Costs Information for Residential Sales and Purchases for Individuals

ABG endeavours to provide a professional and effective legal service to individuals who instruct us to handle residential property transactions whether they be sales or purchases or linked sales and purchases. ABG does not offer different levels of service depending upon the Legal Fee that we charge; so, for example, we do not offer an online only service; a service where you can only have so many telephone discussions within a set price or one where you pay extra for, say, your transaction to be expedited. ABG charges what we believe to be a fair and proper fee to reflect the service provided.

ABG tends to work on a repeat basis for clients who know us or who have been recommended to us. We neither pay nor accept referral fees. We are independent.
Our Property Group is headed by a Partner, Siobhan Goodacre. Details of her experience, and those within the Group, can be easily accessed by clicking on the links below. A member of the Group would handle your matter, normally from beginning to the end (subject to holidays or other absences), and ultimately reports into Siobhan who in turn reports into our Senior Partner, Andrew Sutton.

Our Legal Fee

We set a minimum Legal Fee of £1,200.00 plus VAT (£1,440.00 inclusive of VAT) to cover our fee in acting for you in any single freehold purchase (excludes new build properties) or single sale transaction where the amount being paid by you or received by you is no more than £300,000.00. So, if you instruct us on a freehold purchase at say £250,000.00 then our Legal Fee will be £1,200.00 plus VAT, (£1,440.00 inclusive of VAT). If you instruct us on a freehold sale, whether linked to the purchase or not, again at say £250,000.00 then our Legal Fee for that transaction will also be £1,440.00 (inclusive of VAT). If the two transactions are linked then there will be two legal fees of £1,440.00 (inclusive of VAT), making a total Legal Fee of £2,880.00 (inclusive of VAT) for those two transactions.
If you are buying with the aid of a mortgage we will not increase the Legal Fee for acting for your mortgage provider if we are on that provider’s panel and they instruct us to act. If we are not on their panel, or they do not instruct us to act, then they will usually appoint their own solicitors and you may be required to pay their fee. Our Legal Fee includes (where appropriate) dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property is in Wales.
If you are buying an existing leasehold property for no more than £300,000.00, then there is additional work involved in the purchase of a leasehold property and our minimum legal fee for that transaction will be £1,500.00 plus VAT (£1,800.00 inclusive of VAT). Additional fees will also be incurred where the property in question is a new build property. If the property is a new build freehold property for no more than £300,000.00, our minimum legal fee will be £1,500.00 plus VAT (£1,800.00 inclusive of VAT). For a new leasehold property of no more than £300,000.00, our minimum legal fee will be £2,000.00 plus VAT (£2,500.00 inclusive of VAT). The reason for these additional costs is that there will be a large number of documents to review and agree in relation to a new build property.
If the property you are buying or selling has a value of more than £300,000.00 then our minimum Legal Fee will not apply. Our Legal Fee in such cases would likely range from £1,500.00 plus VAT (£1,800.00 inclusive of VAT) to £10,000.00 plus VAT (£12,000.00 inclusive of VAT), largely dependent upon factors such as complexity, value, importance and speed of the transaction.
We do not price match any other estimates you may be given by other service providers.
We have prepared some example estimates of the likely cost of instructing us to handle a variety of property transactions. We have chosen a freehold scale at a value of £250,000.00 in each example meaning that the Legal Fee will be our minimum Legal Fee. Of course if the transaction is for more than £300,000.00 then our minimum Legal Fee does not apply and will be higher. We have done our best to give you details of disbursements within the estimates. Disbursements are costs related to your transaction that are payable to third parties such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf because we are often obliged to pay them and also to ensure a smoother process. Transactions vary and not all disbursements will apply to all transactions but we have tried our best to give you an educated estimate.
Stamp Duty or Land Tax will be payable on most property purchases. In the example estimates we tell you how this can be calculated. Any Stamp Duty or Land Tax you need to pay will need to be deposited with us before completion of the transaction and we will pay it on your behalf.
These are only example estimates. If you would like a fixed price quote for our Legal Fee and disbursements for a particular transaction or transactions then please make contact with Siobhan Goodacre at 0115 947 6651 ([email protected]).

Freehold Residential sale at £250,000.00

	£		VAT£	Total inc VAT£
Legal Fee	1,200.00		240.00	1,440.00
Telegraphic Transfer fees for each transfer (allow 2 x TT fees for transferring balance to client and redemption of mortgage if applicable)	70.00		14.00	*84.00
Office Copy Entries (cost may be higher if documents referred to within the office copies £3 each)	6.00		1.20	*7.20
		Estimated Total		*1,531.20

*Estimated

Residential Leasehold sale at £250,000.00

	£		VAT£	Total inc VAT
Legal Fee	1,500.00		300.00	1,800.00
Telegraphic Transfer fees for each transfer (allow 2 x TT fees for transferring balance to client and redemption of mortgage if applicable)	70.00		14.00	*84.00
Office Copy Entries (cost may be higher if documents referred to within the office copies £3 each)	15.00		3.00	*18.00
		Estimated sub-total		*1,902.00

Anticipated disbursement

Management Pack

(Cost varies, usually between £250.00 – £300.00)*

*Estimated

Residential Freehold purchase at £250,000.00 (non new build)

	£		VAT£	Total inc VAT
Legal Fee	1,200.00		240.00	1,440.00
Telegraphic Transfer fees for each transfer (allow 2 x TT fees for transferring balance to client and redemption of mortgage if applicable)	70.00		14.00	*84.00
Land Registry Priority Search	3.00		0.60	*3.60
Residential Conveyancing Search Pack (including Chancel, Drainage, Enviro & local)	280.00 – 400.00		56.00 – 80.00	*336.00 – 480.00
Land Registry Dealing Fee (double for Transfer of Parts and First Registrations)	150.00		0.00	150.00

		Estimated sub-total		*2,013.60 – 2,157.60

If applicable, the following may also be payable:

	£	VAT£	Total inc VAT
Coal Mining Search (if applicable)	53.19	10.64	*63.83
Land Charges Bankruptcy Search (per name, if applicable)	2.00	0.40	2.40

*Estimated

Residential Freehold purchase at £250,000.00 (new build)

	£		VAT£	Total inc VAT
Legal Fee	1,500.00		300.00	1,800.00
Telegraphic Transfer fees for each transfer (allow 2 x TT fees for transferring balance to client and redemption of mortgage if applicable)	70.00		14.00	*84.00
Land Registry Priority Search	3.00		0.60	*3.60
Residential Conveyancing Search Pack (including Chancel, Drainage, Enviro & local)	280.00 – 400.00		56.00 – 80.00	*336.00 – 480.00
Land Registry Dealing Fee (double for Transfer of Parts and First Registrations)	330.00		0.00	330.00

		Estimated sub-total		*2,553.60 – 2,697.60

If applicable, the following may also be payable:

	£	VAT£	Total inc VAT
Coal Mining Search (if applicable)	53.19	10.64	*63.83
Land Charges Bankruptcy Search (per name, if applicable)	2.00	0.40	2.40

*Estimated

Stamp Duty or Land Tax – this will depend on various factors including the value of the property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority website https://beta.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator.

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 8-12 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 3 and 4 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

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

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on 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
Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
Send final contract to you for signature
Draft Transfer
Advise you on joint ownership
Obtain pre-completion searches
Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
Exchange contracts 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/Land Tax
Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Residential Leasehold purchase at £250,000.00 (non new build)

	£		VAT£	Total inc VAT
Legal Fee	1,500.00		300.00	1,800.00
Telegraphic Transfer fees for each transfer (allow 2 x TT fees for transferring balance to client and redemption of mortgage if applicable)	70.00		14.00	*84.00
Land Registry Priority Search	3.00		0.60	*3.60
Residential Conveyancing Search Pack (including Chancel, Drainage, Enviro & local)	280.00-400.00		56.00 – 80.00	*336.00 – 480.00
Land Registry Dealing Fee (double for Transfer of Parts and First Registrations)	150.00		0.00	150.00

		Estimated sub-total		*2,373.60 – 2,517.60

If applicable, the following may also be payable:

	£	VAT£	Total inc VAT
Coal Mining Search (if applicable)	53.19	10.64	*63.83
Land Charges Bankruptcy Search (per name)	2.00	0.40	2.40

Anticipated disbursements:

	£	VAT£	Total inc VAT
Deed of Covenant (estimate)	150.00	30.00	*180.00
Notice of Assignment (estimate)	100.00	20.00	*120.00
Notice of Charge (estimate)	100.00	20.00	*120.00

*Estimated

Residential Leasehold purchase at £250,000.00 (new build)

	£		VAT£	Total inc VAT
Legal Fee	2,000.00		500.00	2,500.00
Telegraphic Transfer fees for each transfer (allow 2 x TT fees for transferring balance to client and redemption of mortgage if applicable)	70.00		14.00	*84.00
Land Registry Priority Search	3.00		0.60	*3.60
Residential Conveyancing Search Pack (including Chancel, Drainage, Enviro & local)	280.00-400.00		56.00 – 80.00	*336.00 – 480.00
Land Registry Dealing Fee (double for Transfer of Parts and First Registrations)	330.00		0.00	330.00

		Estimated sub-total		*3,253.60 – 3,397.60

If applicable, the following may also be payable:

	£	VAT£	Total inc VAT
Coal Mining Search (if applicable)	53.19	10.64	*63.83
Land Charges Bankruptcy Search (per name)	2.00	0.40	2.40

Anticipated disbursements:

	£	VAT£	Total inc VAT
Deed of Covenant (estimate)	150.00	30.00	*180.00
Notice of Assignment (estimate)	100.00	20.00	*120.00
Notice of Charge (estimate)	100.00	20.00	*120.00

*Estimated

*These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

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.

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

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on contract documents
Obtain Information Pack from Management Company/Freeholder
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
Go through conditions of mortgage offer
Send final contract to you for signature
Draft Transfer
Advise you on joint ownership
Obtain pre-completion searches
Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
Exchange contracts 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/Land Tax
Serve Notice of Transfer on Management Company/Freeholder
Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

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. The average process takes between 8-12 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 3 and 4 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply.

* Our legal 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;
this is the assignment 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.