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Buying Leasehold Property

Buying a property is usually the biggest investment you will make in your lifetime.

Buying a property and moving home are also said to be among the most stressful things you can do, so our residential property conveyancing team understand that you need your property purchase to go as smoothly as possible.

Whether you are a first-time buyer or a property developer buying several houses, we provide all of our clients with the best possible service and legal advice.

The Process Of Buying a Leasehold Property With BRM Solicitors

There are various stages in the process of buying a property. These include the initial negotiation stage, exchanging contracts (when you become committed to buy the property and a deposit is paid) and the completion of the purchase (when you become the owner of the property and the balance of the purchase price must be paid). BRM Solicitors will liaise with you at all stages of buying property.

Searches

It is necessary to carry out various searches of local authority records and other public records to find all factors which may affect your property purchase such as compulsory purchase orders, old mine shafts, covenants restrictive of development or use, and a range of other potential problems.

The searches usually carried out by BRM’s property team are:

Land Charges
Drainage Authority
Coal Authority
Land Registry
Environmental
Chancel Repair (if you request us to do this)

Landmark Plan Search Plus

If you are new to the area or just want to know more about the area where you are buying, then we can offer the Landmark Plan Search Plus search which gives details about crime statistics demographics, school shopping and other information about the area surrounding the property you are buying. You can see an example of this search at www.brmlaw.co.uk/landmark. Please let us know if you wish us to carry out a Landmark Plan Search Plus search on your property.

Agreement

When our property team receive the agreement (or contract) for sale from the seller’s solicitors, the terms must be considered and we will notify you of any significant terms along with negotiating changes to the terms of the agreement if we consider it necessary to protect your interests.

Property Title

The seller’s solicitors will send title to the property to us and we will carefully consider the details to find out if the seller is legally allowed and able to sell the property and whether we can accept the title which the seller has. There maybe adverse rights of way or covenants which restrict how you intend to use the property. Land can be a complicated and expensive asset so all relevant information about property title will be summarised for you.

Enquiries Before Contract

As each piece of land and property is individual, we will make relevant enquiries with the seller and the seller’s solicitor to identify any matters adverse to your interest which they should disclose.

Mortgage and Finance

It is important that any mortgage or other borrowing needed for you to buy your property is in place before you commit to buying a property and that you have sufficient money to purchase the property. It is equally important that we are able to satisfy all the detailed requirements of your bank or mortgage lender.

Documentation

When buying property, there are various documents which need to be reviewed or prepared at various stages of the purchase, including for example, the agreement for sale, the transfer and any mortgage deed with other associated documents. We will prepare or change the documents carefully and in conjunction with you, before asking you to sign.

Completion Statement and Bill

A completion statement and bill of our costs will be sent to you shortly before the completion of your property purchase. We will need cleared funds for any outstanding balance for buying your property the day before the property purchase completion date.

If we have excess money belonging to you remaining from your property purchase on the day of completion, this money will be sent to you by cheque.

After Completion

After we have completed the purchase of the property, there is still some work to be done, including:

Paying any Stamp Duty Tax due and obtaining a Stamp Duty Certificate.
Registering your title to the property with the Land Registry.
Dealing with any remaining requirements of your mortgage lender.

We do not usually need to correspond with you during these final stages.

The Process of Buying a Flat

When buying a flat, all the same work as when buying any other property will need to be done. As flats are more often than not leasehold with various restrictions on use when you are buying a flat, we will make you aware of all areas of the lease that would affect your use of the flat and where appropriate, we will negotiate amendment of any lease terms if we think it is in your interest.

Key Contact

Stuart Taphouse

Tel: 01246 564043 Email: stuart.taphouse@brmlaw.co.uk

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Fees and the work involved

How much will this cost?

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales. The overall total costs of your purchase will depend upon the purchase price of the property.

To obtain an instant bespoke quote, please click the link below.

About our instant quote service

Our instant quote service is provided by Hoowla, and your data is processed in the UK and Ireland. You are required to enter basic details about you and your intended property. The information you enter is confidential, and will be used to calculate your quote, contact you with details of your quote, and to discuss your quote with you.

You are not required to provide your true personal information, but this is required if you would like us to contact you further regarding your quote request.

Any information you provide will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Please note we do not pay any third parties any referral fees for them recommending us to you unlike some conveyancers.

Our fee assumes that:

This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including (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.
This is an assignment of an existing lease and not the grant of a new lease.
The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
We are not the appointed preferred solicitors on a new build site.

In the event that any of the circumstances at (1) to (5) above apply then this may result in additional charges, details of which will be supplied when we have had sight of your specific documents or as and when any of these issues arise as the transaction progresses. In respect of (6), if we are the preferred solicitors on a new build site then a discount on our fees may apply should our existing knowledge of the site mean that there is less administrative work required.

Details of any discounts applicable to any preferred solicitor’s status are available upon request.

Disbursements and other costs

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees or payment to the Landlord/Management Company to notify them of your purchase of the property if this is required in the lease. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

The disbursements which we know will apply are set out in our quote. However, we anticipate further disbursements may apply but these are not included in our quote. These are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the term of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller’s solicitors.

Anticipated Disbursements

Notice of Transfer fee

This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 and £75.

Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged)

This fee is set out in the lease.

It is often between £50 and £75.

Deed of Covenant fee

This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate.

It is often between £50 and £150.

Certificate of Compliance fee

To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease.

This can range between £50 – £100.

Anticipated disbursements vary from property to property. Sometimes they may be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.

Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website. Our bespoke quoting tool above will also calculate your tax based upon purchasing a property in England. However, if the property you are purchasing is located in Wales then please calculate the amount of tax payable by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website here.

Who will deal with your case?

We have four members of the team who may work on your matter, together with support staff who carry out administrative roles. The Head of Department is Stuart Taphouse who will supervise the other team members.

Stuart Taphouse
Position: Director & Department Head

Katie Bacon
Position: Licensed Conveyancer

Matthew Elks
Position: ACILEx

Jane Womack
Position: Licensed Conveyancer

Stages of the matter

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential leasehold property vary according to the circumstances.

Generally the key stages are set out below:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on contract documents and the legal title
Carry out searches
Obtain further planning documentation if required
Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
Give you advice on all documents and information received
Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you (if you are having a mortgage)
Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and yourself
Complete purchase
Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

How long will this process take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8-12 weeks but it can vary depending on many factors not least of which is the performance of other parties in the process, i.e. other conveyancers, search providers etc.

For example, if you require an extension of the lease, or a deed of variation to rectify a defect in the lease then this can take significantly longer, between 2 and 5 months. In such a situation, additional charges would apply.

Our Residential Property Team Looking for another BRM team member? Search our team below.

Katie Bacon Licensed Conveyancer

Matthew Elks Graduate Member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives

Stuart Taphouse Director

Jane Womack Licensed Conveyancer