Purchase of a freehold residential property

Conveyancing Department

We have the following conveyancing professionals who may work on your matter.

Richard Nelson – Partner

Richard is head of our property department and has over 35 years experience of conveyancing with Nicholson Portnell and its predecessor firm. He is an accredited member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

Simon Jewitt – Partner

Simon Jewitt has over 15 years experience of conveyancing. Simon is also a member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme as well as the Agricultural Law Association.

Jenny Ford – Solicitor

Jenny joined Nicholson Portnell in 2023.

Jenny qualified as a Solicitor in 2007 and specialises in Property Law, whether this be Residential or Commercial.

Helen Appleby-Mitchell – Solicitor

Helen returned to Nicholson Portnell in 2023 having previously been at the firm earlier in her career.

Helen qualified as a Solicitor in 2014 and specialises in conveyancing and residential property work.

Ashley Shepard – Solicitor Apprentice

Ashley has been with Nicholson Portnell since 2004.

Ashley joined the firm as office junior and worked her way up to conveyancing secretary. Ashley qualified as a paralegal in 2018 after study and completing a Law Society approved course in residential conveyancing law.

All members of the conveyancing team complete several professional development courses each year.

Please click here for further details About Us

Richard Nelson

Simon Jewitt

Jenny Ford

Helen Appleby-Mitchell

Ashley Shepard

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry.

Legal fee typically between £975 and £1500.

Please contact us for the purchase of residential properties where the value of the property exceeds £500,000.

Please call a member of our conveyancing department for a bespoke quote.

The estimated fee given to you will assume 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
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 may apply if indemnity policies are required.

If any of these factors do come into play the cost of our additional time will be based on our hourly rates, as follows:

Solicitors 8 years qualified £275 per hour
Solicitors 4-8 years qualified £218 per hour
Other Solicitors or Legally experienced Fee Earners £177 per hour
Trainee Solicitors £126 per hour

If you are buying with the assistance of a mortgage the extra charges for dealing with this mortgage will be £250. In the event that the mortgage is a government backed Help to Buy Mortgage the extra charge is £500, due to the extra paperwork involved.

If the price of the property you are buying exceeds the threshold requiring the submission of a Stamp Duty Land Tax Return Form (SDLT Return Form) if the property is in England, or a Land Transaction Tax Return (LTT Return) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales, the firm charges a standard fee of £80 for completion of the SDLT Return Form or the LTT Return.

If the property you are buying is a new build property, the firm charges an additional £500. This is due to the additional sales documentation supplied on a new build property which needs to be considered.

If the property being purchased forms part of a title, then the firm charges an additional £400 due to the extra time involved.

If part of the purchase price is being gifted to you (by a family member for example) the firm charges a standard fee of £200 due to the extra time involved in dealing with the same.

VAT is payable on all of the above at the prevailing rate (currently 20%).

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Search fees between £220 and £305 (plus VAT where applicable)

Other searches which will need to be made following exchange of Contracts, but the cost is only likely to be in the region of £20 plus VAT (depending upon what is revealed by the investigation of title).

HM Land Registry fee between £20 and £910

The law requires solicitors to get satisfactory evidence of the identity of their clients. Our standard practice is to meet with our client in person and inspect their original passport or photocard driving licence and an original utility bill with their address on it (that is dated within the last three months). If it is not possible for us to meet with our client in person to verify their identity, or for our clients to supply the appropriate identification documents, we may need to carry out electronic identification checks. The electronic identification checks will result in a cost of £5 plus VAT per person.

Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property and whether you already own any other property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC‘s website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website here .

How long will my house 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 and to the wishes of the parties. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a cash buyer, purchasing a freehold property, without any defects in the title to the property being bought and the seller does not have a related transaction, it could take 4 weeks. However, if you are buying a property where there are unreasonable delays from third parties in providing documentation; or there is a need for the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction; or there is a complex chain of sellers and purchasers, this can take significantly longer and between 3 and 6 months or more. 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.

However, in a standard transaction with no unusual issues arising, the stages would involve:

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

Contact Nicholson Portnell

Should you have any queries about our conveyancing services or for a quote, please contact us at: conveyancingenquiries@nicholsonportnell.com or contact us on 01434 603656