Whether you are buying a permanent home, a holiday home or an investment property in England or Wales, finding a reliable lawyer to protect your legal interests is essential. Dealing with property transactions can be complicated and the laws that relate to you will depend on your own specific circumstances. It is important that you seek legal advice in relation to your circumstances.
Guide to Buying Property in England
We have provided some very general information below. This information is not a substitute for specific advice from a properly qualified and experienced solicitor or licensed conveyancer. Worldwide Lawyers can put you in touch with a property lawyer in England to advise you and help make the transaction as smooth and hassle free as possible.
The buying process
Once you have found your perfect property and Worldwide Lawyers has found your English property lawyer you are ready to move forward with the buying process.
You should contact the seller or their estate agents to make your offer in relation to the property you wish to purchase. Once a purchase price has been agreed you will need to proceed to instruct your solicitor to deal with the sale on your behalf.
The seller’s solicitor usually then prepares a sale contract. Before the sale contract can be signed, your solicitor will undertake various searches relating to the property and make enquiries of the seller to check that there are no problems that might affect the property such as the property title, rights of ways, access etc. It is also usual for arrangements to be made for a surveyor to carry out a survey on the property to check for any structural problems.
Whilst your solicitor is undertaking these searches and enquiries, you will be able to arrange any mortgage that you may need. Once you and your lawyer are satisfied with the outcome of the searches and enquiries and any mortgage offer has been received, you and the seller can proceed to exchange of contracts.
A copy of the sale contract will be given to both you and the seller for you each to sign. These signed contracts are then exchanged and the buyer will usually pay a deposit of around 10% of the purchase price. At this point both buyer and seller are legally bound by the contract and cannot pull out of the transaction without financial penalty. If you as the buyer pull out of the purchase after exchange of contracts, you are likely to lose your deposit. At this point a date for completion is usually agreed.
Completion of the purchase usually takes place a few weeks after exchange of contracts, although it can be earlier. On the completion date the balance of the purchase price is paid to the seller who will then hand the deeds to the property to your solicitor. Arrangements will then be made for the keys to be handed over to the buyer.
Your solicitor will register the transfer of the property into your name with the Land Registry and will usually arrange for a Stamp Duty Land Tax form to be submitted to the tax authorities on your behalf.
The next step is to enjoy your new property relaxed in the knowledge that your lawyer has taken care of all legal formalities and your interests have been protected.
Congratulations!
The costs
The additional costs of buying a property in England will vary however it is on average around 2-4% of the property purchase price, this will be more for higher value properties.
The cost will include:
The property purchase price
As agreed between you and the seller.
Tax
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is paid by the buyer and the amount due depends on the value of the property. This this charged on a sliding scale from 0%-12% of the purchase price for your first property.
| Property Value | SDLT % |
| The first £250,000 | 0 |
| The amount of the value between £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% |
| The amount of the value between 925,001 – £1.5million | 10% |
| The remaining amount above £1.5million | 12% |
If you already own a residential property the above % is increased by 5% in each case.
Legal Fees
The amount of the legal fees will depend on the extent of the work involved. The cost is usually £1000 – £2000 plus VAT for a straightforward property purchase depending on the type and value of the property. Your solicitor may offer to compete the work on a fixed fee basis.
You will also need to pay your solicitor for the search fees and should allow £250- £350 for this.
Land Registry Fees
The Land Registry Fees vary depending on the purchase price of the property but are typically between £20 – £1100 depending on the house price and how the payment is made.
| Property Value | Fee- Electronic Portal Payment | Fee – Postal |
| £0-£80,000 | £20 | £45 |
| £80,001 – £100,000 | £40 | £95 |
| £100,001 – £200,000 | £100 | £230 |
| £200,001- £500,000 | £150 | £330 |
| £500,001- £1,000,000 | £295 | £655 |
| £1,000,001 and above | £500 | £1,105 |
Finding the right lawyer
Instructing an English solicitor (or a licensed conveyancer) to provide advice and reassurance that the legalities are checked on your behalf is essential.
You should instruct an English property lawyer as soon as possible and before any formal steps have been taken to purchase a property. This will allow your lawyer to advise you properly on all aspects of the transaction to ensure your position is fully protected.
Contact us on 01244 470 339 for free help to find an independent lawyer to assist you with buying a property in England.
