Legal Fee Information for Sale of a Freehold or Leasehold Residential Property
Legal Fees
Legal Fees are the amount you will be required to pay for all the work required to complete the sale of your residential property, including paying your estate agents.
We typically work on a fixed fee basis, so that from the outset you know what the fees will be for your transaction.
VAT, currently 20%, will be payable on all our fees and some disbursements, and we will clearly confirm which disbursements carry VAT in formal quotation or as we advise you to incur them.
Our fees
Below is an overview of our fees and typical disbursements.
• Our standard legal fee for a residential freehold property sale is from £1,750.00 – £3,250.00 plus VAT (£2,100.00 - £3,900.00 inc. VAT) for properties up to the value of £1million.
• Our standard legal fee for a residential leasehold property sale is from £2,750.00 – £3,500.00 plus VAT (£3,300.00 - £4,200.00 inc. VAT) for properties up to the value of £1million.
The value of the property, location and any complexities of the sale will dictate the final fee charged within this range.
• For properties over £1million we typically charge on a percentage basis which is 0.25% - 0.4% of the Sale price plus VAT, depending upon the complexity of the transaction. Our fees are dependent on the agreed sale price of the property, the location and when other complex factors are involved (such as transactions that involve the sale of multiple dwellings or land) to reflect the proportionate risk of carrying out higher-value transactions for our clients and for more complex transactions, the seniority of the legal adviser appointed.
• We charge £10.00 plus VAT (£12.00 Inc. VAT) Electronic money transfer fee (per transfer.
• Referral fee (if any): We do not pay referral fees
• For residential property sales using a corporate vehicle (selling a residential property through a Limited company) there is a supplemental fee of £250.00 plus VAT (£300.00 Inc. VAT) plus £22.20 companies house filing fee. This is due to company’s house registration requirements and additional documents required for lending purposes. Please note we need to carry out ID checks on all directors/shareholders which is £20.00 plus VAT (£24.00 Inc. VAT) per person.
Anti-Money Laundering Checks
For all our clients, we are required by our regulator to undertake Client Due Diligence (CDD) which is made of up KYC (Know Your Client) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) details of which are contained within our terms of engagement which will be sent to you when instructing us.
In addition to our standard charges as referred to above, the firm will apply a CDD charge of:
• £20.83 (£25.00 inc. VAT) for undertaking KYC per UK resident individual
Below, we detail what services are covered in our standard fee.
The final quote will depend on the value and location of the property and the complexity of the transaction. We would warn you that there are some charges made by others which we will not be able to ascertain until we are instructed and make the necessary enquiries.
If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity.
Our average fees assume that:
a) The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
b) All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
c) For Leasehold matters this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
d) No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
Disbursements and Other Costs
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
You will be provided with a full list of disbursements in our formal quotation. If you need to incur any further disbursements during your case, you will be notified in advance of the reason and the amount.
Here is an overview of the typical disbursements on and other costs that may apply in your matter:
• HM Land Registry fees. The following link provided details of land registry fees payable. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
• Office Copy Entries* (Per Document) £3 pus VAT (£3.60 inc. VAT) per deed
• Land Registry Title Documents £3.00 per document (average £9.00 per title usually official copy entries, filed plan and filed Transfer)
• Lawyer checker (verifies the legitimacy of a solicitor and their bank account details) £10.00 plus VAT (£12.00 Inc. VAT)
*Typically, £6 for Freehold properties and £15 for Leasehold properties but can be higher if more documents required to be ordered from Land Registry.
Anticipated disbursements for a leasehold Sale
There may be further disbursements for a Leasehold purchase or the purchase of a freehold property where there is a Management Company which if chargeable is set out in the Lease or Transfer and usually paid to the Landlord or Management Company.
These can include:
• Notice of Transfer fee - This fee, if chargeable, is set out in the lease and is often between £0 £150.00 plus VAT (£0 - £180.00 inc. VAT)
• Notice of Charge fee - If the property is to be mortgaged. This fee is set out in the lease and is often between £0 - £150.00 plus VAT (£0 - £180.00 inc. VAT)
• Deed of Covenant fee - This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate but is often between £0 and £300.00 plus VAT (£0 – £360.00 inc. VAT)
• Certificate of Compliance fee - To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease as can range between £0 - £150.00 plus VAT (£0 - £180.00 inc. VAT)
• Management pack - when selling a property there will be information which we will need to obtain from the Landlord and / or the Management Company. Many Landlords / Management Companies have standard packs containing this information that usually range between £50.00 – £400.00 but we will confirm with you on application and review of your property sale.
These fees shown above will vary from property to property and can on occasions be more than the ranges given above. We will give you an accurate figure once we have sight of the relevant documentation.
Time Scales
How long it will take from your acceptance of an offer to the final sale of your property will depend on a number of factors.
• The average process for a residential freehold property sale is between 4 - 8 weeks.
• The average process for a residential leasehold property sale is between 4 - 10 weeks.
It can be quicker or slower, depending on a number of factors and we will notify you if we believe your transaction may take longer than average or if something occurs in your case to extend the transaction time.
If you are selling a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take longer. In such a situation, additional charges would apply, and we will notify you of the additional charges and time estimate when we, or the buyers, solicitors have engaged the landlord to discuss the extension.
Matters that can typically delay a transaction include delays in searches, issues with a mortgage offer, issues raised in a survey or delays from the other party or the other parties’ solicitors.
Key Milestones and Stages of the Process
The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, a broad outline of the work we will be doing for you is as follows:
• obtaining information about the transaction from you
• checking the title to the property and preparing draft documentation
• supplying information about the property to your purchaser’s solicitors
• obtaining information from the freeholder or managing agents
• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Check finances are in place to discharge mortgages if needed
• Research title and issue contact documents
• Reply to any necessary enquiries from the purchaser’s solicitor
• Give you advice on all documents and information received
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Agree completion date (date from which you will no longer own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from the purchaser’s solicitors
• Complete sale
• Deal with discharging the mortgage (if applicable)
• Dealing with any estate agent fees (if applicable)
For Leasehold properties, most of the stages remain the same, but will include other processes, such as contacting the freeholder to ascertain their requirements in relation to the sale.
Other Factors and Exclusions
Our fees are fixed, however there may be factors which would typically increase the cost of the fees estimated above. Where there is likely to be any additional cost, we will make sure you are informed of this at the earliest opportunity and a clear estimate of those extra costs will be provided. Factors to consider which may affect your Legal Fees: –
• Value of the property.
• In Sale cases, whether primary residence, buy to let or second/holiday home.
• Multiple owners.
• Shared ownership scheme.
• Using a help to buy scheme, and whether it is an equity loan or ISA.
• Sale under right to buy.
• Sale at auction.
• Property has been repossessed.
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.
The Conveyancing Team
Depending on the type of transaction, complexity and experience required we will allocate the most appropriate member of our residential conveyancing team to your transaction once you instruct us.
Regardless of who works on your case, they will be supervised by the head of our residential property department Avi Barr, Solicitor and Partner at Orwins.
For more information on our team members, visit Our People.
Questions
If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, all our contact information can be found here: Contact Us.