Our team of conveyancers have many years of experience in all types of property transactions and are all accredited by the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), which is a scheme of standardised practice ensuring high standards.

We will:

• Return your telephone calls within 24 hours if we are not available to speak to you immediately.
• Liaise closely with the estate agents involved to ensure the transaction progresses as quickly as possible.
• Offer practical advice in plain English. Provide a written quotation confirming our charges and other payments at the start of the matter.
• Make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen.
• Our aim is to always provide a friendly, efficient and high quality service at a fixed price.

Our services include:

• House Sales and Purchases
• Buying and Selling Flats
• Remortgages
• Transfers of Equity and Gifts of Land
• Tenancy Agreements
• Buying Shared Equity Property
• Equity Release
• Purchase of Building Plots
• Extensions of Flat Leases
• Buying for Investment

Pricing

Buying or selling a property is often the biggest transaction that a person undertakes during their lifetime. For this reason we believe that it is very important that you know the likely costs from the outset. If you contact us on 01268 745406 or by email at a.simpson@alansimpson.com with details of your transaction we will provide you with a specific tailor made quotation within hours. You can then proceed on a fully informed basis knowing that your transaction will be handled throughout by one of our qualified solicitors.

Pricing guidelines for your assistance are as follows:-

Ancillary Fees

1. Bank Transfers – during a conveyancing transaction it is often necessary to transfer sums of money by way of a CHAPS bank transfer. This may occur on the payment of the purchase price, the redemption of a mortgage or when accounting to a client for sale proceeds. Our fee for each bank transfer is £40 plus VAT.
2. Completing and Filing a Stamp Duty Land Tax Return – At the completion of every purchase transaction it is necessary to file a Stamp Duty Land Tax Return with HM Revenue and Customs and then to pay the assessed duty. Our fee for this service if £65 plus VAT.
3. Submitting Your Land Registry Application – Once you have purchased your property we need to register your ownership and any mortgage with the Land Registry. We complete and sign the application form and then upload this electronically with all supporting documentation to the Land Registry portal. Our fee for this service is £30 plus Vat.
4. Arranging Indemnity Insurance – When selling a property we sometimes discover that there are minor title defects or a lack of full compliance certification. These problems can usually be covered by a one off indemnity policy purchased by the seller. Our fee for sourcing and arranging such cover is £50 plus VAT.

Disbursements:

When you are buying or selling a house certain payments are due to third parties such as HM Revenue & Customs, the Land Registry, the Local Authority and management companies and freeholders where the transaction involves leasehold property.

The major disbursements are as follows:-

Stamp Duty Land Tax is assessed on the price being paid for the property and may vary if you are a first time buyer or purchasing a second home. Our free quotation will include an assessment specific to your transaction or you can use the HMRC calculator.

Land Registry Fees are calculated by reference to the value of the property that has been purchased. The basic bandings are based on electronic submission of your application.

If title to the property has not been previously registered with the Land Registry then the application fee will double.

Again depending on the type of transaction the Land Registry fees can vary. Our tailor made quote will provide you with an accurate fee calculation.

Search Fees – As part of the purchase transaction we undertake a set of searches to ascertain risks of Chancel Repair Liability, Environmental or Contamination issues and to obtain the Drainage and Water supplies to the property. Our Local Authority’s Search raises enquiries concerning the planning history of the property and obtains details of any compliance certificates registered pursuant to Building Control Regulations. Our final search known as Plan Search Plus obtains details of planning applications made in the vicinity of the property and gives useful information relating to the neighbourhood generally. You will receive a copy of each search result for information and retention.

The cost of the searches varies from each local authority and can range from £325 to £445. Our specific quotation to you will include the exact cost based on the location of the property chosen by you.

Office Copy Entries – When you are selling a property it is necessary for us to prove your ownership of the property. This is done by obtaining from the Land Registry up to date copies of the entries relating to your property together with a site plan. The cost of obtaining these entries varies between £6 and £24.

Management Companies and Freeholders – If your property is leasehold it is necessary when selling to obtain a Seller’s Information Pack or Leasehold Enquiry Form from the freeholder and/or its management.

The cost of this documentation does vary for each development, it is usually between £200 and £400.

When a leasehold property is purchased the transaction and any mortgage has to be registered with the freeholder and/or its managing agents. Registration fees can vary for each property and are usually between £50 and £250 and may be subject to VAT.