Legal solutions
with a personal
approach.
At Cooper Stott Solicitors, we pride ourselves on our approachability and eagerness to help our clients achieve their goal.
Property Law
BUYING & SELLING PROPERTY
Experienced Law Team
Buying and selling property can appear daunting. Whether you are a first time buyer, or an investor dealing with a portfolio of properties, there are countless issues to consider.
At Cooper Stott, each matter is dealt with by an experienced lawyer and their personal assistant. Experience has taught us that working together like this allows us to progress your transaction as quickly and efficiently as possible. You will know who to contact and there will always be someone who knows the ins and outs of your transaction available to take your call.
We want you to feel comfortable from the point of instruction to you collecting the keys and we will keep you informed and involved with the process from the very beginning to completion.
Every member of our property team – both lawyers and support staff have a minimum of 12 years’ experience. We have the knowledge and expertise to progress your case quickly, while ensuring that all questions that need to be asked are asked.
Conveyancing
The vast majority of our conveyancing work will be conducted at a fixed fee and we will be upfront about any possible extra charges at the outset so you can plan for our costs from day one.
We are experienced in all matters of residential conveyancing including:
Buying and Selling
Standalone sales and purchases or dealing with both as part of a chain.
Re-Mortgages
Handling the legal work involved when you refinance your property.
Transfers of Equity
Transferring the legal ownership of a property when circumstances change
Investment Property
Acting for individuals and companies buying and selling tenanted or untenanted properties
Sale and Purchase of Land
Dealing with parcels of land of all sizes
Residential Leases
Lease extensions, variations, and purchases of freehold
Key stages involved
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances:
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Take your instructions and give you initial advice
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Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender's solicitors if needed
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Receive and advise on contract documents
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Carry out searches
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Obtain further planning documentation if required
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Make any necessary enquiries of seller's solicitor
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Give you advice on all documents and information received
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Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
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Send final contract to you for signature
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Send final contract to you for signature
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Draft Transfer (if Leasehold purchase)
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Advise you on joint ownership (if Leasehold purchase)
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Obtain pre-completion searches (if Leasehold purchase)
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Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
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Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
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Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
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Complete purchase
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Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
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Deal with application for registration at Land Registry
Our fees assume that:
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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
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This is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
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The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise
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All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
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No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
Factors that would typically increase the cost of the service
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Legal title is defective, or part of the property is unregistered
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If you discover building regulations or planning permission has not been obtained
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If crucial documents we have previously requested from the client have not been provided
Introduction
As part of our professional rules, we aim to ensure that anyone wishing to use our services has the information they need to make an informed choice of legal services provider, including understanding what the costs may be.
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.
What is not included?
We do not report on structural surveys which are outside our area of expertise.
How long will my house purchase take?
For any transaction, the timescales are subject to change depending on when your offer is accepted and factors involved such as:
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Number of parties in the chain
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Whether you have a mortgage in place
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Whether you are buying a new build property
A typical transaction will take between 10-14 weeks. However, if any of the above apply, or there are other factors we need to take into consideration, it may increase the time by a further 4-6 weeks and additional charges may occur. We will discuss this with you at the earliest opportunity so you always have a clear picture of how long things are likely to take.
Purchase of a property.
Our Fees
To obtain a detailed quotation for your transaction please click on the Online Conveyancing Quote link.
What is included?
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. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. 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.
Sale of a property.
Our Fees
To obtain a detailed quotation for your transaction please click on the Online Conveyancing Quote link.
What is included?
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Obtaining mortgage redemption statement and redeeming the mortgage on completion.
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Settling the Estate Agents Invoice on completion
How long will my house sale take?
For any transaction, the timescales are subject to change depending on when your offer is accepted and factors involved such as:
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Number of parties in the chain
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Whether you have a mortgage in place
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Whether you are buying a new build property
A typical transaction will take between 10-14 weeks. However, if any of the above apply, or there are other factors we need to take into consideration, it may increase the time by a further 4-6 weeks and additional charges may occur. We will discuss this with you at the earliest opportunity so you always have a clear picture of how long things are likely to take.
Key stages involved
The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances:
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Take instructions and give initial advice
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Obtain official copies of the Land registry title
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Supply the protocol documents to be completed by the vendor
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Draft the contract and collate the documents for the contract pack
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Send the contract and protocol documents to the buyer’s solicitor
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Forward enquiries raised by the buyer to the client
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Answer legal enquiries raised by the buyer
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Obtain redemption statements
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If required obtain indemnity Insurance quotation
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Approve the transfer document
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Obtain agents invoice
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Draft completion statement and send to client
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Send the transfer document and contract to client for signature
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Agree completion date
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Exchange contracts
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Obtain agents invoice
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Complete on sale
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Redeem mortgage
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Settle estate agents’ invoice
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Forward property documents to buyer’s solicitor
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Forward completion funds to client’s nominated account
Remortgage a property.
How long will my house remortgage take?
A typical remortgage takes between 6 and 8 weeks, however, it can be longer if there are any complications such as an application being rejected. The process may also take longer if you switch lenders compared with getting a new deal with your current mortgage company.
Key stages involved
With every transaction there are key milestones, which may vary according to individual circumstances. They may be as follows:
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Taking your instructions and giving initial advice based on the information you have provided
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Requesting the Title Deeds and Redemption Statement
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Obtaining Official Copies of the Title
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Checking the Title
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Checking Official Copies
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Leasehold properties will require the lease to be checked and enquiries made if relevant
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Searches
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Checking the mortgage offer
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Preparing for completion
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Requesting final redemption statement
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Requesting the mortgage advance
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Completion
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Registration
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When should I instruct my solicitor?Ideally, you should let the estate agent have your solicitor’s details at the point that your sale or purchase is agreed. This means that the paperwork can be issued/reviewed as soon as possible. Don’t worry if you haven’t thought this far ahead though, you can instruct us after the offer has been accepted.
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When should I apply for a mortgage?If you know that you require mortgage finance, many Estate Agents will require you to have a mortgage in principle which shows how much money a lender will be prepared to lend you. It is only once an offer has been agreed that you can inform the lender of the purchase price and apply for a mortgage offer.
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I’m buying a new build property and the builder has insisted I exchange within 28 days. Is this possible?In principle yes. This is a tight time frame but if the builder provides a full pack of papers on day one and the searches which have to be carried out arrive back in time, this is a workable timescale. Most builders allow a degree of flexibility if the transaction is well progressed and there are perhaps just a few outstanding matters to be dealt with.
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What is the difference between exchange and completion?A property sale or purchase does not become legally binding until both parties have signed a contract and their solicitors have exchanged (swapped and dated) contracts over the phone. Either party can walk away from the transaction up until this point. You do not exchange contracts until you have carried out a full investigation on the property that you are buying and have received satisfactory replies to any questions which you may have about the property. We should point out here that any questions to be asked must go through solicitors as the contract says that you cannot rely on any information given to you directly by the other party. Completion is the term given to the day that the sale or purchase goes ahead – money is transferred and keys are handed over. Exchange of contracts and completion can take place on the same day but often people will choose to leave a period of around two weeks between exchange and completion. This allows you to make final moving arrangements and finish packing when you know that the sale/purchase is legally bound to go ahead on a date written in to the contract.
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What is gazumping?A property sale/purchase does not become legally binding until contracts are formally exchanged. Either party can walk away from the transaction with no consequences (save for any of their own costs incurred to date such as legal fees or survey costs) up until this point. Sometimes, somebody will come along and make a higher offer for a property and the seller will accept this offer instead (even if you are weeks/months into the purchase process). If this happens to you as a buyer, you will have been gazumped.