We quote a fixed legal fee and itemise every disbursement we can foresee. If something unexpected arises, we tell you what it costs before we incur it — never afterwards.
Our fee is for the work of a qualified solicitor on your file from instruction to registration. It is fixed at the outset for standard transactions.
Everything a normal transaction requires, with no unbundling.
Additional work that only some transactions require, priced before it starts.
VAT is charged on our legal fee at the prevailing rate and is shown separately in every quote. We will never issue an invoice at completion containing a fee you have not already seen in writing.
Disbursements are not our income. They are third-party costs we pay out of monies you provide, and we pass them on at cost.
Search fees vary between local authorities and by the type of property, which is why we confirm the exact figures in your written quote rather than publishing a single national number. Land Registry fees are set by statutory scale according to the purchase price and whether the application is made electronically.
SDLT is usually the single largest payment in a purchase, and it is not part of our fee.
SDLT is charged on a banded basis on the purchase price of property in England and Northern Ireland. Rates and thresholds are set by HMRC and change with government policy, so we calculate your liability at the point of instruction and confirm it again before exchange.
We advise on the reliefs and surcharges that may apply to you: first-time buyers' relief, the higher rates for additional dwellings where you will own more than one property at the end of the day of completion, the refund route where a previous main residence is sold within the permitted window, multiple dwellings considerations, and the surcharge for non-UK residents.
The return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion. We handle both from your completion funds and send you the submission receipt.
Our quotes assume a standard transaction. These are the situations that legitimately add cost, and we flag them as soon as we know.
Yes — we ask for money on account at the start of a purchase to cover searches, which have to be ordered and paid for immediately. The balance of our fee and remaining disbursements is settled from completion funds.
No obligation, no cold calling. Send us the basic details of your transaction and you will receive an itemised fixed-fee quotation in writing.
