Lee & Co and its predecessors have been dealing with residential conveyancing since 1945 and our Mr Geoffrey Lee has been involved with the sale and purchase of all types of property, both residential and commercial since 1969.
He is well versed in title deeds prior to Land Registration and very few solicitors who still practice today have that expertise.
Mr Bill Meeson specialises in residential conveyance and has exclusively done so since qualification in 1990.
Mrs Margaret Hearn (a paralegal) also specialises in residential conveyancing with over 30 years experience. Their secretaries have been active in this field for some 40 years.
The sale or purchase of your home is accordingly in safe hands.
Whether it is a sale or purchase, our Conveyancing fees for a simple transaction commence at the price of £650 plus VAT and disbursements. Depending on the type and location of the property will dictate the work which has to be done and you should telephone us for a specific quotation.
Disbursements are costs relating to your matter and are payable to third parties. These vary according to your matter including, Stamp Duty, Land Registry Fees, electronic money transfer fees, Identity, Bankruptcy and other Search fees.
We have no control over the amount of these disbursements and they will be the same with any firm of solicitors but when we know the nature of your matter we can give a more accurate assessment. In the meantime please see the following to give you some idea of the expense.
Please note the standard rate of VAT is presently 20% on all services
Anticipated Expenses
| Purchase | |
| Local and other Searches including drainage, environment and mining | estimate £300 |
| Identity Searches if necessary (per name) | estimate £25 |
| Bankruptcy Searches | per person £2 |
| Land Registry search | per title per search £3 |
| Land Registry fee based on the purchase price of the property and if previously registered. If unregistered additional fees are payable. | from £20 |
| Bank Telegraphic Transfer fee | £45 incl Vat |
| Stamp Duty | Based on property value |
| Sales | |
| Land Registry Office Copy Entries | £6 per document |
| Telegraphic Transfer Fee | £45 incl Vat |
| Building Society production fee (if claimed) | £50 – £100 plus Vat |
Lee & Co have no obligation to effect payment of the disbursement unless funds have been provided by the Client in advance. VAT is payable on certain disbursements.
Leasehold Purchases
These are more involved than an ordinary purchase of a freehold property. Accordingly we charge a further sum of £100 plus Vat to take into account the extra work involved.
In addition to the anticipated expenses noted above you may be expected to pay further charges and expenses, of which we can only inform you when we have had sight of the lease and any management pack sent to us. To give you an indication of those costs / expenses, these are :
| Fees or Charges payable to others could be | Between |
| Transfer Fee / Charge Notice | £50 – £150 |
| Permission / Licence to Assign | £75 – £750 |
| Management Company charges | £250 – £1000 |
| Possible third party Certificate charges (e.g. Company Share) | £50 – £200 |
Other Transactions
There are other occasions when the transfer or a dealing in Property arises and not related to a sale or purchase when our fees will be as follows:
| Transfer of Equity with re-mortgage | Freehold – from £450 plus Vat Leasehold – from £475 plus Vat |
| Deed of Gift or a re-mortgage | From £450 plus Vat and disbursements |
| First Registration at Land Registry | From £500 plus Vat and disbursements |
| Transfer of a plot of land without a price being paid | Fee charges at out hourly rate with a minimum Fee of £750 plus Vat and disbursements. |
If completion is more than 3 to 4 months away we will have to repeat the searches and there will be extra fees chargeable depending on the time involved.
If completion is required urgently we can complete within a short time period depending on circumstance but there may be additional fees of £175 plus Vat and possibly further expenses for express searches.
Please note that the standard rate of VAT is 20% which is set by the Government to all service charges.
It is worth giving us a call to discuss your position which may help us to give you a more accurate estimation and the possibility of a reduction.
Length of time to Complete the transaction
A straightforward purchase or sale of a freehold should take between 5 to 7 weeks and if leasehold between 9 to 11 weeks from receipt of the papers by us. There are factors which may influence these timetables and may extend them if there is delays involving your mortgage (if any) or if the transaction is part of a long chain of transactions with third parties, or if problems arise from our investigations in to the title and ownership of the property. These factors may be beyond our control but we will contact you and keep you informed at each stage, and we will do our best to assist you in completing the purchase or sale on time.
Please contact us here and ask for Bill Meeson or Margaret Hearn.