Residential Conveyancing
Residential Conveyancing
We offer our Residential Conveyancing matters on a Fixed fee basis with flexible payments.
Where we agree a fixed fee with you from the outset of the case, you will know how much your case will cost exactly. The Fixed Fee agreed will depend on:
1. The complexity of the case
2. The amount of supporting evidence that we need to considerThe estimates described below represent the range of the fees for most standard applications. Upon our initial assessment of your situation, we may agree on a fixed fee.
If a fixed fee is agreed upon and your matter or transaction does not reach a conclusion or you decide to withdraw instructions, we reserve the right to charge for the work done on your case using our hourly charging basis.
Our charges do not include VAT, which we will add to your bill at the prevailing rate which is at 20%.
Our Fixed fee for legal cases covers all the work written and oral work for the stage of the legal matter for which you have instructed us.
Please be advised that our fees do not cover the third-party charges e.g., land registry searches.
Some disbursements noted below attract VAT. VAT on a Disbursement is charged at 20%, unless otherwise noted below.
All our Residential Conveyancing work is carried out by Manik Miah who is a Solicitors & Directors at Crystal Law Solicitors.
Nicola Plumb, Laura Edington, Emi Haziri and Zainab Girach support the department with Paralegal and Administration duties.
At Crystal Law Solicitors we are proud to provide transparent cost estimates of all the work we do. Before we start work for you, we will give you our best estimate of the cost of the work based on your particular circumstances and our experience of what will be required. Clearly, every case is different, and we cannot predict all eventualities, but our expertise and longstanding experience enables us to be as realistic and comprehensive as possible.
The following table outlines our costs from various departments. If you have any questions regarding these outline fees, please contact our offices on 0116 255 1650 and we will direct your call according to your query.
Residential Conveyancing Fees
Services included and key stages of the process
Our Legal fees
Our Legal Fees for residential property sales/purchases range from £850 – £4000 plus VAT, chargeable at 20%. Our conveyancing fees are dependant on the information provided including property bedrooms/size, location and complexity of transaction.
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.
Disbursements/Extras
We may need to incur expenses (disbursements) on your behalf from time to time. Disbursements are not part of your fixed fee. These are payable to third parties and such disbursements will be charged to you and are payable as they are incurred.
Timelines
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.
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.
Making a Will
Remember, whether you are buying or selling a property, you should make a Will or arrange a review of your existing Will.
The Conveyancing Team
The members of the Conveyancing team can be found through our "Team" section and also by following the links below:
Manik Miah (Solicitor & Managing Director)
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 case handler, 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:
| 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. |
Sales and Purchases Fees and Tables
The fees shown in this section and tables below are our charges for dealing with a sale or purchase 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.
As already mentioned, our Legal Fees for residential property sales/purchases range from £850 – £4000 plus VAT, chargeable at 20%. Our conveyancing fees are dependant on the information provided including property bedrooms/size, location and complexity of transaction.
Other Services
| Re-mortgage only (Personal property) | £695.00 | £139.00 | £834.00 |
| Transfer of Equity | £895.00 | £179.00 | £1,074.00 |
| Re-mortgage & Transfer of Equity | £1,100.00 | £220.00 | £1,320.00 |
| Re-mortgage for a Company | £995.00-£1,200.00 | £199.00-£240.00 | £1,194.00 -£1,440.00 |
For London Weighting - Add
| Up to £400k | £400 plus VAT |
| £401k - £800k | £500 plus VAT |
| £801k - £1.2m | £600 plus VAT |
| £1.2m plus | £700 plus VAT |
Additional Leasehold Properties Fee
| For all property prices | £225.00 + VAT - per management company |
| Deed of Covenant | £350.00 + VAT |
| Licence to Assign Fee | £350.00 + VAT |
Extras
| Help to Buy ISA | £50.00 + VAT per ISA |
| Lifetime ISA fee (per ISA) | £100.00 + VAT |
| Fee for Acting on behalf of the Lender | £100.00 + VAT |
| New Build property | £225.00 + VAT |
| Government Help to Buy Equity Loan | £400.00 + VAT |
| Help To Buy Redemption (no lending) | £995.00 + VAT |
| Help To Buy Redemption (with further borrowing of any kind) | £1,500.00 + VAT |
| Help To Buy Redemption (as part of sale) Shared Ownership | £400.00 + VAT |
| Shared Ownership | £450.00 + VAT |
| Shared Ownership with Staircasing | £600.00 + VAT |
| Voluntary First Registration | £800.00 + VAT |
| Unregistered Properties | From £200.00 + VAT |
| Independent Legal Advice (Occupier Consent - per person) | £375.00 + VAT |
| Independent Legal Advice (Sole Proprietor/Joint Mortgage - per person) | £375.00 + VAT |
| Independent Legal Advice (Guarantee – per person) | £375.00 + VAT |
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.
| 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 |
| 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. | £30 - £50 + VAT |
| 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. | £40 - £70 + VAT |
| Chancel Repair Liability Search | This shows whether the property is within a Church of England parish which may be subject to Chancel Repair Liability. This is a medieval liability whereby some properties within the parish may be liable to contribute toward the cost of the repairs to the Chancel of the local church (i.e. the part of the church containing the altar, communion table and choir stalls). Surprisingly, this liability still exists today, even though such land may have changed hands many times over hundreds of years. Not all parishes are affected and not all properties within the affected parishes have the liability. However, where the liability does exist it can be extremely expensive. The search shows whether the property is within an affected parish and, if it is, insurance can be taken out. | £24 incl. VAT Alternatively, we can offer a Chancel Indemnity Policy for £15.79 incl. VAT |
| 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. | £2.75 + VAT (per person) |
| Land Registry Office Copies | We must obtain, where we are selling or dealing with a transfer of equity, the up to date Title, where the property is registered, from HM Land Registry via our online portal. This is to ensure the vendor owns the property that is being sold. | £3 - £6 |
| Other Searches | Geographically specific or property specific searches, such as evidence of historic mining for coal, limestone and tin. | List and costs are dependant 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. | £3.75 + VAT |
| 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. | From £20 for properties under £80k to £910 for properties over £1m |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax | Stamp Duty Land Tax, previously called Stamp Duty, payable to HMRC. | The amount is dependent upon the value of the property and the circumstances of the buyer. |
| Case Management Fee | Case Management fee to include Post Completion fees including file storage | £50.00 + VAT |
| 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. | £30.00 + VAT |
Leasehold - Additional Fees
Additional disbursements can also apply when the purchase involves a leasehold property.
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 managing 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 at 20%, 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 manging 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:
| 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.
| 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 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. | £40.00 + VAT 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. | £30.00 + VAT per transfer |
| Removing Cautions or Charges from the Register | A charge to cover the work to obtain redemption figures from the Cautioner or Charger who has registered the entry upon your property. | £250.00 + VAT per entry (if not part of a sale) |
| Trust Deed Tariff | A charge to cover the additional work in preparing and submitting for registration a Deed to register additional interests against the property. You may need tax advice in this regard. | £200.00 + VAT as part of an ongoing transaction From £200.00 as part of another transaction £495.00 + VAT for a new instruction |
| Legal Charge | A charge to cover the additional work in preparing and submitting for registration a Legal Charge to register any additional funds provided by a third party (other than the main lender) towards the purchase of the property. If we are required to liaise with an existing lender to obtain consent to the further legal charge, further costs will be charged based on the work involved. | From £200.00 + VAT plus £595.00 + VAT for a new instruction |
| Debenture Fee | A charge to cover the additional work in advising on, preparing and submitting for registration a Debenture to register any additional funds provided by a lender towards the purchase of the property to be secured over your company. | £450.00 + VAT |
| Title Insurance (except standard Chancel Repair Liability) | We reserve the right to charge a fee to cover the additional administrative work in obtaining any insurance in relation to the title to the Property (e.g., where there are old covenants). This charge is in addition to both the premium (usually a one-off payment) and the cost of any Statutory Declaration that may be needed in connection with the insurance. | £50.00 + VAT |
| Statutory Declarations | A charge to cover the work in preparing or approving any Statutory Declarations needed in connection with the transaction generally, e.g. to establish a right of way. Most Declarations are straightforward, but a few can be complicated and require specialised drafting and preparation. | £350.00 + VAT |
| Help to Buy | A charge to cover additional work in liaising with the Help to Buy Agent, the Developer and the Developer's Solicitor. Perusal of and advising upon additional paperwork to include the Help to Buy Charge and the Solicitors Undertakings. Liaising with your initial Lender. | £400.00 + VAT |
| New Build | A charge to cover additional work in liaising with the Developer and the Developer's Solicitor. Perusal of and advising upon additional paperwork to include various Transfer Deeds, Agreements relating to Highways, Water & Drainage, Planning and non-standard contracts. | £225.00 + VAT |
| Verification of ID and AML via eCos |
ID Check: Standard ID NFC (Safe Harbour) Purchaser Source of Funds Giftor Source of Funds |
. £24.80 + VAT £2.40 per case + VAT £2.40 + VAT |
| Hourly Charge-Out Rates (where specifically applied) | Manik Miah | £250 per hour + VAT |