Sale of a leasehold residential property

Conveyancing Department

We have the following conveyancing professionals who may work on your matter.

Richard Nelson – Partner

Richard is head of our property department and has over 35 years experience of conveyancing with Nicholson Portnell and its predecessor firm. He is an accredited member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

Simon Jewitt – Partner

Simon Jewitt has over 15 years experience of conveyancing. Simon is also a member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme as well as the Agricultural Law Association.

Jenny Ford – Solicitor

Jenny joined Nicholson Portnell in 2023.

Jenny qualified as a Solicitor in 2007 and specialises in Property Law, whether this be Residential or Commercial.

Ashley Shepard – Solicitor Apprentice

Ashley has been with Nicholson Portnell since 2004.

Ashley joined the firm as office junior and worked her way up to conveyancing secretary. Ashley qualified as a paralegal in 2018 after study and completing a Law Society approved course in residential conveyancing law.

All members of the conveyancing team complete several professional development courses each year.

Please click here for further details About Us

Richard Nelson

Simon Jewitt

Jenny Ford

Helen Appleby-Mitchell

Ashley Shepard

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your home, including dealing with the discharge of any mortgage.

Legal fee typically between £1275 and £1800.

Please contact us for the sale of residential leasehold properties where the value of the property exceeds £500,000.

Please call a member of our conveyancing department for a bespoke quote.

The estimated fee given to you will assume that:

this is a standard transaction and that 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 documentation
no indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

If any of these factors do come into play the cost of our additional time will be based on our hourly rates, as follows:

Solicitors 8 years qualified £275 per hour
Solicitors 4-8 years qualified £218 per hour
Other solicitors or legally experienced Fee Earners £177 per hour
Trainee Solicitors £126 per hour

These rates do not include VAT.

If the property comprises a ‘Shared Ownership Lease’ the firm raises an additional charge of £500 due to the extra work involved.

VAT is payable on all of the above at the prevailing rate (currently 20%).

Our normal means of payment of monies to our clients is by cheque. You may wish, however, for us to effect payment to your bank by bank electronic transfer. Because of the time that it takes to set up an electronic transfer of funds, the firm makes an additional charge of £25 plus VAT for this service. We do not raise this charge if paying the relevant monies by cheque.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry costs. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

HM Land Registry disbursements between £6 and £50 (plus VAT where applicable).

There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply 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.

The law requires solicitors to get satisfactory evidence of the identity of their clients. Our standard practice is to meet with our client in person and inspect their original passport or photocard driving licence and an original utility bill with their address on it (that is dated within the last three months). If it is not possible for us to meet with our client in person to verify their identity, or for our clients to supply the appropriate identification documents, we may need to carry out electronic identification checks. The electronic identification checks will result in a cost of £5 plus VAT per person.

Anticipated Further Disbursements in respect of a leasehold transaction

Fee(s) payable to Landlord or managing agent(s) for sales pack containing information about the building or estate in which your property is situated. Typically, in the North-East, these can range from £150 to £500.

Any other fees payable by a seller as stipulated in the lease. These can range from nothing to a percentage of the sale price.

These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

How long will my house sale take?

How long it will take from your buyer’s offer being accepted until they can move in to your house or flat will depend on a number of factors and on the wishes of the parties. The average process takes between 12-16 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are selling a leasehold property, without any defects in the title to it, and your buyer is a cash buyer, purchasing without a related transaction or mortgage, it could take 6 weeks. However, if you are selling a property where there are unreasonable delays from third parties in providing documentation; or there is a need for the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction; or there is a complex chain of sellers and purchasers; this can take significantly longer – between 3 and 6 months or more. In such situation additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

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

However, in a standard leasehold transaction with no unusual issues arising, the stages would involve:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Obtain information from your landlord or managing agent
In the case of an unregistered title, prepare a summary of the title deeds
Draft contract documents and submit the same to your buyer’s solicitors
Send evidence of your ownership of the property to your buyer’s solicitors
Send your replies to standard enquiries (together with any documents referred to in them) to your buyer’s solicitors
Take instructions from you as to any enquiries raised by your buyer
Provide your buyer’s solicitor with answers to such enquiries
Send final contract to you for signature
Approve the Transfer drafted by your buyer’s solicitors
Arrange a meeting with you to have you sign transfer documentation
Agree a completion date (the date upon which ownership of the property will pass from you to your buyer)
Obtain an indication of the exact amount required to pay off your mortgage on the day of completion
Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
Arrange for all monies needed to be received from your buyer
Complete the transaction
Deal with repayment, from the sale proceeds, of any mortgage and obtain the release of any charge over your property held by your lender
Deal with payment, from the sale proceeds, of any estate agency fees
Notify you of amount resulting from completion

Contact Nicholson Portnell

Should you have any queries about our conveyancing services or for a quote, please contact us at: conveyancingenquiries@nicholsonportnell.com or contact us on 01434 603656