Average residential conveyancing fees have increased by 21% over the past year, according to sector research by a property agency and auctioneer. Property Solvers says it contacts 100 conveyancers every year to get an idea of where their average fees stand. According to its report, published today, average conveyancing fees for a freehold sale increased from £900 to £1,090 since early 2021. Fees for a freehold purchase rose by a similar amount.  Average conveyancing costs for a leasehold sale grew from £908 in 2021 to £1,077 in 2022 and from £842 in 2021 to £976 in 2022 for a leasehold pu ..read more

It’s no secret, buying a new property can be a stressful experience. A poll by online estate agents Yopa saw 40% of home owners rank moving house as the most stressful event they’ve had to overcome, even more than getting divorced, having a baby or getting married! When people broke down what it was exactly that stressed them about moving house, very few mentioned the process itself. 60% of people surveyed said they were put off just because they didn’t like the change involved. So when it comes to the actual process of purchasing a property, how can you make it a stress free exper ..read more

You’re looking to make that investment into property and jump onto the property ladder which is VERY exciting! The next step is finding a Conveyancing Solicitor who can help. But what exactly is a Conveyancing Solicitor I hear you ask?! People say that buying a property is the most stressful thing you’ll ever do. But that doesn’t have to be the case! Choosing the right Conveyancing Solicitor can make the entire process simpler with less stress. That’s why I’m here to give you the top 3 things you need to know about Conveyancing Solicitors to make sure you make the right decision. What is a C ..read more

It’s been a period of rapid change in the property market over the last 18 months due to COVID-19 and the various Government initiatives introduced to help those buying and selling property in the UK. Now that the stamp duty holiday has expired (as of 1st October 2021), let’s revisit the stamp duty rules and refresh ourselves on what they mean for our property transactions – and how our relationship status can affect them. What is Stamp Duty and how much is it? Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax you need to pay if you buy a residential property or a piece of land in England or Northern Irelan ..read more

It is quite common in my working day to get a call or email enquiry from someone who says that they are collecting quotes from conveyancing solicitors and would like me to give a quote. Out of the people who return to progress the enquiry, 40% would often ask me to match a cheaper quote and my response bar none is a firm, No. I am often tempted to launch into a full explanation at those times but I know that this is not what the prospector wants to hear and for friends and family as I did when an aunt of mine recommended me to someone who asked me to match a quote, I do end up saying the follo ..read more

Our final topic in our Stamp Duty discussion is on the stamp duty payable when a company transfers land to an individual, or when an individual transfers land to a company. When property is transferred to a company, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) may be payable on its market value, not the consideration given. For example, if a property has a market value of £200,000 but the company only pays a consideration of £100,000, SDLT will still be payable on £200,000. This applies in either of the following situations: The person who transfers the property is ‘connected’ with the comp ..read more

After months of waiting and dealing with endless enquiries from the mortgage lender, you have received the news that your mortgage has been approved, YAY! So, you say to yourself, right, it’s time to instruct your solicitor and complete this matter.  A lot of people reckon that completion should happen no more than a week or two after the mortgage is approved, only to have their hopes dashed when they realise that the approval of the mortgage offer is the end of the financial acquisition stage and the beginning of the legal stage. What does that mean? To put it simply, the process of b ..read more

Its a well known fact, that purchasing a property can be quite stressful. A survey by online domain specialists Yopa saw 40% of mortgage holders rank moving house as one of the most stressful life events that they have needed to survive, much more than getting separated, having a child or getting hitched! So with regards to the real object of buying a property, how could you make it Stress-free? Purchasing your dream home ought to be invigorating! Have you ever considered how certain individuals figure out how to complete their conveyancing transactions with minimal stress and don’t end up ree ..read more

Have you ever reached that point of pulling your hair out because you can’t reach your conveyancing solicitor via phone or emails? All you want is to be kept up to date with the current state of play on your property transaction and feel satisfied that everything possible is being done to get you as close to exchange of contracts within your preferred timescale as possible. You don’t have to know a guy! Do you ever notice those property investors who are able to conduct several conveyancing transactions during the course of the year who never appear stressed? They always seem to know what is ..read more

Last week I spoke to a regular client of mine wanting to discuss the possibility of instructing me to do the conveyancing for the purchase of a two-bedroom residential property to add to his property portfolio. He asked me to find out what the position was now that the stamp duty holiday was over. I could completely understand why he had asked this question! Many of us working in the property industry felt that the recent stamp duty holiday had changed the way stamp duty liabilities were to be calculated forever. A lot of property experts and conveyancing solicitors are going on refresher cour ..read more