Buying a house (Freehold)

Legal Fees

These will usually range between £1,650.00- £2,500.00 plus VAT (currently 20%) and will be dependent on the type and value of property being purchased. If there are any unforeseen or unusual circumstances the fees may be more. In addition, there are always costs (known as disbursements) related to your purchase which have to be paid to third parties. We pay these on your behalf to ensure a smooth process. These are set out further below. 

Payment on account
We will request a payment on account at the outset of the transaction, currently £600.00.

Search & Disbursement Fees

The main searches carried out for a purchase include:

  1. Local Authority Search

    Price: £100.00 - £400.00 (This varies depending on the Council the property is located in)

    VAT: £20.00 - £80.00*

  2. Environmental Search

    Price: £73.56

    VAT: £14.71

  3. Drainage And Water Search

    £75.00-£150.00

    VAT: £15.00- £30.00

  4. No Search Chancel Insurance

    £15.22

* Search providers usually include VAT in their charges. However, in most circumstances where they do not, we must add VAT to these costs.

The above search fees payable to third parties may increase and we will let you know if they do. There are other searches such as a commons registration search, highways search, a coal mining search and plan search which may apply depending on the location of the property. We will advise you of the cost if any of these searches are necessary.

Other disbursements Including VAT:

  1. InfoTrack Client Onboarding Fee Including Anti Money Laundering Check

    £14.40 pp

  2. Bankruptcy Search

    £6.00 pp

  3. Land Registry Official Search

    £7.00

  4. Land Registry Fee

    £20.00-£500.00

  5. Lawyer Check

    £24.00

How long will my house purchase take?

The time it will take from your offer being accepted to completion of your transaction will depend on a number of factors, which are often largely outside your control or ours. The average process may take between 8 to 16 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the time taken to obtain any mortgage required,  search results, any survey report and the overall readiness of the parties in the property chain.

Purchase not proceeding

If, for any reason, we are unable to complete the purchase of your property, we will make a charge which will be a proportion of the fixed fee quoted relative to the time spent. Purchases that fail to complete often involve as much work as those which reach completion. Any charge made will not exceed the amount of the fixed fee we have given.

Please note that we will always provide you with individual costs information and a copy of our terms and conditions of business.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have outlined some key stages:

  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice, complete client care documentation and customer due diligence.

  • Confirm your Stamp Duty Land Tax position.

  • Check finances are in place to fund purchase.

  • Contact lender’s solicitors if needed.

  • Receive and advise on contract documentation.

  • Investigate the seller’s title.

  • Carry out searches and review the results.

  • Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor.

  • Report and advise you on all documents and information received.

  • Review the conditions of the mortgage offer with you.

  • Arrange for Contract Documentation to be signed in readiness.

  • Agree a completion date (date from which you own the property).

  • Obtain your authority to exchange.

  • Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened.

  • Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you.

  • Complete your purchase.

  • Deal with filing and payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax.

  • Deal with application for registration at HM Land Registry.

HM Land Registry Fee

This is on a sliding scale and could cost between £20.00 -£1105.00 depending on the value of the property and whether the application can be made electronically. These fees can be calculated by visiting the Land Registry website at the following link http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html .

Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. If the property is located in England you can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website here or if the property is located in Wales use the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website here. You must be aware of the potential additional 3% Stamp Duty for ownership of an additional residential property and the 17% penal rate of tax applicable to a company purchase of residential property costing more than £500,000.00.

The price will be determined by the following factors:

  • If you are a first-time buyer.

  • Whether the property is a new build (which can often result in a large number of additional matters to be dealt with, and additional costs).

  • Whether the purchase will involve a first registration of title at the Land Registry.

  • Whether a mortgage is required or not and the type of mortgage.

  • Whether the Lender is separately represented by another firm of Solicitors

  • Whether the property will be your primary residence, a buy to let or second/holiday home.

  • Whether there are to be multiple owners.

  • Whether the buyer is using a help to buy scheme, and whether there will be an equity loan or ISA.

  • Whether the purchase is under the Right to Buy scheme.

  • Whether the purchase is under a shared ownership scheme.

  • Whether the purchase is at auction.

  • Whether the property has been repossessed

  • The value of the property

Example of a purchase

For the purchase of an existing freehold house (not a new build) with a purchase price of £400,000.00 in the London borough of Enfield with a mortgage, our fees and disbursements would be as follows (rates as of January 2026) :

Service Cost VAT Applicable VAT Amount Total

Legal Fees acting on your purchase £1795.00 ✓ £359.00 £2154.00

Legal fees acting on behalf of your lender £200.00 ✓ £40.00 £240.00

Disbursements

Local Authority Search £286.25 ✓ £54.25 £340.50

Drainage and Water Search £92.19 ✓ £18.44 £110.63

Environmental Search £61.20 ✓ £12.36 £73.56

Land Registration fee £150.00 £150.00

Land Registry Priority Search fee £7.00 £7.00

Bankruptcy Search fee £6.00 (per name) ✓ £0.00 £6.00

Bank Transfer Fee £15.00 ✓ £3.00 £18.00

Anti Money Laundering Check fee

including InfoTrack Onboarding Charge £12.00 (per name) ✓ £2.40 £14.40

Lawyer Checker Fee £19.20 ✓ £4.80 £24.00

Disbursements Total £648.86 ✓ £129.77 £778.63

Final Total £2643.84 ✓ £624.02 £3,267.86 

The above example does not include the Stamp Duty Land Tax Fee.

Search providers usually include VAT in their charges. However, in most circumstances where they do not, we must add VAT to these costs.

The example is set out on the assumption that:

  • This is a standard transaction where the property is being bought with mortgage funding and no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.

  • The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.

  • All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentations.

  • No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.