Buying a Property

For most of us buying a house is the biggest investment we will make and for this reason you need a trusted solicitor with your interests at heart. We are one of the few firms in England and Wales to be granted a Conveyancing Quality Scheme Accreditation by the Law Society.

“The Conveyancing Quality Scheme provides a recognized quality standard for residential conveyancing practices.”
The Law Society

Our service and commitment

Our conveyancing service is designed with the client in mind. We have experienced solicitors specialising in conveyancing work. With the rapid expansion of Aberystwyth as the centre of Ceredigion, we have acted for the main developers in the area and for hundreds of individuals so whether you are buying an older property or a new one, we are ideally suited to act on your behalf. We will take care of all the organisational and administrative work to ensure that you become the legal owner as smoothly as possible.

We guarantee to keep you informed at every stage of the transaction and we are always at hand to answer your queries by telephone and by email.

Our commitment is to offer you a quality service at a reasonable cost. We offer a free first interview in which we will explain the steps involved in the conveyancing transaction and its cost. We can provide estimates by telephone, email and post. To obtain details, please contact us.

Profiles of our conveyancing team can also be found on our Lawyer Profile pages. If you wish to sell a property, please see our Selling a Property page.

Purchase of Freehold Residential

How long will my purchase take?

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 6 – 10 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 6 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 2 – 3 months. In such, a situation, additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. These are some of the key stages:

• Receive your instructions and give you initial advice
• Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
• Receive and consider the 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
• Advise you about the conditions of mortgage offer
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts (date from which you are legally committed to the transaction) 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
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Fees for residential conveyancing

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete your transaction, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales or Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England. Links to WRA and HMRC Land Tax/Stamp Duty calculators are to be found below.

Our fee assumes that:

• 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.
• if the property is leasehold, we are dealing with a transfer of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
• the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication 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.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

Our fees for residential conveyancing tend to range from between 0.375% and 0.45% of the price subject to a minimum fee of £550.00 plus VAT. Leasehold transactions tend to be at the higher end while a straightforward registered residential transaction tends to be at the lower end. When we commence work for you, we provide you with a detailed estimate and summary of the work which we will undertake on your behalf.

In addition to the legal fees, there are also other disbursements payable. These are costs which are payable to third parties, such as search providers or the Land Registry. Typical disbursements in a sale are a Land Registry fee of £6.00 and electronic money transfer fees of £30.00 (including VAT) for each transfer. Typical disbursements in a purchase are:-

• Local Search fee
• Water & Drainage Search fee
• A Land Registry fee which is based on a scale which depends upon the purchase price, whether the land is registered or whether the whole or any part of the title is being purchased. The lowest Land Registry fee is £20.00 and the highest fee (on a purchase up to £1,000,000) is £540.00.
• Electronic money transfer fee

Leasehold Residential

When buying a leasehold property, there are usually additional disbursements which will need to be paid as follows:-

• Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £75.00 – £125.00.
• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £75.00 – £150.00.
• 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 £50.00 – £100.00.
• Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £50.00 – £100.00.

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 this we receive this information.

Land Tax or Stamp Duty

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website https://lttcalculator.wra.gov.wales/ if the property is located in Wales or by using HMRC’s website https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/ if the property is located in England.