Our Charges – Sale of a Residential Property

Our fee covers the work required to complete the sale of a residential property.

Our fee will depend on the agreed sale price, whether the property is a leasehold or a freehold property and the complexity of your particular transaction.

What may impact on the level of fees?

Factors which could affect the overall costs include:

• If the title of your property is not already registered at HM Land Registry
• If the property is a newly converted property meaning that your buyer will be the first occupier
• You are selling an investment property subject to a tenancy agreement
• The property you are selling is part only of your property and we need to draft a Transfer of Part
• You are selling as Executor

There are some factors which will not be known until after the transaction commences which means that extra work is required.  We will advise you about any additional fees if and when such issues arise.  However, the matters listed below are some of the situations that may arise for which additional fees will apply:

• There is a defect in title, for example, the whole or part of the title has a possessory title or a title based on adverse possession, or the title does not have necessary rights of way, and requires us to prepare a statutory declaration (it is also likely that indemnity insurance will be required which you may have to pay if your buyer will not meet the cost): £150 plus VAT (£180 in total)

Hourly Rates

In the vast majority of cases we will provide you with a fixed fee based on the above ranges once we have spoken to you and gathered all necessary information.  Where we are unable to offer you a fixed fee we will provide you with a fee estimate based on the time we believe the sale will take.  Our hourly rates range from £140 to £205 plus VAT (£168 to £246 in total) based on the level of qualification and experience.  Your work will be allocated to the most cost effective team member with the appropriate experience.

Disbursements

 Disbursements are costs related to your transaction that are payable to third parties.  We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf.  Disbursements may include the following:

• HM Land Registry fees for obtaining copy documents: generally £6 to £10 plus VAT (£7.20 to £12 in total), but can be more.  We will ask you to pay £50 to us on account of disbursements at the start of the transaction
• If the property is leasehold, there are likely to be fees payable to the Landlord/Management Company to obtain service charge and other leasehold information your buyer’s solicitors will require.  These fees will not be known until the transaction progresses but are generally in the region of £300 to £500 plus VAT (£360 to £600 in total)
• Electronic money transfer fee: £25 plus VAT for each transfer (£30 in total)

Key stages – what will Raworths do for you?

Our fees are designed to reflect the average conveyancing transaction and do not take account of unexpected difficulties or more complex issues which may arise. Conveyancing is not always straightforward, but in general, this is what we will do during a typical sale of a residential property:

• Take your detailed instructions and provide initial advice
• Verify your identity and ownership of the property to comply with money laundering requirements
• Send you the necessary property information forms for completion and signing
• Review your title documentation and draft the sale contract. If the property is leasehold, check the requirements for a sale of the property contained in your lease
• If a leasehold property, contact the Landlord/Management Company/Managing Agents to obtain copies of the service charge accounts and other requisite estate management information
• Provide your buyer’s solicitors with the contract, copy title documentation and property information forms
• Obtain further planning documentation, if required
• If your property is mortgaged, obtain a redemption statement from your lender
• Respond to enquiries raised by your buyer’s solicitors in accordance with your instructions
• Send the contract to you for signature
• Liaise with your buyer’s solicitors to agree the completion date
• Exchange contracts
• Approve the transfer document to transfer the property to the buyer
• Provide undertakings to your buyer’s solicitors to discharge any mortgages affecting the property and to deliver title documents to your buyer’s solicitors following completion
• Prepare a completion statement calculating the balance of sale proceeds that will be payable to you
• Deal with completion of your sale
• If applicable, redeem your mortgage from the sale proceeds
• Account to you for the net sale proceeds

It would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur other costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

How long will my house sale take?

 The time taken from receipt of your mortgage offer until completion of your mortgage will depend on a number of factors. The average transaction takes between 4-6 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the particular circumstances of your transaction.

Our Team

Our Residential Property Team is led by Kelly Buckle-Fleming and the team comprises Diane Bootland and Tracy McKenna. Click on their names for links to view the team’s profiles.