being mortgaged to a lender who requires us to undertake much more detailed reporting on their behalf.

Some factors which could typically increase the cost of the service you require are:

• if there are any difficulties with you supplying the necessary identification evidence and complying with the necessary HM Land Registry standard;
• if the legal title is defective or a deed of variation is required;
• if the title is unregistered;
• if there is a management company that we need to engage with to ensure compliance with any regulations which may apply;
• if we need to obtain a certificate of compliance for a restriction on the title;
• if the property is subject to rent or estate charge;
• if we discover that the correct consents have not been obtained for alteration works;
• if you are redeeming a help to buy loan;
• if your mortgage lender asks us to comply with additional requirements other than submitting a standard certificate of title on completion;
• if documents or information are requested from you or any other party, which requires our work to be duplicated;
• if you are mortgaging only part of your property;
• dealing with SDLT/LT liability.

What are expenses?

Expenses are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees, and which you will pay through us. We handle the payment of the expenses on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. These expenses are fixed by the third-party suppliers and we cannot influence them.

Expenses that may apply to your transaction

We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents. These charges may or may not be subject to VAT.

Searches

Your lender may require a full set of searches to be undertaken. These costs are not fixed. Each search provider will charge a fee for their service and each local authority, water authority (etc.) will have their own fee scale.

Any variation is accounted for on your completion statement during the course of the transaction.

Some searches are subject to VAT.

Electronic Money Transfer fee

The charge levied by the practice to transfer the purchase monies and is subject to VAT.

Evidence of Identity to the HM Land Registry Standard

The HM Land Registry has set a standard in 2021 which they expect anyone dealing with property to be able to achieve. They have done this with the intention of minimising the instances of fraudulent dealing with property. To achieve the HM Land Registry standard we use Thirdfort.com which provides an app that checks the identity of users with the intention of streamlining the process. As with everything it comes with a cost of not only paying Thirdfort but our time for checking compliance.

Whilst you can use anyone’s smartphone or tablet, we do for those who do not have access to these devices, accept original documents, but it is more labour intensive for you and us and no cost is saved, and is likely to cause delay.

Verifiable details of bank account(s) is required when we are redeeming your existing mortgage or returning any net proceeds to you on completion. We explain everything when you ask to act for you.

Whilst you can use anyone’s smart phone or tablet we do for those who do not have access to these devices accept original documents, but as it is more labour intensive for you and us it saves nothing is saved.

Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Tax

May be payable depending upon the circumstances. 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.