Having a reliable law firm with experienced conveyancing solicitors on your side is important when you’re buying or selling a home.
Kidd & Spoor Solicitors deal with all aspects of residential Freehold & Leasehold conveyancing matters, including:
- Sales
- Purchases
- Remortgaging and Equity Release
- Joint Ownership
- Shared Ownership
- Transfers of Land
- Buy to Let
We are here to guide you through the process from start to finish.
Our team has years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in all conveyancing matters. When you instruct us, you will be allocated a case handler. This will be either Alison Tweddle-Turner or Neil Shearer. We have five members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Neil Shearer, the Conveyancing Manager. Neil is a Conveyancer with fifteen years’ experience in Residential Conveyancing. Neil will be supervised by Philip Walker, who is a Director and the Head of Conveyancing.
DIFFERENT SERVICES
Purchase
Buying a property
Once you have found a property that you wish to purchase, a member of our experienced team check the title to ensure that it is good and marketable and you will have no issue when you come to sell in the future
We order a pack of three main searches against the property. These provide you with information about the property and its surrounding area.
If you are obtaining a mortgage, we will report to you on the terms of the offer. If you are paying for the property without a mortgage we will need you to ensure that these funds are available to us when required.
Once we have received the search results, replies to our enquiries and a copy of your mortgage offer we will report to you on the whole transaction. This is the point at which the contracts and any necessary pre-exchange documents are sent to you for your signature. Once these are returned we look to agree a completion date and formalise this agreement by exchanging contracts. On the day of completion you will receive the keys to your new home.
If you would like more information please contact the team on 0191 297 0011 for a free, no obligation initial chat.
How much will it cost?
Our conveyancing fees vary depending on the value of the property. *Please note: New Build, Shared Ownership and Auction Property sale and purchase may attract an additional charge.
Our fees
| Value of Property | Costs | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 – £100,000 | £695.00 | £139.00 | £834.00 |
| £100,000 – £250,000 | £795.00 | £159.00 | £954.00 |
| £250,001 – £350,000 | £895.00 | £179.00 | £1,074.00 |
| £350,000 – £450,000 | £995.00 | £199.00 | £1,194.00 |
| £450,001+ | £1,370.00 | £274.00 | £1,644.00 |
| Legal Fee | Costs | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Transfer Fee | £35.00 | £7.00 | £42.00 |
| SDLT Submission Fee | £50.00 | £10.00 | £60.00 |
As well as our legal fees you will be liable for covering the costs of a number of third party disbursements. Below we have listed disbursements you can expect to see in a standard sale or purchase transaction:
- Charges and application fees payable to the land registry for them to transfer the title. This is charged dependent on the value of the property and the method used to apply for the transfer. Charges range from £20 to £910, and
- Stamp duty land tax when purchasing a new home in England or Northern Ireland. Stamp duty land tax is paid on residential properties over £125,000. Exemptions and discounts apply for first-time buyers. A higher rate of stamp duty land tax is payable when acquiring second homes.
- Search fees to be paid by you at the outset for the standard three searches required by all lenders for properties in the North East. These are the Local Authority search, Drainage & Water search and Coal Mining search. Depending on the location of the property the total cost for these searches will vary from £230.00-£300.00. Additional searches may be required and this will become apparent once we are in receipt of the results.
- Official searches give us a priority period 6 weeks in which to apply to the Land Registry to register your ownership of the property and any charge the lender is taking over the property. These cost £3.00 per search.
- Bankruptcy searches must be carried out on all purchasers and parties to the transaction who are contributing funds (where there is a lender involved). For example parents gifting children a sum of money toward their first home. These cost £2.00 per search.
- Where the property is leasehold there may be charges raised by the landlord for serving notice on them of the new owner and of their new mortgage. They can also charge for supplying new membership certificates, compliance certificates and entering into deeds of covenant. This list is not exhaustive and as these are third party charges we are not able to guarantee what each individual landlord or their agent will charge for at the beginning of each matter.
- There may also be additional charges if the transaction involves non-standard activities, such as rectifying defects in titles or missing deeds. Some of these issues cannot be foreseen.
Sale
Selling a property
When you come to sell your home you will most likely contact an estate agent in the surrounding area to advertise.
Once you have found a buyer the agent will issue a memorandum of sale to both parties’ solicitors. We will then issue draft contracts and copies of the title documents to the buyer’s solicitor which they will then review. The seller may also be asked to answer specific questions about the property raised by the buyer’s representative.
As the seller, you will have to complete the property information form (questions on the property itself) and the fittings and contents form (details what items are to be included in the sale or if there is an additional charge for any items).
Once the buyer is in a position to proceed and has all necessary funding in place a completion date is agreed and contracts can be exchanged. On the day of completion any existing mortgages are paid off. Where there is an estate agent involved in the sale, the keys are left with them for the new owner to collect on the day. All funds due to you are transferred over to your nominated bank account on the same day.
If you would like more information please contact the team on 0191 297 0011 for a free, no obligation initial chat.
How much will it cost?
Our conveyancing fees vary depending on the value of the property.
| Value of Property | Costs | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0 – £100,000 | £695.00 | £139.00 | £834.00 |
| £100,000 – £250,000 | £795.00 | £159.00 | £954.00 |
| £250,001 – £350,000 | £895.00 | £179.00 | £1,074.00 |
| £350,000 – £450,000 | £995.00 | £199.00 | £1,194.00 |
| £450,001+ | £1,370.00 | £274.00 | £1,644.00 |
| Legal Fee | Costs | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Transfer Fee | £35.00 | £7.00 | £42.00 |
As well as our fees, there may be disbursements to pay to third parties. In a sale transaction these are usually limited to:
- Office copies of the title and deeds at a cost of £3.00 per document.
- Estate agents fees. These can vary and are calculated on the agreed sale price.
Remortgages
Remortgaging is the process of taking out a new mortgage on a property you own. There are many reasons to consider doing it, including:
- Better interest rate to make your mortgage cheaper so you can save money.
- Mortgage rate is coming to an end.
- Value of your property has risen, which could put you into a lower loan-to-value category and mean you’re eligible for lower rates.
- Option to overpay on your mortgage– helping you to clear your mortgage debt more quickly, e.g. after inheriting money.
- More flexible terms, such as the option to take a payment holiday.
- Fixed rate deal that’ll give you added peace of mind over the next few years.
- Ability to borrow more money against your property– for example, to make home improvements or to clear other debts.
We are able to assist you and guide you through the above legal steps. We are happy to provide informal and additional guidance throughout the process. We are experts when it comes to leasehold property, which are even more complicated. We will:
- Check that the length of the lease complies with the requirements of your new mortgage lender,
- Ask your managing agent or landlord to confirm that all service charges and ground rents are up to date and to provide a copy of the building insurance.
Our solicitors can help you to understand your situation and explain your options. As well as our legal fees you will be liable for covering the costs of a number of third-party disbursements. Below we have listed disbursements you can expect to see:
- Charges and application fees payable to the land registry for them to transfer the title. This is charged dependent on the value of the property and the method used to apply for the transfer. Charges range from £20 to £910, and
- Most lenders would accept search indemnity insurance in lieu of the Local Authority search, Drainage & Water search, and Coal Mining search. However, there are a few lenders who may require full searches to be carried out. Depending on the location of the property the total cost for these searches will vary from £230.00-£300.00.
- Office copy Deeds which are downloaded from Land Registry are £3.00 per document
- Official searches give us a priority period 6 weeks in which to apply to the Land Registry to register your ownership of the property and any charge the lender is taking over the property. These cost £3.00 per search.
- Bankruptcy searches must be carried out on the transaction. These cost £2.00 per search.
| Legal Fee | Costs | Vat | Total |
| Fixed fee | £620.00 | £124.00 | £744.00 |
| Bank Transfer Fee (if applicable) | £35.00 | £7.00 | £42.00 |
| ID checks (per name) | £20.00 | £4.00 | £24.00 |
Transfer of Equity
Transferring a property
A Transfer of Equity takes place when a current owner of a property wants to add or remove another individual. There are any number of reasons why you might wish to transfer the equity in a property, such as a marriage or divorce.
Once all parties are in agreement, we draft a Transfer Deed for all parties to sign. All mortgage formalities are dealt with on the day of completion and all existing mortgages are redeemed. Transfer of equity matters are often accompanied by a remortgage. In these cases, we class this as one matter which we aim to complete simultaneously.
The next step is to make an application to the Land Registry to register all new owners and interests. Once the registration is complete all new owners and charges are formally registered.
How much will it cost?
| Transaction | Costs | VAT | Total |
| Transfer of Equity | £520.00 | £104.00 | £624.00 |
| Transfer of Equity with New Mortgage | £625.00 | £125.00 | £750.00 |
| Legal Fee | Costs | VAT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Transfer Fee | £35.00 | £7.00 | £42.00 |
As well as our fees, the standard disbursements in a transfer of equity are usually:
- Office copies of the title and deeds at a cost of £3.00 per document.
- Stamp duty land tax (if there is any payable).
- Search Indemnity Insurance (if applicable)
- Optional SDLT administration fee of £20.00 + VAT for completing the return on your behalf.
If you would like more information please contact the team on 0191 297 0011 for a free, no obligation initial chat.
Equity Release
Releasing equity in your property
The process of equity release frees up cash in your home in exchange for the equity you hold in it. The amount of equity available is calculated by taking the amount owed under any mortgage away from the value of the property. There is no tax to pay on the money released.
The most common type of scheme is the Lifetime Mortgage. This enables you to release a lump sum from the value of your property, whilst still retaining 100% ownership. The amount released plus the interest accrued is repayable out of your estate when you pass away or if you have to move into long term care.
How much will it cost?
We charge a fixed fee of £695.00 + VAT of £139.00 for an equity release transaction.
In a standard equity release transaction the lender’s solicitor will cover the costs of the disbursements. We will however require an Office copy of Title which will cost £3.00. We have a dedicated team of experts with considerable experience and expertise in dealing with all matters relating to residential conveyancing. The team is supervised by Neil Shearer, Conveyancing Manager and Philip Walker who is a Director and the Head of Conveyancing. We provide an efficient, transparent and common sense approach and pride ourselves on our communication skills and accessibility.
If you would like more information please contact the team on 0191 297 0011 for a free, no obligation initial chat.
