Ensurethat your move into a new home is quick and easy with the help of our conveyancing solicitors. Here at Powis & Co, in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, we offer a fixed-fee property conveyancing service that you can rely on. We’ll handle your move swiftly and efficiently and will keep you informed on proceedings at all times.
At Powis & Co, we know that moving house is a stressful time, and the whole process may seem arduous. Our aim is to offer a transparent service, meaning that we are available to take your call and provide you with updates whenever you need, to provide you with reassurances that everything is running smoothly.
Mervyn Baker handles all our residential and commercial conveyancing transactions. He has been dealing with this work continuously since his admission as a solicitor in 1976. The firm has since obtained Conveyancing Quality Accreditation from the Law Society, in acknowledgement of the quality services we provide. Mervyn has worked throughout Clacton-on-Sea and is now the most experienced property lawyer in the area.
As required by the SRA Transparency Rules (in particular Rule 1.5) we are setting out details of our likely charges and the likely total cost of the service where we are instructed in the Conveyance of a residential property.
Our minimum charge (as a fixed fee) will usually be £675.00, not including VAT. That charge will apply irrespective of the monies to be paid for the property but it may increase depending upon the sale price but the Firm’s average cost for dealing with all property sales is £750.00, not including VAT. In addition to our charge and VAT, if the title to the property is registered then there is usually £6.00 to pay for copy Land Registry documents and a funds transfer fee of £10.00 plus VAT for each transfer required (e.g. as regards the repayment of a Mortgage or the transmission of net sale proceeds to the Clients Bank Account).
The average overall cost for acting in the sale is likely to be approximately £924.00.
Our charges (on a fixed fee basis) will be as set out above. However you will need to pay in addition disbursements (i.e. expenses) as part of the
Conveyancing process. Depending upon your instructions and status, these will include pre-Contract Search fees which in the Tendring area amount to approximately £200.00, including the VAT which is charged and the Environmental and Drainage and Water and Chancel Repairs Searches. The total amount of VAT payable within the £200.00 total will be approximately £34.00. A funds transfer fee of £12.00 (including £2.00 VAT) will need to be paid to transfer the purchase monies to complete your purchase and a Land registration fee will be payable. The amount of that fee will depend upon the
purchase price and whether the title to the property you are buying is registered or unregistered. The fee charged will be in accordance with the scale fees set by the Land Registry and will be advised to you when you request a detailed estimate. The likely Land Registry fee payable will be
between £20.00 and £135.00.
Where our Firm is also instructed by your Lender, we will not raise an additional charge for the Mortgage work.
In the event of our Firm not being on your Lender’s Panel then in all probability an additional charge will arise as the Lender will seek to instruct its own Solicitors and its fee will be payable by you.
Finally, Stamp Duty Land Tax will be payable. The amount of Tax so payable can be found on the Stamp Duty Land Tax calculator on the website of H.M.
Revenue and Customs.
The likely average cost of acting for you in a purchase (to include VAT and all disbursements) will be in the region of £1,250.00 but not including any Stamp Duty Land Tax payable.
Our likely charges, VAT and disbursements will be as set out in Freehold sale above.
This Firm does not raise any additional charges in view of the additional work and documentation necessarily arising for a leasehold property sale.
It should be borne in mind that there is invariably a requirement to obtain an Information Pack from either the Freeholder or its Managing Agent so as to further the sale. The cost of this Pack can vary dramatically from one Managing Agent to another and it is something that we will check and confirm to you at a very early stage of the transaction.
The average cost for acting in the sale of a leasehold property is likely to be in the region of £875.00 excluding any Managing Agent’s charges.
Again, our Firm’s charges, VAT and disbursements will be in line with what is indicated above under freehold purchase.
In addition further disbursements will need to be paid by you so as to give formal notice to the Freeholder or its Managing Agent that
you are now the leasehold owners and in respect of any mortgage and perhaps also so as to obtain a Consent from the Managing Agents to enable your
ownership of the property to be registered at the Land Registry. These costs vary from one Managing Agent to another but are likely to be in the region of £200.00 in total.
The average cost for acting in the purchase of a leasehold property is likely to be in the region of £1,450.00.
As indicated above, where the Firm is instructed by your Lender in conjunction with a purchase of a property, we do not raise any
additional charge for that Mortgage work.
Where our Firm is instructed to act for a Lender when we are not also acting for the purchasers then our fixed fee is likely to be £375.00 but with VAT thereon and in addition the Search fees, as set out above under freehold purchase, and a Land Registration fee which will be assessed upon the amount of money loaned and with a minimum fee of £20.00.
The average cost for acting in a Mortgage is likely to be in the region of £475.00 including VAT but excluding disbursements (e.g. Land Registry and Search fees).
As regards a Remortgage where you are taking on a new Mortgage to replace a present Mortgage, our charges and the cost will be as
indicated for Mortgages. We will not raise any additional charge for dealing with the repayment of the Mortgage which is to be replaced, save for a funds transfer fee of £12.00 including VAT for the repayment of the first Mortgage.
The average cost for acting in a Remortgage is likely to be in the region of £475.00 including VAT but excluding disbursements.
Where an unforeseen complexity arises or where the way in which you asked us to proceed entails additional work, we will inform you of this and provide revised costs information.
We are committed to providing Clients with the best possible information and the likely overall cost both at the time of engagement and as appropriate as the matter progresses.
Circumstances where the indicated cost of service would likely to be increased are –
However, this list is not intended to be exhaustive.
For a purchase, how long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your property will depend upon a number of factors. The average process takes between 10 to 12 weeks. It can be quicker or slower depending upon the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first-time buyer purchasing a new-build property
with a Mortgage agreed in principle, it could take 8 weeks. However, if you were buying a leasehold property that required an extension of the Lease, this can take significantly
longer between 12 weeks and 4 months. In such a situation, additional charges would apply.
For a sale, the average process is the same. However, you will need to take into account that your buyer (and perhaps other parties in the chain) will need to obtain Mortgage Offers to enable them to proceed and being put in a position to proceed having carried out the usual Searches and enquiries for each relevant property. As a general rule, a sale takes between 8 to 12 weeks from start to completion.
We do not pay referral fees but rely on recommendations.