Our conveyancing fees are estimates based on the information provided. VAT is currently charged at 20%
If the property is in London, a London weighting fee will be added to reflect the nature of the London market.
As well as fees for the actual conveyancing work, there are charges for additional work or services most of which are also fixed. Whether and when these are charged depends on the transaction itself, the requirements of your lender and your own wishes. However, when you are buying a property with a mortgage, your lender will require most searches. In this situation, the searches will be compulsory.
For example:
If you are selling your house and buying another then there are usually two bank transfer fees – the first sending the money to pay off your existing mortgage and the second to pay the purchase price on your new home.
If there are two existing mortgages, then there will be an additional bank transfer fee.
If you are just selling your house, you may choose to pay a bank transfer fee so that the sale proceeds are returned to you that same day rather than by BACS which is free but takes longer.
The members of the Conveyancing team can be found through our “team” pages and also by following the links below:
Rachael Mitchell (Supervisor, Licensed Conveyancer, Head of Conveyancing Department, Senior Associate)
Michelle Francis (Legal Executive, Senior Associate)
Catherine Wright (Solicitor, Senior Associate)
Charlotte Sheehan (Conveyancer)
Claire Eales (Post-Exchange Conveyancing Assistant)
Maynka Patel (Paralegal)
Carina Ross (Conveyancing Assistant)
Amy Hoult (Conveyancing Admin Assistant)
Rosie Barber (Conveyancing Admin Assistant)
Emily Ward (Conveyancing Admin Assistant)
We may need to incur expenses (disbursements) on your behalf from time to time. These are payable to third parties and such disbursements will be charged to you and are payable as they are incurred.
An average conveyancing Freehold transaction takes between 8 – 12 weeks, with Leasehold transactions taking approximately 4 weeks longer, though it can of course take much longer at times of huge market demand.
You might find our one-page TIMELINE summaries below useful – an example of what to expect and the various stages that need to be completed to reach the end of your transaction. Timeline delays can be caused when a stage(s) fails to complete on time and this can be for a number of reasons and sometimes due to a legal question about the property that needs further investigation, or external third-party influences, for example and not limited to: delays waiting for searches, delays waiting for the return of signed documents and negotiation with lenders involving secured lending agreements (mortgage offers not in place), plus many other reasons could slow down a transaction.
KEY STAGES AND EXPECTED TIMELINES for Residential Property Sale
KEY STAGES AND EXPECTED TIMELINES for Residential Property Purchase
Remember, whether you are buying or selling a property, you should make a Will or arrange a review of your existing Will.
Our Response Times As you can imagine, we’re busy conveyancers and our email response time is normally within one business day, but it can be several days, depending on your enquiry. If we have an update for you, rest-assured we endeavour to contact you within one business day by email or phone, but please don’t expect us to respond to your email on the same day you contacted us, although we’d like to, as it just isn’t feasible given the hundreds of emails we receive each day. We aim to provide a first-class conveyancing service and response, though with over 400 emails per Conveyancer, per week, it can be challenging. Please do not email us several times to chase us, as this approach is unlikely to help speed your transaction, instead, please note our standard response times below:
| Same Day | Within 24 hours | Within 48 hours | Over 48 hours | |
| Lawson West Conveyancing
Typical Response |
When we have an update for you or we need information from you that is missing we will call you.
We aim to respond to new enquiries within one business day, with a quote for you. |
We will acknowledge receipt of your email to us about your query or matter. | You may have a response from us if your query was straightforward. | You are likely to have a response much later if your query is complex, the transaction requires further work, we have not heard from the agent or mortgage provider, we’re waiting on answers or documents from others, we are waiting for searches, or we are chasing others to complete the chain. |
TARIFF OF CHARGES – SALE AND PURCHASE FEES TABLE
See our prices below. The fees shown in the table below are our charges for dealing with a sale or purchase in the specific property price band and this includes all aspects of the transaction for the sale or purchase. Extra items, e.g. searches, a trust deed on a purchase or leasehold/new build on a sale or purchase, are listed below with a description of those disbursement/extra fees.
| Property Sale/Purchase Fee | VAT | TOTAL | |
| Up to £100,000 | £995.00 | £199.00 | £1194.00 |
| £100,001 to £150,000 | £1050.00 | £210.00 | £1260.00 |
| £150,001 to £200,000 | £1100.00 | £220.00 | £1320.00 |
| £200,001 to £250,000 | £1150.00 | £230.00 | £1380.00 |
| £250,001 to £300,000 | £1200.00 | £240.00 | £1440.00 |
| £300,001 to £350,000 | £1300.00 | £260.00 | £1560.00 |
| £350,001 to £400,000 | £1400.00 | £280.00 | 1680.00 |
| £400,001 to £450,000 | £1500.00 | £300.00 | £1800.00 |
| £400,001 to £500,000 | £1650.00 | £330.00 | £1980.00 |
| £500,001 to £600,000 | £1895.00 | £379.00 | £2274.00 |
| £600,001 to £700,000 | £2100.00 | £420.00 | £2520.00 |
| £700,001 to £800,000 | £2450.00 | £490.00 | £2940.00 |
| £800,001 to £900,000 | £2700.00 | £540.00 | £3240.00 |
| £900,001 to £1,000,000 | £3250.00 | £650.00 | £3900.00 |
| £1,000,001.00 to £1,500,000.00 | £3700.00 | £740.00 | £4440.00 |
| £1,500,001.00 to £2,000,000.00 | £4000.00 | £800.00 | £4800.00 |
| £2,000,001.00 to £2,500,000.00 | £4200.00 | £840.00 | £5040.00 |
| £2,500,001.00 to £3,000,000.00 | £4500.00 | £900.00 | £5400.00 |
Anything over £3m to be confirmed.
OTHER LEGAL FEES
| Re-mortgage only (Personal property) | £795.00 | £159.00 | £954.00 |
| Transfer of Equity | £995.00 | £199.00 | £1194.00 |
| Transfer of Equity with any Borrowing | £1300.00 | £260.00 | £1560.00 |
| Assent | £995.00 | £199.99 | £1194.00 |
| Legal Charge | £995.00 | £199.99 | £1194.00 |
| Prepare Auction Pack (if Leasehold the supplement is added) | £550.00 | £110.00 | £660.00 |
| Review Auction Pack (Freehold) | £695.00 | £139.00 | £834.00 |
| Review Auction Pack (Leasehold) | £895.00 | £179.00 | £1074.00 |
| Modern Auction Supplement | £300.00 | £40.00 | £240.00 |
| Re-mortgage for a Company | £1095.00-£1300.00 | £219.00-£260.00 | £1314.00 -£1560.00 |
| Help To Buy Equity Loan Redemption (no borrowing) | £1195.00 | £239.00 | £1434.00 |
| Help To Buy Equity Loan Redemption (with any borrowing) | £1500.00 | £300.00 | £1800.00 |
| Leasehold Management Company Supplement (per management company/agent) | £270.00 | £54.00 | £324.00 |
| Freehold Management Company Supplement (per management company/agent) | £270.00 | £54.00 | £324.00 |
| Fee for dealing with Additional Titles (per additional title) | £250.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
| Source of Funds/Source of Wealth | £150.00 | £30.00 | £180.00 |
| Source of Funds (Help To Buy Equity Loan Redemption or other transaction) | £200.00 | £40.00 | £240.00 |
| Source of Funds (Right To Buy purchase) Fee for dealing with the Council requirements as part of the scheme | £450.00 | £90.00 | £540.00 |
| Giftor (per giftor) | £150.00 | £30.00 | £180.00 |
| Deed of Covenant | £350.00 | £70.00 | £420.00 |
| Licence to Assign Fee | £350.00 | £70.00 | £420.00 |
| Statutory Declarations | £350.00 | £70.00 | £420.00 |
| Statement of Truth | £350.00 | £70.00 | £420.00 |
| Name Declaration for Land Registry | £200.00 | £50.00 | £250.00 |
| Trust Clients | £300.00 | £60.00 | £360.00 |
| Help to Buy ISA (fee per ISA) | £50.00 + VAT | £10.00 | £60.00 |
| Lifetime ISA (fee per ISA) | £100.00 | £20.00 | £120.00 |
| Fee for Acting on behalf of the Lender (individual) | £100.00 | £20.00 | £120.00 |
| Fee for Acting on behalf of the Lender (company) | £300.00 | £60.00 | £360.00 |
| New Build or Transfer of Part | £300.00 | £60.00 | £360.00 |
| Help To Buy Redemption (as part of sale) | £400.00 | £80.00 | £480.00 |
| Shared Ownership (as part of sale or purchase) | £460.00 | £92.00 | £552.00 |
| Shared Ownership with Staircasing (as part of a sale) | £600.00 | £120.00 | £720.00 |
| Stairscasing Shared Ownership (not part of a transaction) | £995.00 | £199.00 | £1194.00 |
| Voluntary First Registration | £995.00 | £199.00 | £1194.00 |
| Unregistered Properties (as part of any transaction) | £550.00 | £10.00 | £660.00 |
| Photovoltaic PV Panels Solar Panels (Lease of roof space) | £450.00 (Purchase)
£250.00 (Sale) |
£90.00
£50.00 |
£540.00
£300.00 |
| Photovoltaic PV Panels Solar Panels (Owned Outright) | £350.00 (Purchase)
£250.00 (Sale) |
£70.00
£50.00 |
£420.00
£300.00 |
| Septic Tank Enquiries | £250.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
| Oil Tank Enquiries | £250.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
| Tenant Enquiries (if property tenanted) | £400.00 | £70.00 | £470.00 |
| Liaising with Lender’s Solicitors (if not acting for the lender) | £400.00 | £70.00 | £470.00 |
| Independent Legal Advice (Occupier Consent – per person) | £425.00 | £85.00 | £510.00 |
| Independent Legal Advice (Sole Proprietor/Joint Mortgage – per person) | £425.00 | £85.00 | £510.00 |
| Independent Legal Advice (Guarantee – per person) | £425.00 | £85.00 | £510.00 |
| Trust Deed (as part of a transaction) | £400.00 | £80.00 | £480.00 |
| Trust Deed (not part of a transaction) | £895.00 | £179.00 | £1,074 |
| Legal Charge (reviewing, approving and registering charge for loan provided by non-commercial lender (family/friend) | £495.00 | £99.00 | £594.00 |
| Amending Register | £250.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
| Removing a Restriction | £250.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
| Adding a Restriction | £250.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
| Certificate of Compliance | £175.00 | £35.00 | £210.00 |
| Title Insurance (except standard Chancel Repair Liability) | £50.00 | £10.00 | £60.00 |
| Case Management Fee | £50.00 | £10.00 | £60.00 |
| Debenture Fee | £450.00 | £90.00 | £540.00 |
| Waiver Preparation Fee | £300.00 | £60.00 | £360.00 |
| Expedition Fee | £400.00 | £70.00 | £470.00 |
| Fee for Liaising with another department on behalf of the client | £200.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
| For London Weighting – Add | |||
| Up to £400k | £450.00 | £90.00 | £540.00 |
| £401k – £800k | £550.00 | £110.00 | £660.00 |
| £801k – £1.2m | £650.00 | £130.00 | £780.00 |
| £1.2m plus | £750.00 | £150.00 | £900.00 |
Additional work for Lender
If during or after the registration formalities are completed, your lender requires us to undertake further work or to liaise with you to sign additional documentation on behalf of the lender, this will be chargeable at the fee earner’s hourly rate.
As above, these figures are fixed fees unless abnormalities arise. Abnormalities may include but are not limited to: delays by others in the chain, change in circumstance, withdrawal of mortgage funding, the death of either vendor or purchaser, change of solicitors in a transaction. There would be additional charges for leasehold property
sale and purchase transactions.
TARIFF OF CHARGES – DISBURSEMENTS/EXTRAS
A number of add-on costs are likely to be required to complete the purchase of your property. These include the following. Not all will be required for every transaction.
| Disbursement | Description | Fees |
| Local Searches | Local Land Charges register. The cost of Local Authority Searches can vary and depend on which borough the property is in. The local authority will check their records to determine influences on the property such as planning applications, enforcement actions, restrictions on permitted development, road schemes, highways and adoption of, or land contamination. | £100 – £250 + VAT of £20 to £50 (£120-£300)
(Subject to change as third-party disbursement) |
| Drainage Search | This ensures the property is connected to fresh and foul water sewers. The cost will vary between water companies but should not fall too far outside the range given. | £100 + VAT £20.00 (£120.00) approximately
(Subject to change as third party disbursement) |
| Environmental Search | An environmental search is additional to the basic Local Authority Search and will investigate specific concerns such as contamination, subsidence, flooding and energy and infrastructure. | £70 + VAT of £14 (£84.00) to £100 + VAT £20.00 (£120.00)
(Subject to change as third party disbursement) |
| Chancel Repair Liability Insurance | If the title deeds to your purchase property have not been updated since October 2013 the Parochial Church is able to register a chancel repair liability on the register prior to the registration formalities being completed. Some firms will carry out a chancel repair liability search to check if your purchase property is within an area with a potential liability but as most properties are and the search costs more than the insurance, we recommend that clients take the No Search Chancel Indemnity Insurance Policy which we include in all fee estimates and will obtain on your behalf on completion only if required. | £17.22 + VAT of £3.44 (£20.66)
(Subject to change as third-party disbursement) |
| Property Surveys | Statutory and additional inspections of the property by professional surveyors. | Arranged directly with a surveyor |
| Bankruptcy Search | A mortgage lender will need to know that the buyer, or any other person named on the mortgage, has not been declared bankrupt. | £7.50 + VAT of £1.50 (£9.00) (per person) |
| Land Registry Office Copies | We must obtain, where we are selling or dealing with a transfer of equity, or remortgage, the up-to-date Register of Title from HM Land Registry via our online portal. | £8.50 + VAT of £1.70 (£10.20) (per document) |
| Other Searches | Geographically specific or property specific searches, such as evidence of historic mining for coal, limestone and tin. | List and costs are dependent on the transaction and the results of other searches. |
| Official Search with Priority | This is a search carried out before completion takes. Protection is given to the buyer and/or lender pending registration of ownership. The protection afforded by the search lasts for six weeks. | £8.50 + VAT of £1.70 (£10.20)
(per search) |
| Land Registration Fee | This is a fixed cost disbursement that depends on the cost of the property being purchased. This can also be discounted where the application to register the property can be sent via the HM Land Registry portal. | The amount is dependent upon the value of the property. |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax | Stamp Duty Land Tax | The amount is dependent upon the value of the property and the circumstances of the buyer. |
| Lender Panel Fees | The majority of lenders use a portal such as LMS or Lender Exchange who charge a fee for dealing with each mortgage which is passed to the borrowers via their conveyancers. | £35.00 + VAT of £7.00 (£42.00) |
| Verification of ID and AML via eCOS | £16.80 + VAT of £3.36 (£20.16) |
LEASEHOLD – ADDITIONAL FEES
Third party fees (disbursements) payable when dealing with Leasehold Properties
If you are buying or selling a leasehold property, there will be additional fees payable to the landlord, management company and sometimes manging agents. There are mostly 1 or 2 companies to deal with but sometimes there are more depending on how the management of the property is run. We cannot confirm the amount of these fees until after the transactions starts because they are third party disbursements but, these would be the same regardless of which firm acts on your behalf. They can range from £10 to £500 each and may be subject to VAT, and change, by the external party.
In the case of a purchase, these will include fees to serve notice upon the landlord and/or Management Company that you have purchased the property and provide details of your lender (if applicable) often a Deed of Covenant or Licence To Assign are also required to comply with the terms of the Lease. Separate fees are usually charged for each document.
If you are selling a leasehold property, there will be a fee payable to the landlord, management company and/or managing agents to provide the leasehold management pack which is required by your buyers conveyancer and includes many documents and information including details of all regular payments (service charge, ground rent etc) and the fees payable for the buyer to comply with the terms of the Lease (as mentioned above).
Leasehold disbursement fees can vary and may include:
| Disbursement | Description | Fees |
| Notice of Transfer/Charge | The Lease will usually dictate the tenant to serve Notice of Transfer or Charge on the Managing Agents/Landlord and there will be a fee payable for this. Fees will vary. The Lease will usually require that Notice is given when there has been a change in ownership or a new mortgage has been entered into. | The cost will be given by the Landlord’s managing agent |
| Deed of Covenant | This may have to be entered into by the new buyer in which case a fee may be payable to the Managing Agent or the Landlord for processing it. The fees for this will vary. | The cost will be given by the Landlord’s managing agent |
| Companies House Searches | A search carried out to ensure the landlord or managing agent is not insolvent. | Approx. £33.00 incl. VAT |
TARIFF OF CHARGES – ADDITIONAL SERVICES
Additional charges will be incurred depending on searches, mortgage lender requirements and your own wishes. These are detailed in the table below.
| Tariff | Description | Cost |
| Additional copies of documents | If you have already been supplied with copies of documents and have lost them the charge is made for copying the document and sending it out upon request. | £15.00 + VAT of £3.00 (£18.00) per document |
| Telegraphic transfer fee | A charge for arranging for the direct same day money transfer from our bank to another bank account, for example to a seller’s solicitors to complete a transaction or to a lender to pay off a mortgage on your behalf. The charge will also be made if you request funds to be transferred by this method to your own bank account. There is no charge where we pay by cheque or BACS. | £50.00 + VAT of £10.00 (£60.00) per transfer |
| Lloyds Bank Faster Payment | This facility enables us to send money more quickly through the banking system than BACS which normally takes 3 to 5 business days. Faster Payment means money should be in the receiving account the day after it is sent and is often received on the same day as it is sent. However, these timescales are not guaranteed which is why we usually use normal same day money transfers. As above, there is no charge where we pay by cheque or BACS. | £40.00 + VAT of £8.00 (£48.00) per transfer |
| Hourly Charge-Out Rates (where specifically applied) | Rachael Mitchell Michelle Francis Catherine Wright Charlotte Sheehan Maynka Patel |
£300.00 + VAT of £60.00 (£360.00) £250.00 + VAT of £50.00 (£300.00) £250.00 + VAT of £50.00 (£300.00) £220.00 + VAT of £44.00 (£264.00) £120.00 + VAT of £24.00 (£144.00) |
