Mortgage/Re-mortgage

Costs

The costs comprise two elements:

· Our legal fees for the work that we undertake, and

· Third party expenses (known as "disbursements").

Our legal fees are subject to VAT.

Disbursements may or may not be subject to VAT. Where VAT is payable, the amount and rate are stated below.

Legal Fees

For a property valued at £500,000 or below £1,450 plus VAT (at 20%)

For a property valued between £500,001 - £750,000 £1,450 - £1,700 plus VAT (at 20%)

For a property valued at over £750,000 Fee on request

In addition, we charge:

an AML/Client Onboarding Administration Fee of £30 plus VAT per person.
a Bank Transfer Fee of £30 plus VAT (at 20%) for administering each bank transfer.

Disbursements

We handle the payment of third party expenses on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

They include:

HM Land Registry Title document fees: These documents generally cost £3 each.
Search fees: Approximately £800 plus VAT (at 20%) eg Local Authority, Drainage and Water, Environmental etc.
HM Land Registry Registration fee: Between £20 - £140 depending on the amount of the mortgage.
Pre-completion HM Land Registry search fee: £3
Pre-completion Bankruptcy search fee: £2 per name.

In addition, if the property is leasehold, 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 terms of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees payable to the Landlord or managing agents (and whether they are subject to VAT) when we have looked at the lease and received the costs information from your Landlord or Management Company.

Anticipated Leasehold Disbursements

Notice of Mortgage fee: This is payable for notifying them of your re-mortgage. The fee varies and is often between £50 - £200.
Certificate of Compliance fee: If the Lease requires a Certificate of Compliance, a fee is often payable. The fee varies and is usually between £100 - £300.
Landlord Information fee: This is payable for providing leasehold information. The fee varies and is often between £200 - £450.

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 the lease and details of fees from the Landlord/Managing Agents.

What is covered

Our Legal Fees cover the work required to complete the mortgage or re-mortgage of your home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry.

Our Fees assume that:

this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title or the lease which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.
the property is currently registered under a single freehold or leasehold title at the Land Registry.
the property is not tenanted and only the borrower lives at the property.
the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise.
there is no unreasonable delay or difficulty in obtaining information or documentation required to complete the mortgage or re-mortgage.
no indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if they are.
the property has the requisite Planning or Building Regulations Consents.
the property has not been recently built.
no lease extension is required as part of the mortgage or re-mortgage.
this is not a third-party mortgage or re-mortgage.
there are no guarantors required.

The amount of work required can vary significantly from one transaction to another. There are many factors involved and it is only once we have spoken to you that we will have an idea of what your transaction involves. Our fees may therefore increase from those we have indicated above, for example, if the transaction is urgent or you request home visits, out-of-hours or weekend meetings etc.

In addition, the transaction may become unduly protracted or complex involving additional work. If such a situation arises, we will inform you of this and provide revised costs information.

What we do not advise on:

Tax or financial planning, laws of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales.

Key stages and typical timescales

HOW LONG WILL MY MORTGAGE OR RE-MORTGAGE TAKE ?

The mortgage or re-mortgage process is faster than when you purchased your property and can complete as soon as we have dealt with your lender's requirements contained in their Mortgage Offer and can take on average 6 - 8 weeks provided that there are no unforeseen circumstances.

KEY STAGES OF THE PROCESS

The precise stages involved in a mortgage or re-mortgage vary according to the circumstances. However, some key stages involved are:

Taking your instructions and giving you initial advice.
Carrying out client identification and Anti-Money Laundering checks.
Requesting copies of the Title to your property and lease (if a flat) from the Land Registry.
Sending you a Property Information Questionnaire and if a flat, a Leasehold Information Form for you to complete and return to us.
Obtaining the Landlord Information Pack (if a flat) from the Landlord or the managing agents. Their administration fee will be payable by you at this stage.
Requesting money on account from you and submitting local and other searches.
Checking the Title to your property and lease (if a flat), the search results and other documentation and information received.
Obtaining any further relevant documents or information.
Obtaining any Planning or Building Regulations Consents from the local authority, if required.
Checking your mortgage offer and dealing with your lender's requirements.
Advising you on the legal implications of your mortgage offer.
Arranging for you to sign the Mortgage Deed.
Reporting to your lender and requesting the mortgage advance.
Obtaining a Redemption Statement from your existing lender, if a re-mortgage.
Sending you our Financial Statement together with our invoice detailing the money required to complete the mortgage or re-mortgage and to deal with post completion matters.
Carrying out pre-completion searches.
Completing the mortgage or re-mortgage and redeeming any existing mortgage.
Returning any net proceeds to you on completion.
Notifying your landlord (if a flat) of the new mortgage.
Applying for the new mortgage to be registered and for the discharged mortgage to be removed from the Title Register at the Land Registry. Notifying you and your lender when the Land Registry have completed the registration.