Residential Conveyancing

Your home is probably your most expensive asset and whatever the prevailing economic climate, planning a move is a stressful event. Our friendly and efficient team of residential conveyancers will ensure your transaction runs smoothly and quickly.

One of our greatest strengths is our local knowledge; between them, our conveyancing team not only know the area and the market intimately but are also well experienced in investigating particular Cornish property issues such as the mining legacy, flood risks and mooring rights.

We can help with all legal aspects of buying and selling your home. Our longstanding relationships with local estate agents, valuers and surveyors enable us to speed the process along efficiently. Using the latest conveyancing software, we can record, track and manage every stage of your transaction – quickly identifying and dealing with any potential problems.

Your case will, as far as possible, be handled by one person from start to finish who will be available by direct telephone line, fax or email to discuss progress. Timescales vary significantly from case to case based on numerous factors. A sale, purchase or remortgage is unlikely to take less than six weeks from the initial instruction to completion and may take considerably longer. We will be able to give you a better estimate of timescales once we have assessed the complexity of the transaction involved and any external factors.

We provide a complete conveyancing service and will, of course, provide you with a detailed written estimate of the legal fees and disbursements that will relate to your transaction within the Client Engagement Letter and in our Terms & Conditions of Business at the outset of the transaction. Whilst all legal fees are in part dependent on the complexity of the transaction we now provide an outline of the minimum legal fees and disbursements that we will charge:

Sale

Sale price                                           Legal fee estimate

Up to £200,000                                 £1,050     (£1,260 including VAT)

£200,001 to £300,000                      £1,075     (£1,290 including VAT)

£300,001 to £400,000                      £1,250   (£1,500 including VAT)

£400,001 to £550,000                       £1,350  (£1,620 including VAT)

£550,001 to £700,000                       £1,600  (£1,920 including VAT)

Over £700,000                                    We operate on a benchmark of 0.25% of the sale price depending upon the complexity of the transaction. Please contact us for a detailed quotation which will reflect the particulars of your specific transaction.

While acting for you in the sale of your property, we will carry out the following work:

• Receiving the title deeds of the property from you or your mortgagee, and checking them and any other relevant papers.
• Obtaining HM Land Registry official copies and checking them.
• Sending you a standard Property Information Form (and Leasehold Information Form if the transaction is leasehold) and a checklist of Fixtures and Fittings for completion and return. Sending the completed forms to your Buyer’s solicitors.  You will need to provide relevant documents such as guarantees for double glazing, woodworm treatment, etc.
• Preparing draft Contract and agreeing this with the Buyer’s solicitors.
• All related correspondence and telephone calls, faxes and emails.
• Meeting with you to confirm instructions for exchange and completing and arranging for exchange of Contracts.
• Agreeing the form of the Transfer of ownership of the property.
• Completing the sale of the property, by receiving the sale money via the banking system. Arranging for the release of the keys on receipt of the monies.
• (If appropriate) paying off your mortgage and obtaining a receipt to send to the Buyer’s solicitors.
• Preparing a statement of account (a Completion Statement) and sending you any monies due if not applied to a purchase.
• On the sale of a leasehold flat, obtaining up to date information direct from the Landlord or Management Company about the Service Charges, need for repairs to the building, etc. if this is not available from the Seller’s solicitors.

We would ordinarily expect your sale to take between 6-12 weeks to complete although the actual time taken will depend upon external factors such as the number of properties in a chain.

Purchase

Purchase price                                  Legal fee estimate

Up to £200,000                                  £1,050   (£1,260 including VAT)

£200,001 to £300,000                       £1,075   (£1,290 including VAT)

£300,001 to £400,000                       £1,250 (£1,500 including VAT)

£400,001 to £550,000                       £1,350 (£1,620 including VAT)

£550,001 to £700,000                       £1,600 (£1,920 including VAT)

Over £700,000                                    We operate on a benchmark of 0.25% of the purchase price depending upon the complexity of the transaction. Please contact us for a detailed quotation which will reflect the particulars of your transaction.

While acting for you in the purchase of your property, we will carry out the following work:

• Receiving and checking through the title deeds and considering all the information on the Property Information Form and the draft Contract sent by the Seller’s solicitors
• Agreeing the form of Contract
• Making the local authority, water and drainage, environmental, mining, chancel and HM Land Registry searches and checking all of the replies
• Considering your mortgage offer (if any) and acting on behalf of your lender. This will involve a checklist of their requirements about the title and the property
• All the related correspondence and telephone calls, faxes and emails
• The preparation of a Property Report on the Title and search results relating to the property incorporating the information received; confirming your instructions for exchange of Contracts and completion, and arranging for exchange of Contracts
• Preparing the transfer document to transfer ownership of the property and agreeing it with the Seller’s solicitors
• Arranging for mortgage funds to be available for completion. This involves reporting to the lender and checking all the special requirements for you;
• Preparing a statement of account (a Completion Statement), advising you as to the amount of monies needed from you to complete the matter and receiving the same
• Completing the purchase by sending the purchase funds to the Seller’s solicitors via the bank on the completion date, and then paying the Stamp Duty Land Tax and registering the transaction at the Land Registry (although it will be your responsibility to advise us as to the exact amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax liability relating to your purchase, which will be relative to your individual circumstances, and you may wish to seek the advice of your accountant first as well as speaking with HM Revenue & Customs to determine this)
• Dealing with the title deeds in accordance with the lender’s instructions or, in the absence of a mortgage, as you direct
• On the purchase of a leasehold flat obtaining up to date information direct from the landlord or management company about the service charges, need for repairs to the buildings, etc (if this is not available from the Seller’s solicitors)

We would ordinarily expect your purchase to take between 6-12 weeks to complete although the actual time taken will depend upon external factors such as the number of properties in a chain.

If you proceed with the assistance of mortgage finance to be secured against this property and we are subsequently instructed to act for your mortgage company,  there will be an additional fee of £300.00 (£360 including VAT), for each mortgage or loan (including Help to Buy loans), due to the extra amount of work that will be involved.

Leasehold – if the transaction involves leasehold title we will charge an additional legal fee of £500 (£600 including VAT) in light of the extra amount of time that will need to be spent on the transaction.

Remortgage or mortgage transactions – if the transaction is a remortgage only with no transfer of the title then the minimum legal fee will be £1,000 (£1,200 including VAT) plus conveyancing search fees if these are required by the mortgage company.

While acting for you in the mortgage or remortgage of your property, we will carry out the following work:

• Receiving the Deeds of the property from you or your mortgagee, and checking them and any other relevant papers.
• Obtaining Land Registry official copies and checking them.
• All related correspondence and telephone calls, faxes and emails.
• Making Local and H M Land Registry Searches and if instructed by you or your Lenders Mining, Water and Drainage and Environmental Searches, and checking all the replies.
• Complying with the terms and conditions attached to your Mortgage Offer and explaining these to you.
• Applying for a redemption statement from any existing lender(s) and sending to such lender(s) the amount required to pay off their mortgage.
• Completing the Mortgage and receiving the advance monies via the banking system.
• Preparing our statement of account and sending you any monies due to you, if in the case of a remortgage, the amount that you are borrowing exceeds that required to pay off any existing mortgage(s).
• On the mortgage of a leasehold flat, obtaining up to date information from the Landlord or Management Company about the Service Charges, the need for repairs on the building, rent receipts, etc., if you are not able to supply this information.

The total charges will include specific costs and payments, other than for time spent.

We reserve the right to charge extra for drafting and preparing additional items which may only become apparent as the transaction progresses, such as: TP1 Transfer of Part, Declaration of Trust, Deed of Covenant, Statutory Declaration, Statement of Truth, organising Indemnity Insurance quotations and policies with third party indemnity insurance providers. The approximate additional legal fees for attending to each of these matters would be estimated at £250 (£300 including VAT) for each document or policy, depending on the complexity and time spent.

Unavoidable disbursements –  you will have to reimburse the firm for these payments made on your behalf. These may include (and are subject to vary especially if additional searches need to be commissioned such as a china clay mining search in addition to a metalliferous mining search, as well as the fact that this is not an exhaustive list):

a) HM Land Registry FR1/AP1 application fee

£20.00 – £1,150 (this will depend on the purchase price, whether or not the title is registered or unregistered and whether or not scale 1 or scale 2 of the HM Land Registry fees apply but is likely to be between £20 to £1,150)

b) Full Council Local Authority search fee (ex VAT)

£255.00 (this will depend on the individual local authority and county in which the property is located but is likely to be at least £255.00)

c) HMRC Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

You will need to advise us which SDLT rate will be applicable to you and what the exact amount of SDLT liability will be relating to your purchase. This will depend on your own individual circumstances including whether or not any reliefs apply, such as multiple dwellings relief, first time buyers relief and for example whether or not your purchase is a linked transaction. We we do not provide tax advice. You may wish to liaise directly with HM Revenue & Customs and your accountant or tax adviser as well regarding this before you confirm the information to us. You can calculate the amount SDLT that will be payable by visiting HMRC’s website.

d) Lloyds Bank & Hine Downing Administration CHAPS Telegraphic Transfer fees (ex VAT)

amount to £12.50 Bank CHAPS fee plus £16.00 Hine Downing administration fee making a total of £28.50 (£34.20 including VAT) for each CHAPS transfer

e) Metalliferous Mining Activity search fee (ex VAT)                      £70.00

f) Water and Drainage search fee (ex VAT)                                       £51.25

g) Property Search Group administration charge (ex VAT)           £29.99

h) Homecheck Pro Environmental Report (ex VAT)                       £51.00

i) Chancel Check search fee (ex VAT)                                                 £20.00

j) Property Search Group copy production fee (ex VAT)                £10.50

k) SDLT.co.uk Electronic Submission Fee (ex VAT)                       £10.00

l) HM Land Charges search fees  (ex VAT)                                       £2.00 per name

m) Anti-money laundering search fee each (ex VAT)                     £5.00

n) HM Land Registry index map search fee (ex VAT)                    £5.00

o) HM Land Registry office copy entries (ex VAT)                         £3.00 for title plan plus                        £3.00 for each document

p) Flood Report fee (ex VAT)                                                              £30.00

q) HM Land Registry OS1/2 fees (ex VAT)                                      £3.00 per title

The standard rate of VAT is currently 20%.

On the 19th July 2011, Hine Downing was accredited under the new Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).  We were the seventh firm in Cornwall to be accredited.

CQS is designed to provide clients with reassurance about their solicitor’s integrity, practice standards and professionalism.  Complying with CQS will help Hine Downing provide a more effective service for our clients.