Leasehold Residential Purchase Pricing

Whether you are a first-time buyer or an experienced investor, we are here to take the stress out of buying a leasehold residential property.

We offer a conveyancing service that fits your exact requirements and where necessary we can recommend other professionals such as Surveyors, IFAs (Independent Financial Advisors) and property valuers.

At a time where money really matters, we always provide a quality service at a fair price. We will keep you up-to-date with all of the relevant information so you can make informed decisions and have complete confidence that every detail has been properly taken care of.

Why Us

Tayntons Residential Property team are accredited members of The Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme – the mark of excellence for residential property solicitors. Our Residential Property team are highly skilled professionals and have over 130 years’ combined conveyancing experience between them. They pride themselves on making sure the conveyancing process runs as quickly and smoothly, as possible, utilising their legal and technical “know how” to resolve any issues as they arise in a professional and efficient manner.

We understand that communication is key, so will make sure we are always available to answer your questions in plain English and will keep you informed at every stage of the process. You will have the confidence that you are our priority, with our aim being that any member of the team is available to speak with you when you need some clarity and certainty during your transaction. We feel this provides reassurance and gives you an outlet for any concerns that you may have.

Our approach is simple; we provide a first-class service from our expert team who make the difference by removing confusion and uncertainty, dealing with all of the legal details of a property transaction on your behalf with no hidden fees.

We are proud to hold the Lexcel Accreditation awarded by The Law Society. This involves the firm undergoing a rigorous audit process which ensures we maintain high levels of client care.

Pricing

Tayntons has always been transparent regarding our fees and we would encourage you to visit our Instant Conveyancing Quote page where you will be able to generate a quote and breakdown of the legal fees, disbursements and other anticipated costs. There will be no hidden surprises – our costs and anticipated disbursements are fully broken down in our quotes.

We review our fees on a regular basis, considering clients’ feedback so we can make sure we always offer the best value for your money. We typically work on a fixed fee basis, ensuring that you know what the fees will be for your transaction from the outset. If during the transaction there is a new development, we will discuss the change in fees with you and agree a way forward. This would typically occur if you changed your instructions, or your case involves an unforeseen complexity.

Our fees

Our fees cover all the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the 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.

In order to provide you with the most accurate quote for your circumstances, we have a conveyancing quote calculator on our website which will provide you with our costs and any disbursements once you have entered the required information.

VAT, currently 20%, will be payable on all our fees and some disbursements, and we will clearly confirm which disbursements carry VAT in our quote generator and formal quotation or as we advise you to incur them. Below is an example of our average fees for a leasehold residential property purchase:

• Our average standard legal fee for a residential freehold property purchase is from £950.00 – £3,525.00 plus VAT (£1,140.00 – £4,230.00 inc. VAT)
• If the property is Leasehold, we will charge an additional fee of £300.00 plus VAT (£360.00 Inc. VAT)
• 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.
• We will charge the sum of £40.00 plus VAT (a total of £48.00 Inc. VAT) for each electronic money transfer payment.
• For residential purchases involving a Help to Buy Loan or Help to Buy ISA/Lifetime ISA there will be an additional fee:
  • Help to Buy Loan Additional Fee £300.00 plus VAT (£360.00 Inc. VAT)
  • Help to Buy ISA/ Lifetime ISA additional fee £50 plus VAT (Inc. VAT £60.00)
• For residential property purchases using a corporate vehicle (purchasing 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.

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:

• ID Check £20.00 plus VAT (£24.00) per person
• Source of Funds/Wealth Check £10 plus VAT (£12.00 Inc. VAT) per person

Disbursements

Disbursements are any costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

These disbursements are payable on top of our own legal fees. We will be able to advise which disbursements are applicable to you if you ask us to provide a quotation based on your specific requirements. In order to provide you with the most accurate quote for your circumstances, we have a conveyancing quote calculator on our website which will provide you with our costs and any disbursements once you have entered the required information.

If your property is leasehold, the following additional costs may arise:

• Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £75 – £100 plus VAT (£90 – £120 Inc. VAT)
• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £75 – £100 plus VAT (£90 – £120 Inc. VAT)
• Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. This can range from £150 to £500 plus VAT. (£180 – £600 Inc. VAT) The exact figure will be revealed by our enquiries and will be confirmed to you prior to exchange of contracts.
• Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £150 – £300 plus VAT (£180 – £360 Inc. VAT). Again the exact figure will be confirmed prior to exchange of contract.

These fees will vary from property to property and can on occasions be significantly more than the ranges given above. We will give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out in our quote calculator. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the term of the lease. We will update you on specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller’s solicitors.

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charges are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

This depends on the purchase price of your property. 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.

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 that may lead to an increase in cost include:

• If a legal title is defective or part of the property is unregistered
• If you discover building regulations or planning permission has not been obtained
• If crucial documents, we have previously requested from you have not been provided to us
• If the property is a new build
• If the property is less than 10 years old
• If you require to exchange within 6 weeks of instructing us
• If you require completion within 6 weeks of instructing us
• If you require simultaneous exchange and completion

Please note that we do not undertake tax advice.

Time Scales

For any transaction, the timescales are subject to change depending on when your offer is accepted and other factors involved. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first-time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 12 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 4 and 6 months. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

Our fee assumes that:

• This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise, including (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
• 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 complications arise
• All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
• No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required

Key Milestones

With every transaction there are key milestones, which may vary according to individual circumstances. They may be as follows:

• Taking your instructions and giving you initial advice
• Undertaking regulatory checks.
• Checking finances are in place to fund purchase and contacting lender’s solicitors if needed
• Receiving and advising on contract documents
• Carrying out searches
• Obtaining further planning documentation if required
• Making any necessary enquiries with the seller’s solicitor
• Giving you advice on all documents and information received
• Going through the conditions of your mortgage offer
• Sending the final contract to you for signature
• Draft Transfer
• Advising you on joint ownership
• Obtaining pre-completion searches
• Agreeing a completion date (the date from which you own the property)
• Exchanging contracts and notifying you that this has happened
• Arranging for all monies needed to be received from you and your lender
• Completing purchase
• Dealing with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Dealing with application for registration at Land Registry

Who will advise you?

We allocate the most appropriate member of our Residential Property team to your transaction once you instruct us, taking into account the type of transaction, complexity and experience required and the workloads within the department.

You can see details on all members of our Residential Property team here. The team is supervised by Andrew Ollerenshaw.