Lamb & Holmes Solicitors have been offering residential conveyancing services to the Northamptonshire, and surrounding areas for over 200 years.

For most people, buying or selling a property is the biggest single financial transaction that they will ever be involved in.  It is no surprise that for many the process of buying or selling a home is considered to be one of the most stressful life experiences.

Our team of conveyancing specialists deal every day with people who are buying or selling their homes or other property. Some of our clients are first-time buyers with limited experience and funds. Others are further up the property ladder or are looking for investment property. 

We offer our clients a fixed price structure for transparency so there are no unwanted surprises and optional additional support for first-time buyers. Whatever your situation, we will help you to complete as quickly as possible. Essentially, we take care of everything so you can focus on starting life in your new home.

As well as assisting with a sale or purchase, or perhaps both we also offer a wide range of conveyancing services.

We can help with the following:-

• Re-mortgages
• Transfer of Equity
• Multi purchases
• Multi-party transactions
• Buy to lets
• New Build and Development Properties
• Property disputes
• Right to buy
• Protecting Joint buyers interests
• Flats and leases
• Searches

We are an accredited member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing teams.

Membership establishes our credibility based upon:

• The integrity of our team
• Our adherence to good practice management standards
• Our adherence to prudent and efficient conveyancing procedures

Once you have instructed us to act on your behalf you will be allocated a dedicated conveyancing expert who will work with you throughout your transaction and will keep you updated and regularly informed on the progress of your matter.

We promise to answer emails and telephone calls. Our clients are important to us and we understand how important good communication is.

First Time Buyer?

We know when buying property, being a first-time buyer can be an exciting yet daunting experience; a huge financial commitment often follows.

With so many different parties involved, it can be really confusing to know which one to follow and/or engage with. There’s the buyer, the buyer’s solicitors, the seller, the seller’s solicitors, the estate agent, mortgage lender and sometimes even a mortgage broker. It’s understandable why people often become nervous and sometimes, unclear on what to do.

Our team of conveyancing experts have a wealth of experience dealing with first-time buyers. We will take extra care to ensure that you have a full understanding of each step of the process and make sure you are kept updated each step of the way.   This should be an exciting experience so let us guide you through the process and deal with any issues that may arise, leaving you to get on with the enjoyable tasks involved in purchasing a home.

Residential Conveyancing Pricing

Purchase of a freehold residential property

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.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements for a freehold purchase

• Legal fee from £850.00
• Fee for acting on behalf of a standard mortgage lender £0.00
• Fee for completing your SDLT form £0.00
• Search fees from £185.00
• HM Land Registry fee from £45.00
• Electronic money transfer fee from £40.00
• VAT payable from £178.00

Estimated total from £1,298.00

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

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 or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website here.

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 4 – 20 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first-time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 4 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

• 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
• 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
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Agree on 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 the lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with the application for registration at Land Registry

Purchase of a leasehold residential property

Our fees cover all 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 is in Wales.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

• Legal fee from £850.00
• Leasehold fee £750.00
• Fee for acting on behalf of the mortgage lender £0.00
• Search fees from £185.00
• HM Land Registry fee from £45.00
• Electronic money transfer fee £40.00
• VAT payable from £328.00

Estimated total from £2,198.00

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. 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 above. 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 £250.
• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 and £250.
• Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £50 and £250.
• Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £50 and £250.

*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.

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 Land Tax

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential leasehold property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

• 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
• 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 the mortgage offer
• Send final contract to you for signature
• Draft Transfer
• Advise you on joint ownership
• Obtain pre-completion searches
• Agree on 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 the lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with the application for registration at Land Registry

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 4 – 20 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

* Our fee assumes that:

1. 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
2. this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
3. the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise
4. all parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
5. no indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.