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You could be selling a property for many reasons and letting go emotionally can be difficult. You may be selling a property you have invested time and money into, a family home which is now too large for your needs, the home of a recently departed loved one or where a loved one needs to go into care, a property you may no longer be able to afford or to move up to something bigger and better.  All these issues bring with them their own stresses and challenges.

How can a solicitor for selling a property help?

This is where Lester Aldridge steps in. The job of our conveyancing solicitors is to remove the stress from you to ensure your property sale proceeds quickly and smoothly every step of the way to achieve your goals of disposing of the property, and if you are linking in a purchase, moving into your new home.

We will check the legal title to the property and prepare the contract papers for the buyers’ property solicitor.

There is certain paperwork you will need to complete when selling a property and we can assist you with this. Our conveyancing solicitors will also make contact with your current mortgage lender to ensure that on completion your mortgage is repaid out of your sale proceeds.

If we discover problems with the property title we will discuss these with you and find practical, cost-effective solutions to those issues early on so as not to delay the transaction. As the sale progresses, the buyers’ searches and enquiries may also reveal problems and again we will seek to overcome these to enable the exchange of contracts and completion to take place in a timely manner.

We will keep you informed as the property sale progresses, as well as liaising with your selling agents and others to manage timescales and any linked transactions.

View our guide 10 steps to selling your home.

How long is the conveyancing process for selling a property?

This is the ultimate “how long is a piece of string” question? Every property sale is different with its own challenges. Some will proceed quickly where there is no chain or others may take much longer due to complex title issues or many parties in the chain who all need to coordinate the exchange of contracts and completion at the same time.

Our wealth of experience over many years enables us to assess how long a transaction will take. On average we advise our clients that it will take approximately six to eight weeks from the submission of the contract papers to reach the exchange of contracts stage. We usually say completion takes place one to two weeks later to enable the final pre-completion paperwork to be dealt with.

If you do have a particular timescale that must be met, we will seek to achieve that for you.

How much are our solicitors’ fees for selling a property?

Our conveyancing fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your property, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales but excluding Disbursements.

Our fee assumes that:

  • This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in the title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction. Supplemental fees will be charged when the transaction is not standard or when it is a leasehold property.
  • If leasehold, that it is the transfer of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease.
  • The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.
  • All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
  • No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

Price is what you pay, value is what you get

We may charge additional fees/supplements for more complex transactions or where additional work is required such as (but not limited to):

  • Deed of covenant under lease
  • Deed of variation or rectification of lease
  • Lease extension
  • Deed of trust
  • Deed of easement
  • Advice on company issues
  • Advice on planning issues
  • Arranging and advising on indemnity insurance
  • Dealing with late completion
  • Administering leasehold retentions
  • Preparation of statutory declaration

We will let you know in advance what our additional fees will be for this additional work. The range of hourly fees for this extra work is £110 to £250 (plus VAT) depending upon the complexity of the task and the experience of the person dealing with your transaction.

Our conveyancing fees for selling a property

Please note, all fees outlined in the below table are subject to VAT.

TRANSACTION VALUE LESTER ALDRIDGE FEES FREEHOLD (STANDARD)
Under £500,000 £1,450 – £2,750 (£1.740 – £3,300 including VAT)
£500,001 – £1,000,000 £1,950 – £3,450 (£2,340 – £4,140 including VAT)
£1,000,001 – £3,000,000 £2,750 – £6,000 (£3,300 – £7,200 including VAT)
Over £3,000,001 Fees on application

* Most flats are leasehold but they may come with a share of the freehold

Additional Sale Disbursements if Leasehold

  • Management pack (variable) £150 – £400 + VAT (£180 – £480 including VAT)
  • If we are required to transfer monies by way of CHAPS or any other electronic payments, the expense for each transfer with be invoiced at £5.50 + VAT (£6.60 including VAT) and a handling fee of £29.50 + VAT (£35.40 including VAT)
  • Online ID check £5.76 + VAT (£7.20 including VAT)
  • HM Land Registry fees £3.00 + VAT (£3.60 including VAT) per office copy

Total cost

To establish what the likely total cost will be you should add together:

Fees + Supplements + VAT + Disbursements  = Total Cost

Abortive fees

Our abortive costs are based on the amount of time spent on the file calculated at the individual fee earner’s hourly charge out rate. This will vary according to the experience and status of the fee earner concerned. Any Disbursements which have been incurred will also be charged if the matter goes abortive.

Referral fees

In some circumstances, other professionals such as estate agents and mortgage brokers will refer clients to us. We may pay them a referral fee for doing so. This fee is included within our fees quoted to you and at no additional cost to you. If we do pay such a referral fee we will notify you of this in our engagement letter.

Our property team

You can view our property team members here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Firstly, establish what is important to you. This may be cost or it may be the speed the transaction will progress. The reputation of the property solicitor will be important. Where ever possible you should seek recommendations from family and friends. Do some research online for good reviews and testimonials from past clients. Speak to your estate agent for recommendations but also be aware that some lawyers do pay some estate agents referral fees so this may not be impartial. The estate agent and lawyer should declare if referral fees are being paid.  Make some phone calls and obtain fee quotations. You will get a feel for the type of person you are talking to. They should make you feel at ease, explain how the transaction will progress and deal with any initial queries you have.

This depends upon many things – the length of the chain (i.e. how many people are buying and selling their properties which are linked to this transaction), the complexity of the title to the property you are selling, how long the local authority is taking to process the buyer’s lawyers’ searches in the area, how long it takes the buyer’s lender to arrange their valuation and issue a mortgage offer. On average we say it will take approximately 6 – 8 weeks to reach exchange of contracts stage (when all parties are committed) – sometimes it is much quicker but it can be longer. Completion (when you move out) usually takes place 1 – 2 weeks later. The longer the chain of transactions, the longer it will take for all parties to be ready to proceed at the same time and agree on a mutually acceptable completion date.

The precise stages involved in the conveyancing process for selling a residential property vary according to the circumstances. Please view our guide 10 steps to selling your home which outlines the basic steps. If you require more information we are always happy to have a chat on the phone to discuss your concerns.

Our conveyancing solicitors will contact your lender for a redemption statement showing how much is outstanding on your current mortgage loan. Assuming the sale price is more than this amount, it will be paid off on completion of your sale out of the sale proceeds received from your buyer. Occasionally if the sale proceeds will not cover this amount, we will ask you to make up the shortfall before we exchange contracts on your behalf.  At completion, we will arrange to pay this sum to the lender.

We will ensure that when dealing with your sale transaction we also deal with your purchase at the same pace so that we can dovetail the exchange of contracts and completion date to take place at the same time in both transactions. Sometimes the sale (a simpler transaction) is ready before the purchase and we will ensure we keep all parties advised how the matters are progressing. We will not exchange on the sale until you are ready on the purchase to ensure that there is never the risk of you having to move out of your home without having a new home to move into on the same day.

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