Residential Property Services Information

Residential Property Services Information

Purchase of a freehold/ leasehold residential property

Costs and disbursements
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 and on leasehold properties complying with leasehold formalities under the terms of your lease. 

For a detailed breakdown of costs please use our online Residential Property Costs Calculator. 

How long will the purchase of my new home take? 
How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your new home will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8-12 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 vacant house with a mortgage in principle, it could take 4-6 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 4 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply for dealing with the lease extension.

Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have outlined the key stages as follows: 
  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice
  • Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender's solicitor if needed
  • Receive, review and advise on contract documents 
  • Carry out searches and review results
  • Obtain further planning documentation if required
  • Make any necessary enquiries of seller's solicitor and review replies
  • Give you advice on all documents and information received 
  • Advise you on joint ownership (if applicable)
  • Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
  • Report to you on the purchase documents and arrange for your signature of the contract
  • Agree completion date ("the moving in date")
  • Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
  • Arrange for all monies to be received from lender and you
  • Obtain pre-completion searches
  • Complete purchase
  • Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/ Land Tax
  • On leasehold properties, deal with leasehold formalities e.g. service of notices completion of Deed of Covenant and obtain Certificate of Compliance (as may be required)
  • Deal with application of registration at Land Registry 
  • Schedule deeds and forward to you following completion of registration
Leasehold properties you should be aware that ground rent and service charges are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information.

Sale of a freehold/ leasehold residential property

Costs and disbursements
Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your new home, including discharging your mortgage, and on leasehold properties complying with leasehold formalities under the terms of your lease. 

For a detailed breakdown of costs please use our online Residential Property Costs Calculator. 

How long will the sale of my home take? 
How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your new home will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8-12 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are selling a house and have no related purchase and the buyer is a first-time buyer with a mortgage in principle, it could take 4-6 weeks. However, if you are selling a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 4 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply for dealing with the lease extension.

Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have outlined the key stages as follows: 
  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice
  • Obtain your title documents and indicative redemption statement from your lender (if applicable)
  • On leasehold properties obtain a sales pack from your freeholder/ landlord
  • Issue draft contract documents to the buyer's solicitor
  • Provide replies to buyer's solicitors enquiries
  • Give you advice on all documents and information received 
  • Obtain your signature on the contract and transfer deed
  • Agree completion date ("the moving date")
  • Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
  • Obtain a final redemption statement from your lender (if applicable)
  • Complete sale
  • Redeem your mortgage (if applicable)
  • Pay the estate agents commission fees on your behalf 
  • Account to you for net sale proceeds
Leasehold properties you should be aware that ground rent and service charges are likely to have applied throughout your ownership of the property. On completion of the sale it may be necessary to apportion overpaid/ underpaid ground rent and service charges between yourself and the buyer.

Re-mortgages of a freehold/ leasehold residential property

Costs and disbursements
Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the re-mortgage, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and on leasehold properties complying with leasehold formalities under the terms of your lease. 

For a detailed breakdown of costs please use our online Residential Property Costs Calculator. 

How long will the re-mortgage of my home take? 
How long it will take will depend on a number of factors but the average process takes between 4-6 weeks. Leasehold properties can potentially take longer as additional information and documents are required as part of our conveyancing process.

Stages of the process
The precise stages involved in the re-mortgage of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have outlined the key stages as follows: 
  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice
  • Obtain your title documents and indicative redemption statement from your current lender
  • Review title documentation 
  • On leasehold properties obtain a re-mortgage pack from your freeholder/ landlord
  • Carry out searches and review results
  • Obtain further planning documentation if required
  • Give you advice on all documents and information received 
  • Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
  • Report to you on the purchase documents and arrange for your signature of the legal charge 
  • Agree completion date 
  • Arrange for all monies to be received from lender and you
  • Obtain pre-completion searches
  • Obtain a final redemption statement from your current lender
  • Complete re-mortgage 
  • Redeem your old mortgage 
  • Account to you for net re-mortgage proceeds (if applicable)
  • On leasehold properties, deal with leasehold formalities e.g. service of Notices and obtain Certificate of Compliance (as may be required)
  • Deal with application of registration at Land Registry 
  • Schedule deeds and forward to you following completion of registration
Leasehold properties you should be aware that ground rent and service charges are likely to have applied throughout your ownership of the property. We will require sight of up to date ground rent and service charge receipts prior to completion. In all cases we will require evidence of current buildings insurance cover. 
Moving home can be stressful – leave it to us. To speak to any of our team, call Allan Jay Paine Limited on
Call 020 8886 1404
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