Freehold Purchase
| Property Price Bracket | Standard Fees | Partners Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £200,000 | £950 plus VAT* | £1,250 plus VAT |
| £200,001 to £250,000 | £1050 plus VAT | £1,350 plus VAT |
| £250,001 to £350,000 | £1175 plus VAT | £1,475 plus VAT |
| £350,001 to £500,000 | £1325 plus VAT | £1,625 plus VAT |
| £500,001 to £999,999 | 0.275% plus VAT | 0.275% + £300 plus VAT |
| £1,000,000 + | Contact us for a quote | Contact us for a quote |
*All reference to VAT on this page is at the standard rate of 20%
In addition, the following fixed fees and expenses will apply to all purchases.
Additional fixed fees and third party expenses
| Our Electronic Transfer Fee (to send completion monies including bank charge) | £35 plus VAT* |
| Our completion and submission of the Land Transaction Return to HM Revenue and Customs fee | £90 plus VAT |
| Land Registry pre-completion search expense | £3 plus VAT |
| Bankruptcy search expense (fee per name and variation of each name) | £2 plus VAT |
| Our fee for obtaining Help to Buy ISA bonus | £50 plus VAT |
| Lawyer checker expense | £18 plus VAT |
| Forces Help to Buy advance pay loan fee (if applicable) | £110 plus VAT |
| Help to Buy fee (if applicable) | £220 plus VAT |
*All reference to VAT on this page is at the standard rate of 20%
In addition, the following fees and expenses will apply which are calculated on the basis of:-
- The agreed price of the property
- The location of the property
- Your own personal circumstances and reason for purchasing
Search fees
Our standard search packs include:
- Local Authority Search
- Water and Drainage Search
- Environmental Search
The cost of the search pack depends upon whether the Administrative Area within which the property you are buying is situated.
Searches are subject to VAT* and example costs are provided below:
| Administrative area | Price |
| South Hams District Council | £250.48 |
| Cornwall Council | £362.67 |
| Plymouth City Council | £255.42 |
| West Devon Borough Council | £250.48 |
| Additional searches | |
| Mining search | £50 + VAT |
*All reference to VAT on this page is at the standard rate of 20%
Land registry fees and stamp duty land tax
Land registry fee (this is a scaled fee depending on the value of the transaction and whether you are buying a newbuild or unregistered property that is subject to first registration) please click here.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (this depends on the value of the transaction and whether you are purchasing the property for use as your main residence or a buy-to-let investment property / second home) please click here.
Worked Example of fees and expenditures
Using the information above you can estimate the total sum applicable to your transaction. It is also easy to obtain a specific quote by contacting our Client Services team:
- by telephone on 01752 643968
- by email at clientservices@wolferstans.com
- by speaking to one of the team via our 24/7 live chat
Example - Purchase of a freehold property by an individual in Plymouth for £150,000
| Professional Costs | £ 950.00 |
| VAT on our Fees | £ 190.00 |
| Our Fees INC VAT | £ 1,140.00 |
| Vatable Disbursements | |
| Pre completion & bankruptcy search (per person) | £ 6.00 |
| Notifying the transaction to HM Revenue & Customs | £ 90.00 |
| Bank Transfer Fee | £ 35.00 |
| Online identity check (per Person) | £ 2.70 |
| Lawyer Checker Fee | £ 18.00 |
| Non-Vatable Disbursements | |
| Local search, Water & Drainage search, environmental search and Terrafirma search bundle (estimate - some searches may be subject to VAT) |
£ 300.00 |
| Land Registry Fee | £ 100.00 |
| Disbursements | £ 551.70 |
| VAT on Disbursements | £ 30.34 |
| Total Disbursements INC VAT | £ 582.04 |
| Our total fees and Disbursements Inclusive of VAT | £ 1,722.04 |
Our fees cover the standard work required to ensure that you acquire a good and marketable title to the property you are buying and that any specific conditions of your mortgage loan (as stipulated by your lender) are satisfied, including:
- Examination of the title to the property
- Obtaining all relevant searches
- Considering the disclosures made by the Seller
- Raising appropriate enquiries with the Seller
- Addressing the general and specific requirements of your mortgage lender (if applicable), reporting to your Lender and arranging for drawdown of the mortgage advance
- Providing you with a detailed written report relating to the property and providing either hard copy or electronic copies of all documents made available to us by the Seller during the course of our own enquiries
- Maintaining good levels of communication with you throughout the course of the transaction by way of either telephone or email or face-to-face meetings as you direct
- Dealing with your specific enquiries
- Implementing appropriate measures to try to protect you and your mortgage lender from fraud
- Exchange contracts and complete purchase
- Notification to HM Revenue and Customs once the transaction has completed and payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax
- Addressing the registration formalities at the Land Registry following completion
When do our fees become payable?
Our standard fixed fees are due on completion of the transaction. Payments to third parties, such as Land Registry title documents will be payable in advance. We normally ask you to make an initial advance payment on account of £300. If the initial payments are likely to exceed this, we will request an additional sum to cover those expenditures.
Referral fees
We have a commercial arrangement with a few local Estate Agents, Mortgage Brokers and Financial Advisors to whom we pay a fixed fee for each matter that is referred to us by them. A formal referral agreement is made between Wolferstans and the company or body referring work to us but our duty remains to advise you independently in line with our professional duties. The agreement will not impact on you, as a client, or your rights as a consumer. We will let you know if such an arrangement is in place between Wolferstans and the person or body that has referred you to use our services. We will confirm to you in writing the fee that Wolferstans shall pay to the Referrer on completion of your transaction. Please note, that the fees quoted to you by Wolferstans will not be increased or amended to account for the referral fee.
How long will it take?
The length of time that it takes to complete a purchase of a freehold property depends on various factors, including:
- How quickly the other party to the transaction is able to proceed
- How quickly the conveyancer acting for the other party is able to progress the transaction
- How quickly you are able to respond to any enquiries or provide us with relevant instructions
- Whether any unusual or difficult circumstances should arise or come to light during the course of the transaction.
It will also depend on the nature of the transaction, for example, whether:
- you are relying on monies under an advance pay loan agreement such as under the Forces Help to Buy Scheme
- there are multiple owners
- you are buying a property subject to existing tenancies
- you are buying under a Shared Ownership Scheme
- you are using the Help to Buy Scheme
- the transaction is a probate purchase awaiting issue of the formal Grant of Probate
- you wish to instruct a Surveyor to prepare a HomeBuyer’s report and the availability of the Surveyor
- you are buying only a part of a property that is subject to complex rights and reservations
- you are buying a newbuild property on a new development
- you are buying an auction property
- the property you are buying has been repossessed by the owner’s mortgage company
- you have a related transaction
- you are buying under a part-exchange arrangement.
On average, standard purchase transactions take between 6 to 12 weeks to complete.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help you by calling 01752 292201.