Residential Property

Residential Property2023-11-28T13:53:33+00:00

The Residential Conveyancing Team will assist you with the legal steps necessary with your sale and purchase and can assist with many other property services such as re-mortgaging your property, transfer of equity and other property trust arrangements, exercising your right-to-buy and handling your lease extension.

The Team consists of solicitors and a conveyancing assistant with over 30 years of experience, all ably supported. Upon instructing Hunt and Hunt you will receive contact details for your dedicated Conveyancer who will handle your matter from start to finish.

We are accredited with the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) allowing us to work on behalf of the majority of lenders when acting on your purchase or re-mortgage. It means that the firm is recognised to provide a quality standard for residential conveyancing. Our Senior Responsible Officer under the scheme is Derek Holland, the Senior Partner.

How long will my purchase/sale take?

Our aim is to make the legal process as smooth and as stress free as possible. On average the time taken from receiving your instructions to you moving home is 8 to 12 weeks, with leasehold transactions taking a further 3 weeks. This timescale will depend upon a number of factors and your Conveyancer will be able to provide you with information as to any delay and confirm the milestones in your transaction as the matter progresses. If you have any particular requirements, please discuss these with us at the outset so that we can address the feasibility and work with you towards your wishes.

The typical stages of a sale/purchase transaction are as follows;

Milestones in your Sale Milestones in your Purchase
We receive your instructions for the sale of your property together with a completed Property Information Form We receive your instructions for the purchase of your new property
We receive a memorandum of sale / sales particulars from your Estate Agent – This will provide us with information as to the agreed sale price and the contact details for the buyers’ conveyancer We receive a draft Contract for Sale and information as to Title from the sellers’ conveyancer
We draft a Contract for Sale and provide the buyers’ conveyancer with proof of Title and your completed Property Information Form. The buyers’ conveyancer will need to approve the Contract before it can be signed by you. If the property is a leasehold, we shall need to receive an information pack from the freeholder/management company. With your instruction we request the usual searches of the Local Council and Water board and make an environmental search. You may wish to withhold making these searches until you are in receipt of a mortgage offer or satisfactory survey. The results of the searches can take 3 weeks to be received and varies between different Councils
We receive enquiries about the property and Title from the buyers’ conveyancer – these questions will be based upon the information which you have provided in the Property Information Form and the results of the usual Searches which the buyers’ conveyancer has made We raise enquiries with the sellers’ conveyancer based upon the information received about the property, Title and search results
Once the enquiries have been answered to the satisfaction of the buyers’ conveyancer and we have received a signed Contract from you, we will be in a position to Exchange Contracts. Depending upon the nature of the enquiries raised, we may need to seek information from the Local Council, a trade body, a landlord (if a leasehold property) or other third party We provide you with a Report on Title which will detail the results of all the enquiries and the searches. At this point we shall send to you the Contract, mortgage deed (if any), Stamp Duty Land Tax return and any other necessary documents which require your approval and signature
When the buyers’ conveyancer has received deposit funds from the buyer (typically 10% of the agreed sale price), an Exchange of Contracts can take place. At the point of the Exchange of Contracts a Completion Date will be set. The Completion Date is the day upon which you will move out of the property. We will agree with you the Completion Date before the Exchange of Contracts You will return the signed Contract and other paperwork and deposit funds (typically 10% of your purchase price). Once we have received this we will be in a position for an Exchange of Contracts with the sellers’ conveyancer. At the point of an Exchange of Contracts a Completion Date will be set. The Completion Date will be the day upon which you move into your new property and we will agree this with you and any mortgage lender you may have
The buyers’ conveyancer will need to prepare a draft Transfer, being the legal document for the conveyance of the property, and once we have the same we shall have it signed by you On the Completion Date we will send the purchase price to the sellers’ conveyancer and notify you that you can collect the keys from the Estate Agent
On the Completion Date we will, with your instruction, discharge your mortgage (if any), pay your Estate Agents’ commission fees together with our legal fees. We will also arrange to pay the remaining sum from the sale proceeds to you Following the Completion Date we will arrange payment of the Stamp Duty Land Tax and deal with the registration of the Title into your name with the Land Registry and any leasehold property requirements

The Government has provided detailed guidance on the selling, buying and leasing of a property which you may find of assistance, and you may wish to read the same and raise any queries which you may have with your Conveyancer.

How much will it cost?

Prices vary depending upon the specifics of the transaction, such as whether the property is a new build, whether you will be seeking mortgage finance or whether you have any additional requirements to a standard purchase/sale. We are able to provide you with a clear and instant estimate of fees having taken some initial information from you. In straightforward transactions our legal fees for the following matters range between

Freehold Sale £850.00 – £1,350.00
Freehold Purchase £850.00 – £1,550.00
Leasehold Sale £1,050.00 – £1,550.00
Leasehold Purchase £1,250.00 – £1,750.00
Remortgage £450.00 – £650.00
(All prices subject to VAT)

Additional to our legal fees will be search costs, disbursements (cost related to your matter which are payable to third parties, such as the Land Registry) and any Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) payable. Our no-obligation quote will be tailored to the particulars of your matter and will not have any hidden fees. In some transactions additional unforeseen matters may arise and we may need to review the initial estimate provided to you. Your Conveyancer will discuss any such matters as they may arise and detail any variation to the initial estimate provided.

Please contact our Residential Team on 01708 76 44 33 or via our enquiry form to provide details of your transaction and to receive our estimate of fees.

We do not pay or receive any referral fees with Estate Agents or Mortgage Brokers, although we have a good working relationship with the Estate Agents in Havering and the surrounding areas having been a practicing firm of solicitors dealing with sales and purchases in Romford since 1794. We continue to offer independent, impartial and practical advice which the firm has been built upon and succeeded since our establishment.

Whilst we are able to advise you of the likely SDLT payable at the outset, you can calculate the same yourself by using HMRC’s website.