Any disbursements relating to the work will also be payable. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf and will usually obtain funds on account from you before we incur the cost of disbursements on your behalf.
Timescales
At the outset of the matter, we will give you an estimate of the likely timescales involved, and the speed of the transaction will depend on various factors some of which are set out below:
- Availability of a full pre-contract package from seller with all relevant title documents and planning documents.
- Both parties’ speed in providing replies and instructions.
- Existence of any title defects, physical defects, breaches of any planning permission, building control or listed building issues.
- Speed of obtaining search results from local authorities and other providers.
- The availability of a suitable management pack from the landlord/managing agents and their speed in providing replies to any enquiries.
- Whether the buyer has a mortgage offer in place.
- Whether the transaction is dependent on a simultaneous transaction of another property.
- Your speed in providing us with suitable and sufficient ID and proof of address documents and sufficient proof of source of wealth and proof of funds to enable us to comply with our duties under the Money Laundering regulations 2017.
We will inform you as soon as we become aware that our estimate regarding timescales may have to be revised.
Example of the scope of work for a standard residential purchase or sale:
- Dealing with any landlord requirements if your property is leasehold.
- Dealing with exchange of contracts and any post exchange requirements.
- Dealing with post completion work such as the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax if the property is in Wales.
- Dealing with registration and any reasonable requisitions raised by the Land Registry.
- Drafting a contract package on your sale and reviewing the contract package on your purchase.
- Drafting a report on title on a purchase.
- Drafting and approving the transfer on a purchase and reviewing and approving the transfer on a sale.
- For a purchase, satisfying the source of wealth and proof of funds requirements under our duties under the Money Laundering regulations 2017.
- Investigating the title on a purchase and dealing with additional enquiries.
- Liaising with third parties including estate agents and your mortgage lender, if applicable.
- Onboarding you as a client of Mackrell and undertaking identity checks.
- Redeeming your mortgage on a sale.
Sale of a freehold residential property
Fees
The total cost of carrying out a residential freehold sale from inception to completion will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, there may be a need for seniority due to the complexity of the matter and the value of the property.
Our fees would usually fall in the range of 0.5% – 1.0% of the value of the property, plus VAT and our minimum fee for dealing with a freehold residential sale is usually £2000 plus VAT plus disbursements.
Disbursements
On a freehold sale your disbursements will include:
- CHAPS transfer fees – £25 plus VAT.
- Land Registry official copies.
Purchase of a freehold residential property
Fees
The total cost of carrying out a residential freehold purchase from inception to completion will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, there may be a need for seniority due to the complexity of the matter and the value of the property.
Our fees would usually fall in the range of 0.5% – 1.0% of the value of the property, plus VAT and our minimum fee for dealing with a freehold residential sale is usually £2000 plus VAT plus disbursements.
Disbursements
On a freehold purchase your disbursements are likely to be as follows:
- CHAPS transfer fees – £25 plus VAT.
- Land Registry Registration fees – £45.00 to £1,105.00 depending on the value of the property and type of transaction.
- Search fees – A typical search pack for Central London is in the region of £500 to £600.
Sale of a leasehold residential property
Fees
The total cost of carrying out a residential leasehold sale from inception to completion will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, there may be a need for seniority due to the complexity of the matter and the value of the property.
Our fees would usually fall in the range of 0.5% – 1.0% of the value of the property, plus VAT and our minimum fee for dealing with a freehold residential sale is usually £2000 plus VAT plus disbursements.
Disbursements
On a leasehold sale your disbursements will include:
- CHAPS transfer fees – £25 plus VAT.
- Landlord’s fees – your lease may require a licence to assign, or a deed of covenant and you will need to pay the landlord’s solicitor’s fees in relation to these documents. These costs can vary and are often in the region of £1500 to £2000 plus VAT.
- Land Registry official copies.
- Management pack from your landlord or managing agent – costs can vary, and they are usually in the region of £250 to £1000 plus VAT.
Purchase of a leasehold residential property
Fees
The total cost of carrying out a residential leasehold purchase from inception to completion will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, there may be a need for seniority due to the complexity of the matter and the value of the property.
Our fees would usually fall in the range of 0.5% – 1.0% of the value of the property, plus VAT and our minimum fee for dealing with a freehold residential sale is usually £2000 plus VAT plus disbursements.
On a leasehold purchase disbursements will include:
- Land Registry Registration fees – £45.00 to £1,105.00 depending on the value of the property and type of transaction.
- Search fees – A typical search pack for Central London is in the region of £500 to £600.
- Serving notices on the landlord in relation to new ownership and notifying the landlord of any mortgage. These fees can vary, and we suggest allowing for up to £200 plus VAT for each notice.
- There may also be fees for obtaining a new share/membership certificate in a freehold company or a management company. These fees can vary, and we suggest allowing for up to £500.00 to £1000 plus VAT.
Tax
Purchases
We will advise you in relation to the basic amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax (or Land Transaction Tax if the property is in Wales) that you will have to pay on your transaction. If you need more detailed advice, our fee estimate will not include liaising with any third parties.
You will need to seek separate advice on any other taxes that may apply on your purchase and our private client department will be able to assist.
Please see the below link to the Government’s online calculator:
Stamp Duty Land Tax Calculator
Sales
You will need to seek separate advice on any taxes that may apply on your sale and our private client department will be able to assist.
Mortgages and Re-mortgages
For mortgages and re-mortgages, our fees cover the following:
- Completing the mortgage.
- Dealing with the lender’s requirements.
- Investigating the title to the property.
- Registering the charge at the Land Registry and if required arranging for the discharge of the previous mortgage.
- Reviewing the searches raised.
This assumes the same factors as the freehold purchase examples and in addition it assumes:
- We are acting for you and for your lender using the lender’s standard form documents; and
- We are not also advising a guarantor.
To outline the stages of the transaction, once you have found an appropriate lender and they have made you an offer, the property is usually investigated in a similar way to a purchase transaction.
The timescale of mortgage and remortgage transactions can vary between providers.
Our fees will be based on our hourly rates, and we would not normally accept instructions to act in such a matter where the minimum fee was to be less than £2,000 plus VAT and disbursements.
Assumptions
- All lawyers are accredited under the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).
- No unusual matters are revealed by searches.
- One title is involved.
- The property has not been repossessed.
- The property is not a new build.
- The property is not subject to the Building Safety Act legislation.
- There are no boundary issues.
- There are no issues in relation to insolvency.
- There are no personal loans or gifted deposits involved in the purchase of the property.
- There is no conflict of interest.
- There is no separate representation for the lender.
- There is no unregistered land.
- This is not an auction sale.
- Your transaction will be a standard residential transaction, and all parties are resident in the UK.
There may be other factors that could affect the scope and estimate that we provide and as mentioned above we always prefer to have a detailed conversation with any prospective client at the outset of the transaction to enable us to provide a fair and realistic scope and estimate that may be subject to change depending on various factors.
