Conveyancing quote and fees

What the quote covers

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete your transaction, including registration at HM Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax if it is in Wales.

The quote calculator lists our legal fee, VAT and the disbursements we expect for your transaction. It covers purchases, sales, buying and selling together, remortgages and transfers of equity, including leasehold, shared ownership, new build, right to buy, Help to Buy and gifted deposits.

Disbursements

Disbursements are 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. The disbursements we anticipate are set out in your quote.

Leasehold properties

There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the property. There may be others depending on the terms of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees once we have received and reviewed the lease from the seller's solicitors.

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

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge 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

Stamp Duty is not included in the quote. It depends on the purchase price and your circumstances. You can calculate it using HMRC's calculator, or the Welsh Revenue Authority's calculator for a property in Wales.

You must be completely open with us about your Stamp Duty position, which is payable on completion. If you are a first-time buyer you must tell us; if you are buying an additional property you must also tell us from the outset.

What our fee assumes

• This is a standard transaction and no unforeseen matters arise, for example a defect in title which needs putting right before completion, or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.
• For a leasehold purchase, this is the assignment of an existing lease and 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 documents.
• No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if they are.

What could change the cost

There may be unforeseen variables that increase the cost of a transaction, such as (but not limited to) unregistered land, shared ownership, gifted deposits and Help to Buy equity loans. Non-standard titles which need further investigation could also incur further costs. We always recommend you contact us for a specific quote for your transaction.

Depending on the circumstances and title of your property, there could be additional disbursements we had not anticipated, for example a tin mining search, a radon gas check or a flood report. We will tell you about any likely additional disbursements.

We reserve the right to increase our costs if the matter becomes more protracted or complicated than we initially anticipated. If we expect our costs to exceed the estimate given at the outset, we will tell you before increasing them.

How long it takes

The average purchase takes between 8 and 12 weeks from your offer being accepted. A first-time buyer purchasing a new build with a mortgage in principle could complete in around 6 weeks; a leasehold property needing a lease extension can take between 3 and 6 months. Read our guide to conveyancing timescales.

To get started

We will need your ID documents and proof of funds to open a file and progress the matter, and £250 on account to order the necessary searches.