Hodkin & Company – Residential Conveyancing Charges

Our fees cover all the usual work (further details of which are listed below) required to complete the sale of your present property or the purchase of your new home (whether freehold or leasehold), including (in the case of a purchase) 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.

We do not make a separate charge for completing the SDLT return or the Land Registry registration application. The quoted fees will also include acting for your mortgage lender, where applicable. An additional charge may be made if you are buying your new home in joint names and require us to prepare a separate declaration of trust. In this case we will advise you and agree the fee for this service in advance.

Conveyancer's fees and disbursements

Legal fee
For purchases or sales up to £200,000 - £950.00 plus 20% VAT
For purchases or sales between £200,000 and £350,000 - £1150 plus 20% VAT
For purchases or sales between £350,000 and £500,000 - £1400 plus 20% VAT
For purchases or sales between £500,000 and £750,000 - £1600 plus 20% VAT
For purchases or sales between £750,000 and £1,000,000 - £1800 plus 20% VAT
For purchases or sales over £1,000,000 - 0.19% of the price plus 20% VAT
Search fees £300 approximately. These vary depending on which local authority area the property is in. We will confirm these in our client care letter at the start of the transaction.
HM Land Registry fee from £100-£500. This varies depending on the purchase price for the property. Again, we will confirm these in our client care letter at the start of the transaction.
Electronic money transfer fee £24.00 inclusive of 20% VAT.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees, as set out above. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. There is no VAT on disbursements where we are simply paying a fee on your behalf – such as search and land registry fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax.

If you are buying a leasehold property, there will be additional expenses which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the terms of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller's solicitors.

Notice of Transfer fee - This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 and £150 (plus 20% VAT)
Deed of Covenant fee - This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100 and £250 (plus 20% VAT if applicable).
Certificate of Compliance fee - To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £50 and £250 (plus 20% VAT if applicable)

These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you a more accurate figure once we have sight of 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 in our report to you on the property.

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 https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro or if the property is located in Wales by using https://lttcalculator.wra.gov.wales/

Key Stages

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, we set out below some key stages:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender's solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on contract documents
Carry out searches
Obtain further planning documentation if required
Make any necessary enquiries of seller's solicitor
Give you advice on all documents and information received
Go through conditions of mortgage offer
Send final contract to you for signature
Draft Transfer
Advise you on joint ownership
Obtain pre-completion searches
Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
Complete purchase
Deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax
Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 12-18 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a cash buyer, purchasing an existing property, it could take 5 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property, this can take longer, and if a lease extension is required as part of the conveyancing process, significantly longer, as much as 6 months. In such a situation (lease extension) additional charges would apply.

Our fee assumes that:

a. this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (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
for leasehold properties - 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 will apply if indemnity policies are required.

Termination

You may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time. We are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while money is owing to us.

We will decide to stop acting for you only with good reason and on giving you reasonable notice. What costs you might have to pay on termination (or if the transaction is aborted) will depend on what stage the transaction has reached. For instance, if you decide to withdraw from the sale or purchase before contract documentation has been received or sent, the cost to you will be minimal. If however you decide to withdraw later on in the transaction, just before exchange of contracts for example, much of the necessary work will have already been completed and the costs payable in these circumstances are likely to be 75% or 80% of the agreed fee, plus any disbursements incurred to that point, such as search fees.

Who will be dealing with my case?

Peter Hodkin, the Principal of the firm oversees all the work. He qualified in 1989 and has 30 years of experience in Conveyancing
The members of staff who may carry out your work are:
Helen Barlow – Legal Assistant. She has 40 years of experience in Conveyancing
Sylvia Tomlin – Legal Assistant. She has 35 years of experience in conveyancing
Lee Blazer – Assistant Solicitor. Qualified in 2018 with 6 years of experience in Conveyancing