Residential Conveyancing – Purchase

Costs and Service Information

Please note that there will be two elements to the prices as set out below:

  1. Fees charged by Bennetts Solicitors
  2. Fees payable to third parties

Please ensure that you consider both parts to our price information.

Fees charged by Bennetts Solicitors

Property value up to £500,000

FeeActual
Legal fee *£800
VAT£160
SUBTOTAL£960

Flat, Shared Ownership, Help to Buy, New Build and Equity Release

FeeActual
Legal fee *£900
VAT£180
SUBTOTAL£1080

* Basis of charging = fixed fee

Property value £500,001 to £750,000

FeeActual
Legal fee *£900
VAT£180
SUBTOTAL£1080

Flat, Shared Ownership, Help to Buy, New Build and Equity Release

FeeActual
Legal fee *£1000
VAT£200
SUBTOTAL£1200

* Basis of charging = fixed fee

Property value £750,001 to £1,000,000

FeeActual
Legal fee *£1000
VAT£200
SUBTOTAL£1200

Flat, Shared Ownership, Help to Buy, New Build and Equity Release

FeeActual
Legal fee *£1100
VAT£220
SUBTOTAL£1320

* Basis of charging = fixed fee

Property value £1,000,001 to £2,000,000

FeeActual
Legal fee *£1200
VAT£240
SUBTOTAL£1440

Flat, Shared Ownership, Help to Buy, New Build and Equity Release

FeeActual
Legal fee *£1300
VAT£260
SUBTOTAL£1560

* Basis of charging = fixed fee

Property value over £2,000,000

Please contact us to discuss the property and charges.

Fees payable to third parties (‘Disbursements’)

FeeActualVat
Local search£95 (within Macclesfield) or £115 (outside of Macclesfield)included
Drainage search£29.90included
Land registry search£4 per title
Bankruptcy search£2 per person
Stamp duty taxDependant on property value and type of buyer.
Please visit stampdutycalculator.org.uk to calculate your fee.
Land registry feeDependent on value of property as follows:
£0 – £80,000£20
£80,001 – £100,000£40
£100,001 – £200,000£100
£200,001 – £500,000£150
£500,001 – £1,000,000£295
£1,000,001 +£500
Optional searches:
Coal mining searchVariable
Environmental search£96included
Planning search£42included

Work included and key stages

The precise work and stages involved in the purchase of a freehold residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, we have set out the key stages involved in a typical purchase transaction:

  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice.
  • Check finances are in place to fund the purchase and contact the lender’s solicitors if needed.
  • Receive and advise on contract documents.
  • Carry out searches.
  • Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor.
  • Give you advice on all documents and information received.
  • Go through the conditions of mortgage offer with you.
  • Check the title of the property and prepare the document to transfer ownership to you.
  • Send the final contract to you for signature and ask you to pay the agreed deposit to us so that contracts can be exchanged.
  • Agree a completion date (date from which you own the property).
  • Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened.
  • Arrange for all monies needed to be received from the lender (if applicable) and you.
  • Complete purchase.
  • Deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax.
  • Deal with application for registration at Land Registry.
  • Notify you and your lender (if applicable) of registration once confirmed.

Services excluded

Our service will not include any of the following:

  • Advice on the value of the property.
  • Advice on the suitability of your mortgage or any other financial arrangements.
  • A physical inspection of the property.
  • Advice on any planning implications unless instructed to do so which may be subject to additional charges.
  • Checks on the property to ensure that it has been built in accordance with any planning permissions granted.
  • Advice on any search result findings that identify contaminated land, fracking sites or other environmental issues.
  • Advice on tax (other than SDLT) or other accounting matters.

Approximate/ average timescales

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. However, the average process takes between 6 – 8 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower depending on the parties in the chain and the efficiency of third parties involved in the purchase such as the seller’s solicitors, the solicitors representing other buyers and sellers in the chain, your bank if you are taking out a mortgage, search providers and the relevant local authority to conduct your local search.

Factors that could increase costs

In some circumstances we may increase our fees to account for additional time, work or skill required to meet your instructions. Examples include:

  • If your lender makes detailed instructions requiring us to deal with matters other than those relating to the title to the property.
  • If your lender instructs another conveyancer to act for them.
  • If the lender requires anything other than a simple certificate of title (a simple certificate of title is standard with most lenders) in order to send the mortgage funds to our firm.
  • If a trust document is required.
  • If there is a defect in the property title which requires remedying prior to completion.

Qualifications and experience of our team
Our residential conveyancing team includes:

NamePositionExperience
Jane AmblerDirectorJane qualified as a Solicitor in 1987 and has worked in a number of areas of law since this time although the majority of her experience is in conveyancing. Jane took over Bennetts Solicitors in 2000 and is the Principal Solicitor at this firm.

Jane now undertakes conveyancing work as her sole practice area and is the supervisor for all conveyancing work at the firm.

Anna JordanDirectorAnna joined Bennetts Solicitors taking up a work experience position in 2000 and has worked here ever since. Anna has trained to become and qualified as a Solicitor at this firm. Anna qualified in 2011 and undertakes conveyancing and private client work (wills, probate and lasting powers of attorney).
Joanne LawsonSolicitorJo joined Bennetts in 2019 having qualified in 2004 with another local firm of solicitors. Jo undertakes conveyancing and private client work – Wills, Probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney.