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Estimated Fees For The Sale of a Leasehold Residential Property

Our fees estimate covers the work* required to complete the sale of your home.

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 disbursements 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, together with a number of factors including the complexity of the title and your funding arrangements.

Example Fees by Sale Price*

Hourly rates

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

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 VAT.

In what circumstances could the costs change?*

We want to ensure you only pay for the service you receive, so, as an example, a simple flat sale with one standard mortgage to redeem will cost less than selling a property with a complex leasehold title, involving more than one lender and a management company that we need to engage with. It is also important to appreciate that on the sale of a leasehold property, we will be required to obtain a Leasehold Information Pack, the cost of which differs considerably between different managing agents. Should you pay your ground rent and service charge to different companies, then there will be two Leasehold Information Packs to acquire and this means that there will be two differing charges. It is important that you budget accordingly and be aware that there are costs that we do not know but will be payable.

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;
• if the legal title is defective, the lease needs to be extended or a deed of variation is required;
• if this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease;
• if the title is unregistered;
• if there is an intermediary leasehold title;
• if there is a management company that we need to engage with to obtain a pre-sale pack or to obtain a consent to the sale;
• if there is a freeholder with whom we need to engage in order to obtain a pre-sale pack or obtain consent to the sale;
• if we need to comply with a restriction on the title;
• if we discover that the correct consents have not been obtained for alteration works;
• if you have more than one mortgage secured against the property;
• if you are selling through an auction or have tight deadlines to meet;
• if documents or information are requested from you or any other party, which requires our work to be duplicated.

What are expenses?

Expenses are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties 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 which may apply to your transaction*

We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

When selling a leasehold property, there are often additional charges payable on completion to third parties such as the freeholder or a management company and vary from property to property. 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.

Examples of these are:

• management/pre-sale pack (Law Society form LPE1);
• certificate of consent;
• deed of covenant;
• application to join a management company;
• transfer of a share certificate in the management company.

The above fees vary from property to property and vary considerably depending on the freeholders, landlords and managing agents; we will let you know what these third parties charge when we have engaged with them. These charges may or may not be subject to VAT.

Electronic Money Transfer fee

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

HM Land Registry fees

We will need to obtain official copies of each title document relating to your property, from HM Land Registry. These documents generally cost £3 each.

Evidence of Identity to the HM Land Registry Standard

The HM Land Registry have set a standard in 2021 to 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 who provide an app which checks identity of uses 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.

Capital Gains Tax (CGT)

Normally if you sell (or otherwise dispose of – for example, if you give away) your only or main home, you do not have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on any profit if it has been your only or main home throughout the entire period of ownership. There are circumstances where you may pay. Tax when you sell property – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What we will do for you

We will let you have a breakdown of our fees. It may include some or all of the following matters:

• obtaining a redemption figure from your lender and checking with you that the figure is correct;
• obtaining office copy entries and any supporting documents from HM Land Registry which will enable us to prepare the contract to prove that you have the right to sell the property;
• requesting and reviewing the information supplied by the freeholder and/or managing agent (the ‘pre-sale pack’/Leasehold Information Pack);
• preparing a bundle of contract documents to be sent to the buyer’s solicitor;
• answering any enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitor and agreeing any amendments to the contract;
• approving the transfer deed;
• exchanging contracts;
• preparing a completion statement for your approval, including the calculation of any apportionments of ground rent and service charges;
• on completion, receiving the sale proceeds from the buyer’s solicitors, repaying your mortgage, paying the estate agents and our fees and then accounting to you for the net sale proceeds.

Assumptions made in coming to the example fees *

1. 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.
2. The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
3. All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
4. No indemnity policies are required. Additional expenses may apply if indemnity policies are required.
5. Is subject to our terms of business and formal letter of retainer.
6. We already have a relationship with any lender proposed.
7. The proposed lender does not use an independent lawyer to secure their charge.
8. It is not a sale by the estate of deceased (probate sale).
9. The property does not have solar panels fitted.
10. The property does not have a heat pump or other non standard method of heating.

How long will it take?

Generally speaking, your sale should take between six and twelve weeks to complete but this depends on many factors, including the speed of the buyer’s searches, mortgage funding and the co-operation of all parties. If a pre-sale pack is required from a management company, it can take much longer to complete.

If you are in a ‘chain’, any dates will need to be agreed with all parties.

In what circumstances will the above matters not apply to me?

It is important to note that the information above relates to residential conveyancing for individuals who are selling their own property. If any of the circumstances below apply, it is likely to involve additional work or you may require advice from another department within the practice:

• if you are selling a tenanted property;
• if you are acting in your capacity as director of a company and/or require the discharge of any company mortgages at Companies House;
• if the property you are selling is to be transferred out of an existing title and documents need to be drafted or negotiated;
• if you are selling the property as an executor or acting as an attorney under a lasting power of attorney.

Overview of the conveyancing process

The steps involved in the sale of your property will include the following:

• If the title to your property is unregistered, we will ask you to supply your title deeds. It is likely however that your property will be registered, and if it is, we can obtain title documents from HM Land Registry electronically.
• Once you have instructed us to proceed, we will send to you a short questionnaire and the relevant protocol forms (property information form, fittings and contents form and a leasehold information form) for completion.
• Once we have received your completed paperwork, along with the memorandum of sale from the selling agents (or details of the buyer’s solicitors from you if it is private sale) and requested, paid for and received the Leasehold Information Pack from the managing agents and/or freeholder, we will prepare the contract pack for the buyer’s solicitors.
• As soon as your buyer is in a position to proceed (that is once they have concluded their financial arrangements and completed survey and enquiries and searches), we shall discuss with you and agree with your buyer’s solicitor a suitable completion date for your sale. We will obtain up-to-date figures from the managing agents and/or freeholders to enable us to calculate apportionments and prepare a completion statement showing the amount due from the buyer’s solicitor. If you have a related purchase, we will agree this date with your seller’s solicitor.
• Once contracts have been exchanged, there is a legally binding agreement between you and your buyer for the sale and purchase of your property.
• On the completion date, we will notify you when we have received the sale proceeds and advise your estate agent if the sale was negotiated by them and pay their account. We will also pay off any mortgage which you have secured on your property, and either return the net proceeds to you or apply those funds to your related purchase.