Contact us first for a FREE INITIAL INTERVIEW to confirm costs with NO OBLIGATION.

Residential Conveyancing

We would always recommend potential clients to contact us to discuss the details of any residential property matter to ensure that we provide you with as accurate quotation of costs as possible on a no obligation basis. We can also discuss other issues relating to your matter that you may have concerns about.

For a general guideline about our charges for residential property sales and purchases both freehold and leasehold including mortgages and also re-mortgages;

• We have a minimum charge of £895 plus VAT and otherwise charge £995 - £1,150 plus VAT on average for both freehold sales and purchases
• We have a minimum charge of £1000 plus VAT and otherwise charge £1,245 - £1,295 plus VAT on average for both leasehold sales and purchases
• We charge £695 plus VAT on average for a re-mortgage*
• We charge £150 plus VAT for costs incurred by us in redeeming a mortgage on a sale and £70 plus VAT for preparing a Stamp Duty Land Tax return and making payment on your behalf. We also charge £12.00 plus VAT archive fee
• You may also be responsible for paying the legal costs incurred by us on behalf of your Lender too if applicable. These are likely to be around £250 plus VAT

These are the Firm’s fees. In addition there will be other costs and charges on top which we will have to pay to third parties on your behalf as a necessary part of the process. These include local and other search fees, Land Registry fees, stamp duty land tax, bank transfer fees, information packs, charges for notices and deeds and so on. The total of these can vary a great deal depending on the transaction ; on a purchase, search fees in South Somerset usually amount to £270 including VAT and the land registry fee is now £195 for an average purchase.

We will set all the exact amounts out in our detailed quotation which confirms our total charges including all of the above (not an estimate)

The fees set out above assume that the transaction is ‘standard’ and has no unforeseen issues that may lengthen the process or increase costs. This is why it is important that we discuss your own transaction both when we provide you with a quote but also in detail if you decide to instruct us. The type of factors that may involve a variation in fee include but not limited to:

• unregistered land • new build property ·       defective title ·       grant of new lease (not an assignment) ·       protracted transactions and/or unforeseen complications ·       indemnity insurance policies required ·       Help to Buy schemes ·       multiple owners ·       shared ownership ·       second home/buy to let ·       auction transactions ·       repossessed property ·       right to buy /lifetime mortgages · Management Companies · solar panels · listed buildings

We give very careful consideration to our prices and do bear in mind that with this we take into account the importance of this often complex work we do for you including not missing anything important, working to deadlines and the requirement to have the protection of professional insurance cover.

• Our people involved in doing the work will include members of the Property Team. Please see people section of our website.

We have produced various information leaflets including detailing the work involved in buying and selling a property but to give you an idea here the work we do includes:

• Carrying out the requisite client due diligence and checks prior to commencement
• Obtaining Land Registry entries/title documentation and arranging other important property documents, drafting contract and issuing a contract pack, reviewing and reporting on contract documentation received
• Undertaking searches, making investigations and raising enquiries
• Dealing with incoming enquiries
• Reviewing and reporting on mortgage documentation and liaising with lenders throughout
• Preparing for exchange and completion
• Dealing with post completion matters including the payment of Stamp Duty and Land Registry applications

The timescales set out presume that information we need is provided to us in a timely manner.

Please note that you would always be involved in paying external costs such as estate agent commission, removal costs and so on.

Complaints Procedure

We aim to offer all clients a friendly and efficient service.   If, however, any difficulty should arise, including a complaint about the firm’s bill, in the first instance please discuss the issue with the fee earner concerned.   If the matter is not resolved, you should raise the matter with our Complaints Partner, Colin Burdett of the Axminster Office – telephone 01297 32206, unless he is the subject of your complaint, in which case please contact William Bennett on Chard telephone 01460 61000.

Should a complaint arise we will inform you of our complaints procedure (which is otherwise available on request) and your right to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman at the conclusion of our complaints process.