Residential Conveyancing Price & Service Transparency Information

We pride ourselves on offering an excellent, client-focused residential property service to all of our clients. We explain our fees, the disbursements you’re likely to pay, the stages involved in a typical transaction, how long it usually takes, who will carry out your work, and what to do if you’re unhappy with our service.

Who will carry out your work

Every residential property transaction at Spencer West LLP is led by a qualified and experienced lawyer being qualified for at least 5 years. They may be a solicitor, Licensed Conveyancer, CILEX Fellow. You can find the profiles of our lawyers on our website: https://www.spencer-west.com/expertise/services/residential-property/
They may be assisted by a trainee solicitor, paralegal or a legal assistant from time to time, whose time is charged separately (see Our fees, below). All residential conveyancing matters are supervised by Joanne Cummings who has been qualified for 18 years.

Our fees

We specialise in high-value and often complex property transactions. Our fees vary depending on which one or more of the following factors apply to your transaction:
the location of the property

  • its value
  • whether it is freehold or leasehold
  • whether the property is subject to Building Saf
  • whether it is being bought with mortgage financing
  • whether the transaction involves extending a lease
  • whether the property is being bought off-plan or is a newly built property
  • the timescale involved

Our conveyancing fees are usually charged as a fixed fee, which covers taking your instructions, drafting or reviewing the contract, and providing and reviewing the title, raising and replying to enquiries, reporting to you and your lender, and completing the transaction. There are occasions when clients specifically ask to be charged on an hourly basis instead. Where this applies, our hourly rates are:

  • Solicitors: £200 to £1000 plus VAT per hour, depending on the solicitor instructed
  • Trainee Solicitors: £150 plus VAT per hour
  • Paralegals: £150 plus VAT per hour

Our minimum fixed fees are:

  • Sale or purchase of an existing freehold property: £1,950 plus VAT
  • Sale or purchase of an existing leasehold property: £2,200 plus VAT
  • Purchase of a new-build property, whether freehold or leasehold: £1,950 plus VAT, plus disbursements

These are minimum fees for straightforward transactions. The actual fee quoted to you will reflect the factors listed above and will always be confirmed and agreed with you in writing before you instruct us.

VAT is currently charged at 20%. All fees quoted on this page are stated exclusive of VAT unless we say otherwise. We are registered for VAT under registration number 113 167 350.

What isn’t included in our fee

Our quoted fee does not cover dealing with a defective title, indemnity insurance arrangements, unregistered land, Help to Buy or shared ownership schemes, or advice outside standard conveyancing. If additional work becomes necessary once we start acting for you, we will discuss this with you and agree any additional charge before carrying it out.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs relating to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search providers, HM Land Registry and, for leasehold transactions, the landlord, management company or their agents. We handle payment of disbursements on your behalf to make the process easier for you. Typical disbursements are set out below; exact figures depend on your specific property and will be confirmed once we have full details.

For all transactions:

  • Property search fees (local authority, drainage and environmental searches): £300 – £700 (inc. VAT)
  • HM Land Registry registration fee – a scale fee based on the value of the property and whether you apply electronically; not subject to VAT: £20 – £910
  • HM Land Registry document and search fees (e.g. official search of title, bankruptcy search, priority searches ): from £7.00 plus VAT

The amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax (for properties in England) or Land Transaction Tax (for properties in Wales) depends on the purchase price of the property, who is buying it, whether the buyer already owns another property in the UK or abroad, and, since 1 April 2021.whether any buyer is non-UK resident. SDLT and LTT are not subject to VAT. You can estimate the amount payable using HMRC’s SDLT calculator or the Welsh Revenue Authority’s LTT calculator.

For leasehold transactions, you are also likely to pay disbursements to the landlord, management company or managing agent. These typically include:

  • Landlord’s and/or managing agent’s sales pack typically £300 – £500 plus VAT
  • Notice of Transfer fee (to register the transfer with the landlord/managing agent): typically £100 – £200 plus VAT
  • Notice of Charge fee (if the property is being bought with a mortgage): typically £100 – £300 plus VAT
  • Deed of Covenant fee (set by the management company and can be considerably more for larger developments): typically £100 – £350 plus VAT
  • Certificate of Compliance fee (where required by the lease): typically £150 – £250 plus VAT

These leasehold fees vary between properties and can be significantly higher than the ranges above; we will confirm the actual figures once we have sight of your lease and management information pack.

Key stages of your transaction

The exact stages involved vary according to the circumstances of your transaction, but typically include the following.

Purchase
  1. Take your instructions and give initial advice
  2. Onboarding and source of funds due diligence
  3. Receive and review contract documents and title
  4. Carry out property searches
  5. Raise enquiries of the seller’s solicitor
  6. Review your mortgage offer, if applicable
  7. Send the final contract to you for signature
  8. Agree a completion date
  9. Exchange contracts
  10. Arrange for all monies needed to be received from you, and your lender if applicable
  11. Complete your purchase
  12. Deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax
  13. Register your ownership, and any mortgage, at HM Land Registry
Sale
  1. Take your instructions and give initial advice
  2. Onboarding and proof of ownership due dilligence
  3. Obtain the title documents and prepare the contract pack
  4. Reply to the buyer’s enquiries
  5. Send the final contract to you for signature
  6. Agree a completion date
  7. Exchange contracts
  8. Complete your sale
  9. Redeem your mortgage, if applicable, and account to you for the net sale proceeds
How long will it take?

Transaction lengths vary depending on a number of factors. Some very simple transactions complete within days, while others, such as off-plan purchases, complete only once the property has been built, which can be years after your initial instruction.

On average, it takes 4 to 8 weeks from instruction to exchange of contracts for a freehold transaction, and 6 to 12 weeks for a leasehold transaction. Completion can take place on the same day as exchange of contracts, or at a later date agreed between the parties. Timescales can be affected by factors including the length of any chain, how quickly search results and mortgage offers are received, the responsiveness of other parties, and — for leasehold transactions — how quickly the landlord or management company provides the information and consents needed.

What to do if you’re unhappy with our service

If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please contact Joanne Cummings at [email protected] as director of Real Estate in the first instance or Jon Sharp at [email protected] in the first instance. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available here: https://spencer-west.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/content/e0257d9cf833b8d64be073fdd7756929.pdf We will investigate your complaint and aim to provide a full response within eight weeks.

If, after receiving our final response, you remain unhappy, or if eight weeks pass without a response, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, provided it falls within its jurisdiction. Complaints must normally be referred to the Legal Ombudsman within six years of the act or omission complained of, or three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint, and in any event no later than one year from the date of our final response. The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted at:

Legal Ombudsman, Edward House, 92-93 Edward Street Birmingham B1 2RA

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

You may also raise a concern about our professional conduct with the Solicitors Regulation Authority at www.sra.org.uk.

Please feel free to contact us to discuss fees in relation to your residential property matter.