Whatever you’re doing with your property, We're here to help you. This could include

• Buying and or Selling a property
• Re-mortgage of a property
• Buying a property to rent out
• Buying and Selling development land
• Residential Leases and Tenancy Agreements
• Lease extensions

Killingworth & Parrott tries to take the stress out of buying and selling by giving you practical help and advice to guide you through the transaction. Our property team consists of qualified practitioners, experienced practitioners and support staff.

Buying and selling property is often referred to as conveyancing. it is the process of changing the legal ownership of a property from a seller to a buyer.

Getting a quote and costs information

Whilst we have set out some information below to help you understand the legal costs and disbursements involved in the conveyancing process, you can get an instant quote from us by clicking on the link below and adding the information we ask for. This will give you a full breakdown of the legal costs you will pay us for carrying out the work on your behalf, the amount of VAT you will have to pay on our legal costs, and also the disbursements (out of pocket expenses) you will have to pay for. 

Please ensure you check your email address when submitting the form as a copy of the quote will also be emailed to the email address you provide. Some email providers treat this as spam so please be sure to check your Junk folder to prevent any delay in getting started! 

Our current legal fees range from £945.00 (plus VAT at £189.00, or £1,134.00 inclusive of VAT) for the sale of a freehold residential property up to £200,000.00 in value, to £1,845.00 (plus VAT at £369.00, or £2,214.00 inclusive of VAT) for the sale of a freehold residential property up to £1,000,000.00. 

Our current legal fees range from £995.00 (plus VAT at £199.00, or £1,194.00 inclusive of VAT) for the purchase of a freehold residential property up to £200,000.00 in value, to £1,895.00 (plus VAT at £379.00, or £2,274.00 inclusive of VAT) for the purchase of a freehold residential property up to £1,000,000.00.

We charge £30.00 (plus VAT at £6.00, or £36.00 inclusive of VAT) in respect of any bank transfer, for example in redeeming a mortgage, or sending purchase monies to a sellers solicitor.

Properties above £1,000,000.00

We are still able to act in the sale or purchase of your residential property if it is above £1,000,000.00, however, we will usually consider the matter more closely before providing details of our costs.

Typical additions to our legal fees

Where you are selling or buying a leasehold residential property, we charge an additional £400.00 (plus VAT at £80.00, or £480.00 inclusive of VAT) to cover the additional work involved. 

Where you are selling or buying a property which is shared ownership, has a freehold management company or is a recently constructed property, we charge an additional £300.00 (plus VAT at £60.00, or £360.00 inclusive of VAT) to cover the additional work involved.

What else might impact the legal fee

Our legal fees are based on a number of assumptions. The main assumptions are :-

- that the property is currently held under a single existing legal title at the Land Registry;

- there are no title defects;

- one contract is submitted to one purchaser;

- the purchase will be on the basis of an unconditional contract (as opposed to a contract which triggers completion on certain events, such as if a planning permission is successful); 

- the property is acquired with vacant possession (it is empty) on completion; and

- that completion takes place on the date agreed in the contract.

If your transaction is more complex, we will discuss this with you, advising you of any additional costs which may be incurred, before they are incurred.

Disbursements (out of pocket expenses)

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the cost of searches, Land Registry fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax. We pay disbursements on your behalf. The following are examples of likely disbursements, but the list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply;

- Onboarding (electronically submitting our terms of business to you, and you following our regulatory compliance checks), £14.40 per client;

- On a sale, obtaining up to date Land Registry documentation for the purposes of the Contract, £26.40;

- On a purchase, obtaining a standard search pack (consisting of a Local Search, Drainage Search and an Environmental Search), £232.60;

- On a purchase, Obtaining a Mining Search (if required), £49.92;

- On a purchase, obtaining bankruptcy searches where you are buying with the assistance of a mortgage, £7.80 per client. We also make a charge of £40.00 (plus VAT at £8.00, or £48.00 inclusive of VAT) to cover the costs of dealing with our mortgage lending panels.

- On a purchase, obtaining a Land Registry Priority Search to protect your interest in the property £8.80;

- On a purchase, electronically submitting a Stamp Duty Return and the application to HM Land Registry to register the property into your name, £12.00

- On a purchase, an HM Land Registry registration fee which is dependant on the property price and whether or not the property is already registered with them. For more information, see the Government’s website (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees).

- On a purchase, the appropriate amount off Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax, which is mainly dependent on the purchase price of the property and the purchaser’s status. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website (https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro), or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website (https://gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator).

How long does it take?

In terms of timescales, it typically takes about 8-12 weeks to be in a position to exchange contracts in a conveyancing transaction (pre Covid19), but this process can vary quite substantially between files. We, as solicitors, are often the last link in a transaction and it is only when the solicitors have all the information (which they are dependent on obtaining from others) that the parties in the transaction can move. In addition to this, some legal titles are more complex than others, and factors may come to light during the course of a transaction which require further investigation. We would stress that the timing is frequently dictated by the speed of how quickly and appropriately organisations can respond to us, which we have little control over.

Once contracts have been exchanged, the completion date will be set so all parties know when the move will happen. Sometimes that happens on the same day as the contracts are exchanged, but many people prefer to have a gap of a week or two so that they can finalise the practicalities of a move. 

On the completion date, monies are officially transferred between the parties legal representatives and once that has happened the keys can be handed over.

Where we act for the Seller, we will redeem any mortgage, make arrangements to pay any estate agents fees and collect our legal fee (including the VAT), forwarding on the net proceeds of sale to you and or any related purchase you might have.

Where we act for the purchaser, we will finalise any mortgage, submit and pay any stamp duty and collect our legal fee (including the VAT). Once we receive the paperwork from the sellers solicitors, will apply to register the property in your name at HM land registry. We have little control over how long HM land registry will take to deal with this application. It can take as little as two weeks but we have also seen waiting times in excess of 18 months! However long it takes, we will update you once HM land registry have registered the property in your name.

Are you planning on moving home?