Residential property services including purchasing, selling and remortgaging/mortgaging

We provide a range of services for individuals in relation to residential property. These services include but are not limited to purchasing, selling or remortgaging/mortgaging a residential property.

On this page, we have set out our minimum prices and details of what is included in our service. We have separated the page depending on whether you are purchasing, selling or remortgaging/mortgaging a residential property. You will also have to pay disbursements in addition to legal fees and details of these are given under the disbursements section.

We also offer a number of other residential property services including transfers of equity, sub sales, assignments and acting on newbuild properties and for overseas lenders – please contact us for more information or for a quotation.

Selling a residential property

We have a minimum price for our service depending on the price of the property

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Services included in our prices

• Dealing with due diligence (including ID requirements)
• Providing guidance (if required) on preparing the sale protocol property forms and replies to the usual legal enquiries of the property
• Communicating replies to enquiries to the purchaser’s solicitors
• Drafting the sale contract and dealing with approval of the transfer
• Obtaining instructions and redemption statement from any lender (if applicable)
• Advising and representing the seller in negotiating the sale contract and transfer document and reporting on their terms
• Exchanging contracts and dealing with pre-completion title enquiries
• Preparing a financial completion statement for the seller and for the purchaser’s solicitors (if applicable)
• Completing the sale of the property, sending funds to any lender (if relevant), settling any agent’s account and sending the net proceeds of sale to the seller

Services not included in our prices

• Advice on any tax implications of selling the property
• Advice on any life planning arrangements (such as wills, trusts or inheritance tax) which may be affected by selling the property
• Work in respect of any environmental and health and safety matters arising
• Matters associated with the valuation of the property

Typical key stages in selling a residential property

• Collecting all relevant information and drafting documents
• Issuing the sale contract, title and supporting paperwork
• Dealing with enquiries raised and agreeing the sale documents
• Issuing documents for signing
• Exchanging contracts
• Completing the sale

Purchasing a residential property

We have a minimum price for our service depending on the price of the property:

Services included in our prices

• Dealing with due diligence (including ID requirements)
• Reviewing the documents supplied by the seller’s solicitors regarding the seller’s title to the property itself and any associated liabilities
• Carrying out searches and legal enquiries in respect of the property
• Receiving, reviewing and reporting on any mortgage offer and raising any necessary issues with the lender
• Providing a report on title detailing the information disclosed by the title documents, search results and replies to enquiries raised and highlighting any pertinent points
• Advising on and representing the purchaser in negotiating the sale contract and transfer and reporting on their terms
• Exchanging contracts and dealing with pre completion enquiries
• Carrying out pre-completion searches between exchange and completion
• Completing the purchase (receiving the purchase monies and sending funds to the seller’s solicitors)
• Drafting a tax return to HMRC relating to Stamp Duty Land Tax for approval (there may be additional charges if this return is complex as separate advice from our tax team or an accountant may be required)
• Applying to HM Land Registry to register the purchaser as owner of the property and to register any relevant rights, easements, covenants or restrictions. We can also deal with registration of company charges at Companies House.

Services not included in our prices

• Any advice on the tax implications of purchasing the property or any complicated stamp duty advice (please see above comments)
• Advice on any life planning arrangements (such as wills, trusts or inheritance tax) which may be affected by purchasing the property. Our private client team can assist with these queries
• Any advice relating to the physical condition of the property
• Work in respect of any environmental and health and safety matters arising
• Any matters associated with the valuation of the property.

Typical key stages of buying a residential property

• Obtaining and reviewing the contract pack and raising enquiries
• Carrying out searches
• Reviewing searches and raising enquiries
• Agreeing the sale documents
• Obtaining satisfactory responses to all enquiries
• Receipt of mortgage offer (if required)
• Preparing a comprehensive report on title and obtaining signatures to documents
• Exchanging contracts
• Completing the purchase
• Submitting the Stamp Duty Land Tax return and registering the purchase of the property at HM Land Registry

Remortgaging/mortgaging a residential property

We have a minimum price for our service which is dependent on the price of the property as set out below:

Services included in our prices

• Dealing with due diligence (including ID requirements)
• Reviewing title and carrying out searches or arranging indemnity insurance as required by the lender
• Obtaining instructions and a redemption statement from any existing lender
• Reviewing and reporting on the form of mortgage offered and dealing with all the lender's requirements
• Preparing a report on title for the lender
• Obtaining signatures to the relevant paperwork
• Carrying out all relevant pre-completion searches
• Completing the remortgage/mortgage – arranging drawdown of mortgage monies and dealing with discharge of the current mortgage (if relevant)
• Registering the new mortgage and dealing with completion matters

Services not included in our prices

• Advice on any tax implications of remortgaging/mortgaging the property
• Advice on any life planning arrangements (such as wills, trusts or inheritance tax) which may be affected by remortgaging the property
• Work in respect of any environmental and health and safety matters arising
• Matters associated with the valuation of the property

Typical key stages of remortgaging a residential property

• Receiving the mortgage offer
• Dealing with lender requirements, including carrying out searches or arranging insurance
• Advising on the mortgage terms and obtaining signatures to the mortgage deed
• Reporting to the lender and arranging drawdown of funds
• Dealing with discharge of the current loan (if relevant)
• Completing and dealing with the registration formalities

How much will residential conveyancing advice cost?

How we charge for this work

Our minimum prices for purchasing, selling or remortgaging/mortgaging a residential property are set out above. Our prices are subject to increase based on factors such as where the property is located and the complexity of the matter. Increases are generally based on the additional time required and our hourly charge out rates. Clients are provided with an estimate of the expected cost once full details of their requirements are known.

Factors that could make a matter more complex

• Whether the property is freehold leasehold or newbuild
• Whether there is a tight deadline to exchange/complete
• If the legal title is defective or an unexpected issue arises
• If part of the property or the whole property is unregistered
• If any issues are raised with a lender (if mortgage finance is involved)
• If an overseas lender is involved (certain lenders have lengthy and onerous requirements)
• If building regulations or planning permission have not been obtained for any works to the property
• If there is a delay in receiving search results or other key documents from any third parties
• If additional or unexpected legal documents are necessary, other than those usually required for the transaction for example, consents for works undertaken but not obtained There are financial ,regulatory issues or third party consents which need to be dealt with

Other fee arrangements

We do not offer conditional fee agreements, damages based agreements or so-called “no win no fee” agreements for this work.

Disbursements: costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties

• Selling a residential property: typically, disbursements are limited to the cost of official copy entries of the property title at £3.60 including VAT per entry. The average costs are around £12 for a freehold transaction and £20 for a leasehold transaction. More information on current HM Land Registry service fees is available here. 
•  Purchasing a residential property: typically, disbursements are related to any searches. The costs of these vary depending on the location of the property but are usually between £400 and £600, including VAT where relevant. Land Registry fees on registration depend on the type of application and the price of the property. Stamp Duty Land Tax costs also depend on various factors such as the price of the property and whether the purchaser is a first-time purchaser or second homeowner, an individual or a company. Calculation tools are available on the Land Registry and HMRC websites or we can provide figures when we have received the relevant details. Land Registry fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax are not subject to VAT There may also be additional disbursements payable for a leasehold property which would be advised at the outset.
• Remortgaging or mortgaging a residential property: property searches may be required or the lender may accept search insurance which would be a lower cost. As the price of cover depends on various factors, a quotation for this can only be given once details are known. Land Registry fees would also be payable although these should be lower than for a purchase. Again details can be obtained from the Land Registry website. There may also be additional fees payable for a leasehold property which would be advised at the outset. More information on current HM Land Registry service fees is available here. 

How long will it take?

The timetable can be affected by many factors. As an average, the majority of transactions complete within 4 – 12 weeks. Cash transactions involving no chain generally proceed quickly. Other transactions which form part of a lengthy chain involving purchasers with mortgage requirements or funds dependent on resolution of matrimonial proceedings, equity release arrangements, gifted deposits or other external factors tend to take a little longer.

Our team

We have a team of qualified lawyers, of varying levels of seniority and experience, who provide advice for clients when purchasing, selling or re-mortgaging/mortgaging a residential property. You can find their profiles here.

Other useful links

We advise on a full range of property law issues. See our Real Estate and Planning pages for further details.

Further information

If you would like to discuss your case in more detail, please contact our team or your usual Gateley plc contact.