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Residential Property - Cost Information

Crane & Staples Solicitors has been in Welwyn Garden City acting for local people and dealing with their conveyancing for over 85 years. We have a strong team of lawyers and assistants who can help you through the process of selling, buying, re-mortgaging and more.

Please click here if you would like to generate an instant, no-obligation conveyancing fee estimate.

Our friendly helpful team will use their experience, expertise and forward-thinking to take the hassle out of house selling, buying or related transactions. Our role is that of an independent adviser and we do not pay referral fees to Estate Agents or Financial Advisors.

Our fees cover all the work required to complete your sale, purchase or re-mortgage. If you are purchasing, our fees will also include dealing with the registration of your purchase with the Land Registry. In addition to our fees, various disbursements will be incurred; these are costs payable to third parties such as to search providers and the Land Registry. We estimate these at the outset of the transaction however they will be subject to variation. We will also handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Table of Contents

Fee Estimate
Legal Fee Range – Freehold
Freehold Sale
Freehold Purchase
Freehold - Additional Fees
Legal Fee Range - Leasehold
Leasehold Sale
Leasehold Purchase
Leasehold - Additional Fees
Legal Fee Range – Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage
Freehold Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage
Leasehold Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage
Re-Mortgage - Additional Fees
Onboarding Fee
Disbursements
List of Disbursements
Land Registration Scale Fee
Land Registry Scale Fee - Purchase
Land Registration Scale Fee – Re-Mortgage
Freehold Estate Management Company or Leasehold Disbursements
Disbursements Table
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
What factors may influence the cost of our services?
Factors that may affect costs
Timescales
Possible Key Stages

Fee Estimate

Please click here if you would like to generate an instant, no-obligation conveyancing fee estimate.

Legal Fee Range – Freehold

The tables below show our minimum legal fees for a Freehold Sale or Freehold Purchase transaction. Please see the additional table in respect of other fees that may be in added to the fees quoted below, depending on the circumstances of your transaction.

Freehold Sale

Sale Price	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
£0.00 – £250,000	£1,200.00	£240.00	£1,440.00
£250,001 – £350,000	£1,225.00	£245.00	£1,470.00
£350,001 – £450,000	£1,250.00	£250.00	£1,500.00
£450,001 – £550,000	£1,275.00	£255.00	£1,530.00
£550,001 – £650,000	£1,300.00	£260.00	£1,560.00
£650,001 – £750,000	£1,350.00	£270.00	£1,620.00
£750,001 – £850,000	£1,400.00	£280.00	£1,680.00
£850,001 – £950,000	£1,450.00	£290.00	£1,740.00
£950,001 – £1,000,000	£1,550.00	£310.00	£1,860.00
£1,000,001 – £1,250,000	£1,800.00	£360.00	£2,160.00
£1,250,001 – £1,500,000	£2,050.00	£410.00	£2,460.00
£1,500,001 – £1,750,000	£2,300.00	£460.00	£2,760.00
£1,750,001 – £2,000,000	£2,550.00	£510.00	£3,060.00
£2,000,001 +	£2,800 plus £250 for every £250,000 increment, plus VAT

Freehold Purchase

Purchase Price	Fees	Plus VAT(20%)	Total
£0.00 – £150,000	£1,300.00	£260.00	£1,560.00
£150,001 – £225,000	£1,325.00	£265.00	£1,590.00
£225,001 – £350,000	£1,350.00	£270.00	£1,620.00
£350,001 – £550,000	£1,400.00	£280.00	£1,680.00
£550,001 – £650,000	£1,450.00	£290.00	£1,740.00
£650,001 – £750,000	£1,500.00	£300.00	£1,800.00
£750,001 – £850,000	£1,550.00	£310.00	£1,860.00
£850,001 – £950,000	£1,650.00	£330.00	£1,980.00
£950,001 – £1,000,000	£1,750.00	£350.00	£2,100.00
£1,000,001 – £1,250,000	£2,400.00	£480.00	£2,880.00
£1,250,001 – £1,500,000	£2,750.00	£550.00	£3,300.00
£1,500,001 – £1,750,000	£2,900.00	£580.00	£3,480.00
£1,750,001 – £2,000,000	£3,150.00	£630.00	£3,780.00
£2,000,001 +	£3,400 plus £250 for every £250,000 increment, plus VAT

Freehold - Additional Fees

The table below shows examples of additional fees that may be incurred on a Freehold Sale or Purchase due to the added complexities and / or additional works required:

Additional Work	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
Stamp Duty Return Preparation	£75.00	£15.00	£90.00
New Build	£400.00	£80.00	£480.00
New Build with Help to Buy	£600.00	£120.00	£720.00
Estate Management Company	£150.00	£30.00	£180.00
Help to Buy ISA Bonus Claim	£50.00	£10.00	£60.00
Second Charge	£150.00	£30.00	£180.00
Unregistered Title	£200.00	£40.00	£240.00

Legal Fee Range - Leasehold

Please note that due to a number of recent changes to legislation and regulations relating to building safety and in particular to fire safety, the amount of legal work involved in leasehold conveyancing transactions has increased. This is likely to be exacerbated further where the flat is within a building more than 11 metres high, and where lenders are involved. As such, our legal fees could significantly increase (potentially doubling) depending on the nature of the building and the transaction. Where applicable, we shall endeavour to discuss likely costs increases with you as soon as they become apparent.

The tables below show our minimum legal fees for a Leasehold Sale or Leasehold Purchase transaction. Please see the additional table in respect of other fees that may be in added to the fees quoted below, depending on the circumstances of your transaction.

Leasehold Sale

Sale Price	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
£0.00 – £250,000	£1,700.00	£340.00	£2,040.00
£250,001 – £350,000	£1,750.00	£350.00	£2,100.00
£350,001 – £450,000	£1,825.00	£365.00	£2,190.00
£450,001 – £650,000	£1,850.00	£370.00	£2,220.00
£650,001 – £750,000	£1,925.00	£385.00	£2,310.00
£750,001 – £900,000	£1,950.00	£390.00	£2,340.00
£900,001 – £1,000,000	£2,000.00	£400.00	£2,400.00
£1,000,001 – £1,250,000	£2,250.00	£450.00	£2,700.00
£1,250,001 – £1,500,000	£2,500.00	£500.00	£3,000.00
£1,500,001+	£2,750 plus £250 for every £250,000 increment, plus VAT

Leasehold Purchase

Purchase Price	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
£0.00 – £250,000	£1,825.00	£365.00	£2,190.00
£250,001 – £350,000	£1,900.00	£380.00	£2,280.00
£350,001 – £450,000	£1,950.00	£390.00	£2,340.00
£450,001 – £650,000	£2,000.00	£400.00	£2,400.00
£650,001 – £750,000	£2,050.00	£410.00	£2,460.00
£750,001 – £900,000	£2,250.00	£450.00	£2,700.00
£900,001 – £1,000,000	£2,500.00	£500.00	£3,000.00
£1,000,001 – £1,250,000	£3,000.00	£600.00	£3,600.00
£1,250,001 – £1,500,000	£3,250.00	£650.00	£3,900.00
£1,500,001 – £1,750,000	£3,750.00	£750.00	£4,500.00
£1,750,001 – £2,000,000	£4,000.00	£800.00	£4,800.00

Leasehold - Additional Fees

The table below shows examples of additional fees that may be incurred on a Leasehold Sale or Purchase due to the added complexities and / or additional works required:

Additional Work	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
Stamp Duty Return Preparation	£75.00	£15.00	£90.00
New Build	£400.00	£80.00	£480.00
New Build with Help to Buy	£600.00	£120.00	£720.00
Help to Buy ISA Bonus Claim	£50.00	£10.00	£60.00
Second Charge	£150.00	£30.00	£180.00
Shared Ownership Sale	£200.00	£40.00	£240.00
Shared Ownership Purchase	£400.00	£80.00	£480.00

Legal Fee Range – Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage

The tables below show our minimum legal fees for a Transfer of Equity, Re-Mortgage and combined Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage transaction. Please see the additional table in respect of other fees that may be in added to the fees quoted below, depending on the circumstances of your transaction.

Freehold Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage

Transaction Type	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
Transfer of Equity	£1,000.00	£200.00	£1,200.00
Re-Mortgage	£1,200.00	£240.00	£1,440.00
Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage	£1,350.00	£270.00	£1,620.00

Leasehold Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage

Transaction Type	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
Transfer of Equity	£1,150.00	£230.00	£1,380.00
Re-Mortgage	£1,350.00	£270.00	£1,620.00
Transfer of Equity and Re-Mortgage	£1,500.00	£300.00	£1,800.00

Re-Mortgage - Additional Fees

The table below shows examples of additional fees that may be incurred on a Re-Mortgage due to the added complexities and/or additional works required:

Additional Work	Fees	Plus VAT (20%)	Total
Estate Management Company	£150.00	£30.00	£180.00
Second Charge	£150.00	£30.00	£180.00

You may also be required to pay ground rent and/or service charges up to the end of the current financial year to the management company. A Notice of Charge will also be required. The fee for the Landlord and / or Management Company in this respect is likely to be anywhere between £50 – £200.

Onboarding Fee

In order to progress your matter, we must set up you up on our case management system, send you initial forms to complete and verify your identity and funds. This process is called client onboarding. We are required by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and Anti-Money Laundering Legislation to ensure that we have evidence of your identity on file. Once we receive these documents from you, we will carry out an electronic verification of your identity. We are also required to verify your source of funds. By providing this information, you are consenting to this process. We will make a charge of £20.00 per client, plus VAT (20%), for this onboarding process.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf. The disbursements which we anticipate to apply are set out separately below (some transactions will include all, additional or only some of these disbursements):

List of Disbursements

Sale		Purchase		Re-Mortgage
C&S Money Transfer Fee	£36 per CHAPs payment.	C&S Money Transfer Fee	£36 per CHAPs payment.	C&S Money Transfer Fee	£36 per CHAPs payment.
Land Registry Documents	£3.60 per document.	Land Registry Documents	£3.60 per document.	Land Registry Documents	£3.60 per document.
Unregistered Land Sale		Land Registry Search	£3.60 per search.	Land Registry Search	£3.60 per search.
Land Charges Search	£1.20 per name.	Bankruptcy Search	£2.40 per person.	Bankruptcy Search	£2.40 per person.
Office copy of an entry in the search	£1.20 per document.	Local Authority Search	£100.00 approximately	Local Authority Search	£100.00 approximately
Official search of the index map	£4.80 minimum.	Drainage Search	£60.00 approximately	Land Registration Scale Fee	See below.
		Environmental Search	£55.20 approximately
		Chancel Search	£18.00 approximately
		Plan Search	£28.80 approximately
		Land Registration Scale Fee	See below.
		Companies House fee (if applicable)	£15.00 per charge

Land Registration Scale Fee

This is the fee payable to the Land Registry to register your new purchase. This largely depends on the value of the property and if it is already registered or requires registration.

Land Registry Scale Fee - Purchase

Value of Property	Freehold and Leasehold Purchase	Unregistered Land and New Build Purchase
0 – £80,000	£20	£45
£80,001 – £100,000	£40	£95
£100,001 – £200,000	£100	£230
£200,001 – £500,000	£150	£330
£500,001 – £1,000,000	£295	£655
£1,000,001 and over	£500	£1,105

Land Registration Scale Fee – Re-Mortgage

This is the fee payable to the Land Registry to register the new charge. This largely depends on the value of the charge.

Value of Transaction	Applications for Charges of Whole
0 – £100,000	£20
£100,001 – £200,000	£30
£200,001 – £500,000	£45
£500,001 – £1,000,000	£65
£1,000,001 and over	£140

Freehold Estate Management Company or Leasehold Disbursements

When selling or purchasing a Freehold with Estate Management Company or a Leasehold property, there are additional third party costs to be taken into consideration. These costs vary between different Landlords, Management Companies and Managing Agents. We will provide confirmation of these fees as soon as possible in the transaction.

Disbursements Table

Each Property / Lease will have different requirements and all or only some of these additional costs will be required. The prices as stated are estimated and should not be relied upon as these will vary and may be higher or lower than stated:

Sale	Purchase	Re-Mortgage
Freehold Information Pack (£50-£400)	Notice of Transfer (£50-£200)	Notice of Charge (£50-£200)
Freehold Information Pack (£50-£400)	Notice of Charge (£50-£200)
Management Company Information Pack (£50-£500)	Deed of Covenant (£50-£200)
Management Company Information Pack (£50-£500)	Certificate of Compliance (£50-£200)
Managing Agent Information Pack (£50-£500)	Application for Membership to Management Company (£50-£200)
Managing Agent Information Pack (£50-£500)	Issue of a Share Certificate (£50-£200)

In addition to the above, you should also be aware that ground rent and/or service charge is likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. You may also be required to pay ground rent and / or service charges up to the end of the current financial year.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

This depends on the purchase price of your property as well as your status as a buyer, for example if you are a First Time Buyer or own a second 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.

SDLT in England

SDLT in Wales

You can find out more about the changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax announced in September 2022 by reading this article.

What factors may influence the cost of our services?

Our fees for acting on a sale, purchase or re-mortgage of a property vary. Our initial estimate is based on the nature of the transaction and the value, however various factors may influence the cost of our services due to possible added complexities in your transaction.

Factors that may affect costs

Timescales

The average residential conveyancing transaction takes in the region of 10-12 weeks from start to completion. Some transactions take less and some more depending on numerous circumstances including the issue of mortgage offers, Local Authority Search delays, lengthy or complicated chains of transactions and title issues.