Residential Conveyancing
Since the inception of the firm in the 1980s, Twomlows has had a vigorous residential conveyancing department and can service all your needs in relation to house sales, purchases and re-mortgages.
Whether you are moving home, buying a property for the first time or changing your lender we provide a first class service. The majority of our work comes from recommendations from existing clients and professional advisers – we do not pay referral fees to estate agents in order to obtain work.
Our Fees
We generally offer a fixed fee based on the value of the property. There is no additional charge for dealing with one mortgage lender per transaction but we do charge £30 for the electronic transfer of funds to redeem any mortgage or transmit sale proceeds to you. The prices below assume a registered freehold title and do not include VAT or disbursements.
SALES AND PURCHASES
There may be additional fees depending on the nature of the transaction. The most common ones and their additional fee are listed below. These charges are necessary because of the additional time/costs that will be incurred.
LEASEHOLD PROPERTIES
ADDSHARED OWNERSHIP
ADDNEW BUILD
ADDTT FEE
ADDSTAMP DUTY/LAND TRANSACTION TAX RETURNS
ADDARRANGING BESPOKE INDEMNITY POLICY
ADD
LENDER PORTAL
FEE
ADD
PREPARING / APPROVING STATUTORY DECLARATION E.G. RE USE OF PROPERTY
If the transaction involves unregistered land or part of a registered title or the purchase is of a farm or smallholding we would need to review our estimate to reflect the additional work involved which would be charged on the basis of time spent at an hourly rate of between £116 – £177 (dependant on fee earner)
REMORTGAGES and TRANSFERS OF EQUITY
REMORTGAGE ONLY
REMORTGAGE AND TRANSFER
TRANSFER ONLY
DISBURSEMENTS
Disbursements are expenses which we have to pay to others to enable your transaction to proceed. The actual disbursements payable will depend upon the property. Typical disbursements on a purchase or remortgage may include:
- Local Authority Search fee – £60 – £340 + VAT depending upon the local authority involved – those in London tend to be the most expensive
- Environmental Search fee – £59 + VAT
- Chancel Check Search fee – £24 + VAT
- Drainage Search fee – £49.25 + VAT
- Land Registry Search fee – £3 + VAT
- Land Charge Search fee – £2 per name + VAT
- Land Registry fee – £100 – £1,105 depending upon the purchase price
- Mining Search – £55 + VAT
- Freeholder’s Notice fee – £50 – 550 + VAT, payable when you purchase a leasehold property – those in London tend to be the most expensive
- Stamp Duty Land Tax for properties in England / Land Transaction Tax for properties in Wales – depends on the purchase price of your property and your particular circumstances but the following links may be useful
HMRC Stamp Duty Land Tax Calculator (Properties in England)
WRA Land Transaction Tax Calculator (Properties in Wales)
On a sale of a property, the only disbursements are usually:
- Land Registry fee – £6 + VAT
- Freeholder Agent’s fee – £150 – £500 + VAT, payable only on the sale of a leasehold property
How long will it take it take?
Typically conveyancing transactions take 8 to 12 weeks, but it can be more or less. If you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property without a mortgage it could be very swift. On the other hand, if you are in a lengthy chain, it may take some time before everyone in the chain is ready to proceed.
Stages of the process – purchases and remortgages
The precise stages involved in the purchase or remortgage of a residential property will vary according to the circumstances. However, the following are the typical key stages that are included in our fee estimates above:
- Taking your instructions and giving you initial advice
- Checking finances are in place to fund the purchase and contacting the lender’s solicitors if needed
- Receiving and advising on contract documents (purchases only)
- Carrying out searches
- Obtaining further planning documentation if required
- Making any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor and drafting the transfer deed (purchases only)
- Giving you advice on all documents and information received
- Going through conditions of mortgage offer with you
- Sending final documents to you for signature
- Agreeing completion date (date from which you own the property/the remortgage is effective)
- Exchanging contracts and notifying you that this has happened (purchases only)
- Arranging for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
- Completing purchase/remortgage
- Dealing with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax (purchases only)
- Dealing with application for registration at Land Registry
Stages of the process – sales
Again, the precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property will vary according to the circumstances. However, the following are the typical key stages that are included in our fee estimates above:
- Taking your instructions and giving you initial advice
- Investigating and verifying your title to the property
- Drafting the sale contract and associated documents
- Responding to enquiries from the purchaser’s solicitors
- Obtaining a redemption figure from your existing mortgage lender
- Sending final documents to you for signature
- Agreeing completion date (date on which you will sell/move out of the property)
- Exchanging contracts and notifying you that this has happened
- Completing sale
- Discharging existing mortgage
- Accounting to you for balance of sale proceeds
