RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY WORK

Russells deals with property transactions for its clients including the sale and purchase of freehold and leasehold property in addition to mortgage work and leasehold extensions.

Our team consists of Peter Smith a partner in the firm and Angela Fong a senior associate. Peter has been involved in private client and property work for in excess of 30 years and Angela for 20 years.

They will be assisted by trainees in the firm.

Services

Freehold purchase

We will take instructions from you and on receipt of documentation from the sellers solicitors undertake searches, raise enquiries with the sellers solicitors and negotiate the contract. We will report to you the results of investigations, liaise with your surveyors and the estate agents.

Once contracts have been exchanged we will prepare the transfer, arrange funds for completion, including mortgage funding and following completion put in hand stamp duty land tax return on your behalf and make application at the Land Registry for registration of title to your property.

Leasehold purchases

In addition to the work undertaken with regard to freehold purchases we will need to consider the terms of the lease of the property and peruse service charge information. It may be the case that you might also be purchasing a share of the freehold interest in the building of which your property forms part. There may be a need for the landlord’s licence for the transfer of the leasehold property to you and invariably notice will have to be given to the landlord following completion of the transaction of the transfer to you and possible mortgage of your interest.

Leasehold and freehold sales

We shall obtain register entries of your title and any documentation you may have regarding the property with a view to preparing a contract for submission to the buyers solicitors, answering enquiries from the buyers solicitors, negotiating the contract generally and arranging for completion of the transaction following exchange of contracts. We shall arrange for any mortgages on the property to be repaid and account to you for the balance due to you.

Mortgages

We shall carry out similar work on behalf of your mortgage company as involved with the purchase of the freehold and leasehold properties. There are occasions when the mortgage lender will request its own solicitors to act on its behalf in which case we liaise with that those solicitors to satisfy them as to your title and ability to mortgage the property.We shall carry out similar work on behalf of your mortgage company as involved with the purchase of the freehold and leasehold properties. There are occasions when the mortgage lender will request its own solicitors to act on its behalf in which case we liaise with that those solicitors to satisfy them as to your title and ability to mortgage the property.

Charges

Our fees depend upon the complexity and nature of the transaction. We are therefore unable to give you a reliable estimate of our costs until we have all the details of your intended transaction. If unexpected complications arise we shall inform you immediately and discuss the impact of those complications on our fees.

We set out below our minimum fees for acting for you in connection with the foregoing transactions.

Freehold sale and purchase

£2,000 plus VAT and disbursements

Leasehold sale and purchase

£2,500 plus VAT and disbursements

Mortgage And remortgages

£1,500 plus VAT and disbursements

Disbursements

In addition to this firms charges the following disbursements would generally be incurred:

Land Registry document fees minimum £3

Search fees average £250

Land Registry registration fees variable to maximum of £910

For leasehold transactions only

Fees to managing agents for management pack payable by seller variable but on average £250

Notice fees after completion payable by buyer £90 – £250

Deed of Covenant fee payable by seller £150 – £500

In addition Stamp Duty Land Tax is invariably due to be paid and this is based upon the price of the property and your circumstances

Timescale

This might be approximately eight weeks to exchange and complete but this depends very much on the investigation required, any issues that may arise and the requirements of the parties.