Residential Property

Freehold Sale

Our average standard legal fee for a residential freehold property sale is £895 - £1,695 plus VAT for properties up to the value of £1.1M.

Please contact us for properties over £1.1M.

Leasehold Sale

Our average standard legal fee for a residential leasehold property sale is £995 - £1,795 plus VAT for properties up to the value of £1.1M.

Please contact us for properties over £1.1M.

Freehold Purchase

Our average standard legal fee for a residential freehold property purchase is from £995.00 2,195 plus VAT for properties up to the value of £1.1M.

Please contact us for properties over £1.1M.

Leasehold Purchase

Our average standard legal fee for a residential leasehold property purchase is from £1,095 - £2,295 plus VAT for properties up to the value of 1.1 million.

Please contact us for properties over £1.1M.

Please note:

 •         For purchases using a corporate vehicle there is a supplemental fee of up to £300 plus VAT due to Companies House registration requirements and additional documents required for lending purposes.

•         The value of the property and any complexities of the sale will dictate the final fee charged within this range.

•         For electronic money transfers we will charge the sum of £12.50 plus VAT for any transactions up to £250k and £35.00 for any over. Below, we detail what services are covered in our standard fee.

•         VAT will be payable on our fees and some disbursements and we will clearly confirm which disbursements carry VAT in our formal quotation or as we advise you to incur them.

Below we detail what services are covered in our standard fee.

If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity which can include matters such as delays in searches, issues with a mortgage, issues raised in a survey or delays from the other party or their solicitor.

Our average fees assume that:

1.     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.

2.     For Leasehold matters this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.

3.     The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.

4.     All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.

5.     No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

Additional charges on a residential purchase

Disbursements & other costs

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

You will be provided with a full list of disbursements in our formal quotation. If you need to incur any further disbursements during your case, you will be notified in advance of the reason and the amount.

Typical disbursements and other costs that may apply in you matter will include: –

• HM Land Registry fee. The fees chargeable by the land registry can be found here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
• Land Registry Priority Search fees (per title) £7.00
• Bankruptcy search fees £10.00

HM Land Registry (Stamp Duty*) applies to most property purchase transactions. We will advise you of the stamp duty applicable to your matter and you can visit the HMRC website for more information (see below)

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro

We are required by our regulator to undertake Client Due Diligence (CDD) which is made of up KYC (Know Your Client) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) details of which are contained within our terms of engagement which will be sent to you when instructing us.

In addition to our standard charges as referred to above, the firm will apply a CDD charge of:

•         KYC ID Check – £10.00 plus VAT (£12.00 Inc. VAT) per person

•         Source of funds check – £12.00 plus VAT (£14.40 Inc. VAT) per transaction

Anticipated disbursements for a leasehold purchase 

There may be further disbursements for a Leasehold purchase or the purchase of a freehold property where there is a Management Company which if chargeable is set out in the Lease or Transfer and usually paid to the Landlord or Management Company.

These will be set by the management company and can include: 

•         Notice of Transfer fee – This fee, if chargeable, is set out in the lease and is often between £0 – £400 plus VAT

•         Notice of Charge fee – If the property is to be mortgaged. This fee is set out in the lease and is often between £0 – £250 plus VAT

•         Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate but is often between £0 and £250. + VAT (£0 – £300 Inc. VAT)

•         Certificate of Compliance fee – o be confirmed upon receipt of the lease as can range between £0 and £250. + VAT (£0 – £300 Inc. VAT)

These fees are set by the management company / freeholder and can vary from property to property. They can, on occasion, be significantly more than the ranges given above and VAT may be charged. 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.

Search Fees

Our average fee for a standard property search pack is from £300.00 plus VAT. Typical local searches include:

•         Local land charges search;

•         Enquiries of the local authority;

•         Environment search;

•         Planning Search;

•         Chancel repair liability indemnity; and

•         Water and Drainage search

Other official local searches may be required by your lender and your conveyancer will use their local knowledge to confirm which local searches you will need. A standard local authority search will reveal whether any legal restrictions or obligations affect the property. These include tree preservation orders, smoke control orders, flood searches as well as the property’s planning and building enforcement history. We will advise you which searches you need for your transaction and the cost of each search.

Remortgages

We may at our discretion charge only the mortgage lender's cashback but, in all other circumstances:

• Our average standard legal fee for a residential mortgage / re-mortgage application on a Freehold Residential Property is £495.00 plus VAT (£597.00 Inc. VAT).
• Our average standard legal fee for a residential mortgage / re-mortgage application on a Leasehold Residential Property is £595.00 plus VAT (£714.00 Inc. VAT).
• The value of the property, location and any complexities of the purchase will dictate the final fee charged.
• For purchases using a corporate vehicle there is a supplemental fee of £300 plus VAT due to Companies House registration requirements and additional documents required for lending purposes.

Please note the below assumptions for all fees indicated above:

1.     this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise.

2.     the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.

3.     all parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from any parties providing documentation.

Fraud & Mi-selling Claims

Silverstone Law is dedicated to providing transparent and fair pricing for pursuing regulatory claims against FCA-regulated firms. We operate on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning that our fee structure is only applicable if compensation is recovered. In addition, to ensure our clients receive the best service at competitive rates, we have adopted the sliding scale fee structure imposed by the FCA on Claims Management Companies (CMCs). This means that you get the law firm service whilst only paying CMC fee levels.

Our fee structure is as follows:

•⁠ ⁠Compensation Up to £1,499: Our fee is capped at 30% (including VAT) of the compensation amount.

•⁠ ⁠Compensation Between £1,500 and £9,999: Our fee is capped at 28% (including VAT) of the compensation amount.

•⁠ ⁠Compensation Between £10,000 and £24,999: Our fee is capped at 25% (including VAT) of the compensation amount.

•⁠ ⁠Compensation Between £25,000 and £49,999: Our fee is capped at 20% (including VAT) of the compensation amount.

•⁠ ⁠Compensation Above £50,000: Our fee is capped at 15% (including VAT) of the compensation amount, up to a maximum fee of £10,000 (including VAT).

We believe this fee structure ensures fairness and transparency, allowing our clients to retain a significant portion of their compensation while benefiting from our expertise and dedicated service.