Buying Freehold Property

Our fixed fees cover all of the work required when buying freehold property, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

Our fees and disbursements for buying freehold property:

Legal fee:

Our fees will depend on the value of the freehold property you are purchasing and will range from £950.00 to £2,250.00 plus VAT*

Search fees:

Land Registry Priority Search fee – £3.00

Bankruptcy Search fee (if obtaining a mortgage) – £2.00 per name

Search fees (includes Local Authority, drainage, environmental, Chancel, flood and planning searches) – £350.00 approximately

HM Land Registry fee:

This mandatory cost is set by the Land Registry and depends on the value of the freehold property you are purchasing. The fee will range from £20.00 to £910.00.

Electronic Money Transfer fee:

£15 plus VAT per payment.

VAT:

You will only pay VAT on our legal fees and the cost to make an electronic money transfer.

Referral fees

For some transactions, we do pay referral fees. The amount of any referral fee will be disclosed to you at the commencement of the transaction. To be clear, these referral fees are paid by us to third parties and not by you.

What are disbursements:

These are costs related to your house purchase that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure there is no delay in your purchase.

Will I pay Stamp Duty or Land Tax?:

The rate of Stamp Duty or Land Tax that you pay will depend on the purchase price of your property, and your property lawyer will advise you of what this is. There is also a tax relief if you are a first time buyer and again, your property lawyer will provide you with full information.

You can calculate the amount of stamp duty you will need to pay using the HMRC calculator

How long will my freehold house purchase take?:

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your house will depend on a number of factors including whether you are part of a chain. There are often external factors which can delay the process and often the major issue is that exchange of Contracts cannot take place until all parties in the chain are ready. Obviously, the time it takes will depend on the complexity of the matter and the number of parties involved.

The stages involved when buying freehold property:

The stages involved in the purchase of a property will vary according to the circumstances, and your property lawyer will advise you of this when all the facts are known to them. We will also be in contact with you providing regular updates on the process of your property purchase.

Below are the stages of buying freehold property:

1. Take your instructions and give you initial advice.
2. Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact Lender’s solicitors if needed.
3. Receive and advise on Contract documents.
4. Carry out searches.
5. Obtain further planning documentation if required.
6. Make any necessary enquiries of Seller’s solicitor.
7. Give you advice on all documents and information received.
8. Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you.
9. Send final Contract to you for signature.
10. Agree completion date (date from which you own the property).
11. Exchange Contracts and notify you that this has happened.
12. Arrange for all monies needed to be received from Lender and you.
13. Complete purchase.
14. Deal with payment of Stamp Duty / Land Tax.
15. Deal with application for registration at the Land Registry.

Once we know the value of your property, we are happy to provide you with a bespoke quote, talk you through the process and answer any questions that you might have. Most of this can be done over the telephone and by email, however, if you would like to meet your property lawyer, a face-to-face appointment can be arranged at our Camden or Hampstead Office.

In order to satisfy mandatory money laundering checks, you will need to attend our office so we can certify your documents.

*Our fee assumes that:
Your property purchase is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction. The maximum fee shown is for a purchase price of a freehold property between £1,400,000.00 and £1,500,000.00. Please contact us for a quote if the purchase price is above £1,500,000.00

Our Expert Property Lawyers

Simon Nosworthy Partner Head of Residential Property, Simon has specialised in property law since qualification in 2001. He provides a high quality service to clients moving home or requiring advice on any aspect of residential property. Simon believes in offering a friendly, approachable and responsive service to both his clients and their agents keeping them updated and involved at all times.	Maria Elliot Associate Solicitor Maria specialises in residential property work. Her workload varies from straight forward sales and purchases to complex land transactions and also includes some probate work. As a member of the Law Society’s Property Law Section and the Association of Women Solicitors, Maria is always up to speed with property law developments.	Emily Lund Associate Solicitor Emily specialises in residential property transactions, including sales and purchases of freehold and leasehold properties, re-mortgages, transfer of equity and unregistered land. Emily is currently on maternity leave
Florence Arbuthnott Associate Solicitor Florence is an Associate Solicitor and has many years’ experience in property law, advising on all aspects of property transactions and management, including leasehold enfranchisement.	Rachael Bewick Solicitor Rachael graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Laws degree in 2013 and completed the LPC course with BPP University in April 2016 for which she was awarded a Distinction. Rachael joined Osbornes in September 2016 after completing her Training Contract with a firm based in Camden Town. Rachael qualified as a solicitor in August 2016.	Yasmin Heidary Solicitor Yasmin studied Law at Queen Mary University of London, graduating in 2010 with a 2:1. She went on to complete the LPC at BPP Law School, Holborn. Yasmin joined Osbornes in December 2014 and qualified as a solicitor in September 2018.