Our Fees – Buying, Selling or Remortgaging your Home

Buying or selling a property is probably the largest financial commitment you will make during the course of your lifetime, so it is vital to ensure that it is dealt with by professionals who you can trust and who have exceptional legal knowledge.  At Backhouse Solicitors our Property Team have a wealth of experience dealing with property transactions throughout the country.   Our personal approach ensures that you are provided with clear and concise information on a regular basis and you will have a dedicated property lawyer who will guide you through your transaction.

Property transactions come in many shapes and sizes.  Whether your property transaction is a sale or purchase, of freehold or leasehold property, a remortgage or a transfer of equity, at Backhouse Solicitors we make getting a fee quote quick and straightforward using our  Online Quote Tool.  All you need to do is hit the big blue button below to be directed to our Instant Conveyancing Quote page and from there you can generate a quote yourself or contact us and we will generate it and email it to you.  The quote will be emailed to you as a PDF and as an added bonus you will receive a free copy of our easy to understand “Guide to Moving Home” which explains everything you need to know about the legal process.

Our fixed fees cover all of the work that is usually required for your transaction and we follow the Law Society conveyancing protocol like most good law firms. Our expert service includes the following:

1. An initial meeting or telephone call with one of our property experts to discuss your circumstances, gather information and explain the process to you. Our free 30 minute consultation policy means that there is no charge if you would prefer to end the meeting during the first half hour.
2. Gathering in all the information needed for your matter and liaising with the other lawyers, estate agents, freeholders, management companies and lenders involved.
3. Obtaining searches where needed and discussing with you.
4. Exchanging and completing on the transaction including receiving and paying the necessary funds to the other parties.
5. Stamp duty returns and payment.

Most property conveyancing transactions follow a standard process which is included in our fixed fees. Sometimes however there will be extra issues which we will charge for separately after agreeing a fee with you in advance. These issues might include:

1. Specific items which are included in the online quote tool but which weren’t selected at the time of the quote, such as shared ownership, help to buy, buy to let or second home properties, unregistered properties and new build properties.
2. Advice and assistance related to resolving boundary disputes.
3. First registrations of unregistered properties.
4. Preparing and submitting the paperwork for transfers of equity that weren’t included in the original quote.
5. Dealing with properties which are not registered at the Land Registry and the deeds have been lost.
6. Advice on issues involved with listed buildings.
7. Advice on joint ownership and preparing Trust Deeds in relation to ownership shares.
8. Business advice where a property is held as a business, for example a Buy to Let or Holiday property.
9. Assisting with non-routine enquiries from HMRC or the Land Registry.
10. Advice on which lender to choose – we advise talking to a specialist mortgage broker.
11. Advice on survey reports – these should be discussed with the surveyor in question.
12. Matrimonial advice where a property is being sold during a divorce or separation.

In addition we cannot advise on the following:

1. Advice on which lender to choose – you will need to take independent advice from a financial adviser or mortgage broker.
2. Advice on survey reports or valuations – these should be discussed with your own surveyor or valuer.
3. Advice on tax – you should discuss tax issues with your own accountant or other suitably qualified tax adviser.

When we are working on your property transaction we will need to make some payments to third parties on your behalf.  These are commonly called “disbursements” and we will add them onto your bill without any mark up.  Common disbursements include payments to the Land Registry, payment of Stamp Duty to HMRC and payment to landlords or management companies for leasehold information packs.

Our online quote tool will include all of the common disbursements for your type of transaction, however it won’t include fees we will need to pay for specific circumstances such as fees to management companies or insurances you may wish to purchase for peace of mind.  These will vary in size/amount but we will always discuss and agree these disbursements with you in advance before paying them.

1. An initial meeting or telephone call to discuss your matter and gather the necessary information, including identity documents for Anti-Money Laundering purposes.
2. We will send you a client care letter explaining the terms of our engagement for you to sign and return.
3. For a freehold property sale – preparing the legal pack, sending it to the buyer’s solicitors, responding to enquiries/questions on the pack, requesting and checking a mortgage redemption statement if needed, agreeing a completion date, exchanging and completing on the sale, repaying any mortgage, paying the estate agents and sending the balance of funds to you.
4. For a freehold property purchase – requesting and reviewing the contract and legal pack prepared by the seller’s solicitors, making enquiries on the pack on your behalf, resolving any issues with the seller’s solicitors, obtaining property searches on your behalf and discussing the results with you, reviewing any mortgage offer, purchasing any necessary insurances on your behalf, agreeing completion dates, exchanging and completing on the purchase, paying the seller, registering the purchase with the Land Registry, completing the Stamp Duty return and paying the Stamp Duty to HMRC.
5. For a remortgage – requesting title deeds and a redemption statement from the old lender, obtaining copies of the title from the Land Registry and checking them, requesting information from the landlord if the property is leasehold, obtaining searches if required, checking the new mortgage offer, obtaining your signature to the new mortgage documentation, completing on the remortgage and registering the new mortgage with the Land Registry.

Experience: Liz became a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1996 and has over 25 years experience giving advice on all aspects of residential property ownership and associated matters.

Percentage of time spent on Residential Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £325/hour

Experience: Catie became a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 2017 working in both residential conveyancing and New Build transactions.

Percentage of time spent on Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £325/hour

Experience: Sarah is a Licensed Conveyancer with over 19 years experience working in both residential and New Build Transactions.

Percentage of time spent on Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £275/hour

Experience: Evie has worked in residential property for 7 years and commercial property for 6 years. 

Percentage of time spent on Residential & Commercial Property law: 50%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £240/hour

Experience: Sharan qualified as a Solicitor in 2001 and has over 10 years experience working in commercial property.

Percentage of time spent on Commercial Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £300/hour

Experience: Kingsley has over 20 years experience working in commercial property.

Percentage of time spent on Commercial Property Law: 50%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £300/hour

Experience: Holli has over 7 years experience working in conveyancing and is currently studying to become a Licensed Conveyancer .

Percentage of time spent on Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £200/hour

Experience: Alfie is an experienced New Build Conveyancing Executive

Percentage of time spent on Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £200/hour

Experience: Rob is an experienced Conveyancing Executive.

Percentage of time spent on Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £200/hour

Experience: Mel has over 10 years experience working in residential conveyancing.

Percentage of time spent on Property Law: 100%

Charge out rate (where applicable): £200/hour