Conveyancing Guide

How much will it cost to buy a house?

The cost will depend on a number of factors such as where the property you are looking to buy is located and the intended purchase price. These factors will affect the cost of the stamp duty to be paid and the types of searches that may need to be carried out.

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What is Stamp Duty?

You pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on properties such as houses and flats, as well as other buildings and land. If the purchase price is under £125,000 you don't pay Stamp Duty Land Tax. If the property is classed as being located in a disadvantaged area and the property is less than £150,000 there will also be no Stamp Duty Land Tax to pay on the purchase.
If the property you are looking to purchase is more than £125,000, you pay between one and five per cent of the whole purchase price and this is calculated on a sliding scale.

Residential purchase price Rate of stamp duty

Up to £125,000 0%

£125,000.01 – £250,000 1%

£250,000.01 - £500,000 3%

£500,000.01 - £1,000,000 4%

First time buyers may be exempt from Stamp Duty on purchases up to £250,000.

Aside from the cost of the Solicitors fee for carrying out the work and the cost of the Stamp Duty a further cost involved will be the searches required.

What searches do I have to have and why?

Searches are carried out to find out information about the property that you are wanting to purchase, these may include:

Local Search- this is designed to inform you amongst other things, of the planning history of the property and advise you of any nearby road or rail schemes.
Land Registry Search – this registers your interest in the property and ensures that no charges can be registered against the property before yours.
Mining Search- this checks the local area for past mining activity, unused mines or shafts. It will also tell you about future mining proposals.
Water Board Search – this tells you where the drains run on your property, which can be useful if you wish to build an extension in the future. It will also confirm whether you are connected to the main sewers and water.
Environment Search – this will tell you if your intended purchase if on a flood plain or contaminated land etc.
Chancel Check – This assess if there is any Chancel Repair Liability attached to your property. Although this liability dates back to medieval times, it has only recently become necessary to check for liability. This relates to a liability to maintain the Chancel of the Church, which arose in medieval times, this liability is passed on with the buildings or the land itself.

There may be other searches to be done depending on where the property you want to buy is situated. Your solicitor will advise you if any special searches are required.

In addition to legal searches, you should always have a survey carried out on the property by an independent surveyor of your choice. You will have to pay for a valuation as part of your mortgage application but this should not be regarded as a survey. Valuations are a cursory look at the property by a valuer to advise the mortgage lender if there is a fair chance of recovering their money in the event of repossession. It will not go into detail about the condition of the property which an independent survey would.

How long will it take?

Every house purchase can vary and the length of time taken can depend on your situation and if you or the house you are purchasing is involved in a chain. The average purchase takes between 6 and 8 weeks, however this can change depending on the other people in your chain.

Can I pull out of the sale/purchase?

You are not legally committed to see the transaction through until you exchange contracts, therefore you can stop the transaction at any point prior to this. Be aware that if you do pull out you will lose any money that you have already spent on searches or surveys.

Do I have to pay a deposit?

If you are a first time buyer you will usually be required to provide a 10% deposit. However, it may be possible to make alternative arrangements with the seller's solicitor, especially if you are borrowing more than 90% of the purchase price.

When do I pay the legal fees?

We usually request an initial payment to cover the cost of searches, though this could be taken from your deposit. The remainder will be requested from you following exchange but before completion.

What happens on completion day?

On the day of completion we forward the purchase money to the Seller's Solicitor via telegraphic transfer. It can take anywhere from 1-6 hours for the money to go through depending on how busy the networks are. The Seller's Solicitor can not release the keys until the money has been received so this may not be until late afternoon. Usually once the money has been received, we will notify you so that you can collect your keys from the Estate Agent.