Home Ownership in London
Humphreys & Co. humphreys.s-i.app are an independent solicitors’ firm. Their team has substantial experience in the legal work needed for shared ownership home-buying, selling and staircasing in London and throughout England & Wales. We have worked for many years in parallel with the lawyers at Humphreys & Co. in getting shared ownership property transactions through for clients and are pleased to recommend them as an independent firm from whom it’s very well worth getting an emailed costs quotation.
A word from Humphreys & Co. (solicitors):
“Fee structure: Our figures are DETAILED AND TRANSPARENT. There are NO HIDDEN EXTRAS and our charges are fixed, unless the transaction proves to be unusual and complex, with NO MOVE NO FEE TERMS, so if your transaction does not proceed for any reason you will only pay for the expenses e.g. search fees, Land Registry fees we have already paid on your behalf.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT): HMRC provide two options for stamp duty assessment. You can choose to be assessed on the initial price payable for the share, in which case you will pay any duty on that share but will not be assessed for further duty until you have staircased your interest above an 80% share. The other option is to be assessed for stamp duty on the full market value of the property. If you choose this second option you will not pay any further duty even when you have staircased above an 80% interest in the property. Whilst the first option would result in either a nil or lower liability for stamp duty, it would leave you exposed to pay further duty at a later date when you staircase above 80%. Which option is best for you may very well depend upon whether the market value falls or increases at a later date.
Other firms’ quotations: In relation to time charges, other firms may quote a lower base fee but watch out for “extras”. For example, a headline quote of “£225” sounds low, but when you then add on “extras” (like £60 for completion of the SDLT return (always required), £150 for exchange and completion within 14 days, £150 for leasehold purchases (always applicable in shared ownership purchases), £150 for a cash purchase or for a purchase with lender involvement (always applicable) and £250 for “office appointments”) the price quoted can in reality be more than our own “no hidden extras” charge. See our comparison chart at humphreys.s-i.app/costs .
Housing association panel solicitors: A word of caution: be wary of solicitors firms pressed on you by the selling housing association or the mortgage broker as these firms may have an association with the seller or the broker and thereby may not be in a position to represent your interests entirely independently as against the interests of the housing association, which we as independent solicitors always do.
Next steps: We would be pleased to offer you our independent legal costs quotation for your proposed shared ownership transaction if you email shared-ownership@humphreys.co.uk telling us:
– the % share you will be purchasing
– the full market value of the property or the price payable for your share
– the estimated rent (if you know it)
– the name of your lender
– is the property brand new or will you be purchasing from the existing owner?
In the meantime some general information to assist in comparing conveyancing quotations is available on our website at humphreys.s-i.app/costs .
