Residential Property

Keep moving simple. That’s our mantra and that is exactly what we offer to our customers; a simple yet personal service that is second to none.

We are able to offer you all three essential moving services under one roof; estate agent, conveyancing and mortgages. Guaranteeing a quick and stress-free moving experience.

Our Keep Moving Simple packs offer all the important moving services, and many helpful extras, in one easy purchase. Choose the pack that suits your needs and budget or contact us to create a bespoke pack.

Bendles works in partnership with Tiffens estate agents and the Mortgage Advice Bureau to ensure that you receive clear-cut professional advice every step of the way when buying or selling your home.

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Bendles Solicitors is a local, well connected firm so you can rest assured that our experienced Conveyancers have good knowledge of the local area, property market and any issues that might affect your sale or purchase. Working with our in-house Conveyancers also helps to ensure the lines of communication are seamless and matters are dealt with swiftly.

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Tiffens has been operating across Cumbria for over 125 years. Our bespoke service offering combines those years of experience with a modern approach to marketing, ensuring effective selling techniques and a smooth buying process.

By offering you our in-house Conveyancers service, alongside our estate agency expertise, we keep the process of moving to a new house as simple and cost effective as possible.

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Mortgage Advice Bureau is the UK’s leading intermediary brand, offering expert mortgage advice on a local, regional and national level. The expert advice we offer, combined with the volume of mortgages that we arrange, places us in a very strong position to ensure that you have access to the latest mortgage deals available and receive a first-class service.

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We look forward to helping you make that move!

blank  Our ‘Keep Moving Simple’ Packs

The conveyancing process is just one element to a house sale or purchase, granted a very important and sometimes time-consuming element, but not the only legal consideration you ought to make.

Because additional legal services, such as Wills and Joint Ownership Agreements, are frequently requested by our customers when moving to a new house, we decided to make life even simpler by offering our ‘key moving services’ and helpful extras in three different packs which can be tailored to suit your needs and budget.

Our ‘Keep Moving Simple Packs’ are available at bronze, silver and gold tiers and offer you the chance to have complete peace of mind that your affairs are in order when you move into your new home.

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Why not upgrade your pack?

  • Complete peace of mind with a Joint Ownership Agreement
  • Protect your assets & family with a Will
  • Appoint a Lasting Power of Attorney you can trust to act on your behalf
  • Receive expert mortgage advice
  • Enjoy a Moving Essentials Box filled with treats & handy household items
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The Moving Essentials Box image above is for marketing purposes and the contents may vary.

Conveyancing Journey

Conveyancing journey 2

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Conveyancing Jargon Buster

THE CONVEYANCING PROCESS _ JARGON BUSTER 2

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Things to Consider When Buying a House

Making a Will

Making a Will is the only way to ensure your property and other possessions will go where you wish after your death. Other considerations a Will can deal with are:

  • Appointing guardians to look after your children;
  • Reducing Inheritance Tax;
  • Funeral wishes.

If you do not have a Will, the laws which decide where your assets go can be very unfair, not providing for an unmarried partner or step/foster children. Not making a Will can also cause a great deal of stress and expense for those that you leave.

By making a Will with Bendles, you can be confident that your family and assets are protected in the best possible way. To ensure your family’s future is protected make an appointment and we will take care of the rest. Wills cost £150 +vat or £250 +vat for a couple.

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Setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney

Have you ever considered who would make important choices on your behalf if you were not able to? Although no one likes to consider such a situation, appointing a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) can protect your best interests.

LPAs allow others to do things for you, be it handling your finances, going to the bank, selling your home or arranging medical treatment. The main benefits of setting up an LPA now are:

  • It ensures that only those who you trust can make decisions and act on your behalf;
  • Those looking after your affairs can only do things which are in your best interests and while you have mental capacity you are the ultimate decision maker;
  • There are lots of different options in the application form to make the LPA fit your individual circumstances; and
  • It is advisable to get an LPA set up well before you need it. It is more expensive, time consuming and stressful for someone to help you with your money and property if you have already lost mental capacity.

Bendles offer LPAs at the highly competitive fee of £350 + VAT for one LPA, £450 for two and if a couple require two each (for both Property & Financial Affairs and Health & Welfare decisions) it’s £600 + VAT. There is also an additional fee payable to the Office of the Public Guardian which is £82 per form.

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Arranging a Joint Ownership Agreement

It is always advisable for co-owners of property, particularly where one has contributed more to the purchase price, to enter into a joint ownership agreement as this will:

  • Confirm the extent of their ownership of the property (i.e. how much money each has put in and how much they want out if sold);
  • Set out any express terms that the co-owners want to include. These might include provisions to deal with a situation where one of the co-owners wants to sell and move out or practical arrangements for day-to-day issues such as how the parties will arrange for maintenance and meet other expenses related to the property.

If a co-owner has contributed more to the purchase price and they then split up, they may not get back what they put in. Having a joint ownership agreement in place avoids this situation and unnecessary stress should you have to sell a co-owned property.

Our highly experienced and dedicated team is ready to help put your affairs in order.

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Residential Conveyancing Fees

The purchase or sale of a new home can be a daunting experience as such our team at Bendles is there to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible.

We offer a range of fixed fee options for the sale or purchase of residential properties, both freehold and leasehold.

Our standard fees for residential matters are:

Property Price Band

Sale Fees

Purchase Fees

0 – 125,000

£585.00

£635.00

125,001 – 200,000

£635.00

£710.00

200,001 – 250,000

£735.00

£810.00

250,001 – 300,000

£810.00

£860.00

300,001 – 350,000

£910.00

£935.00

350,001 – 400,000

£960.00

£985.00

400,001 – 450,000

£1010.00

£1010.00

450,001 – 500,000

£1035.00

£1,060.00

500,001 – 600,000

£1,085.00

£1,110.00

600,001 – 700,000

£1,160.00

£1,160.00

700,001 – 850,000

£1,160.00

£1,360.00

850,001 – 1,000,000

£1,360.00

£1,460.00

Certain transactions may be subject to extra charges these include (but are not limited to):

 

 

 

Matrimonial transfer

£555 (+£100 for remortgage)

 

 

 

 

Approval of matrimonial transfer

£350 + VAT

 

 

 

 

Remortgage fees

 £530 + VAT

 

   

 

Right to Buy

£500 + VAT & disb

 

 

 

 

Lease renewal

£500 + VAT & disb

 

 

 

 

First Registration

£450 – £850 + VAT + disb

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONS:

 

 

Newbuild

Add £200 + VAT

 

Unregistered

Add £150 + VAT

 

Leasehold

Add £200 + VAT

 

Housing Association

Add £250 + VAT

 

Help to Buy ISA/LISA

Add £50 + VAT

 

Help to Buy Mortgage

Add £200 + VAT

 

LMS

Include £30 + VAT

 

CHAPs fee

£30 + VAT

 

 

 

 

All prices are subject to VAT at the current rate.

Disbursements

In conveyancing matters you will be asked to pay for disbursements. These are costs payable to third parties such as the search providers, Stamp Duty Office or the Land Registry. We will liaise with all the third parties to ensure that the transaction completes as quickly and smoothly for you as possible.

The disbursements will be outlined at the beginning of your matter however some may be requested at a later stage, such as by your mortgage provider. Disbursements differ depending on whether your matter is a sale, purchase or both. Disbursements could include:

Disbursement

Fees

Land Registry Fees of official copies

£6.00

Electronic money transfer fee

£30.00 + VAT

Search fees (depending on location)

£180.00

Bankruptcy search fee

£2.00 per person

Land Registry priority search fee

£3.00

HM Land Registry Fee

Stamp Duty or Land Tax
only applicable on purchase

Timescales

The timescale for the completion of your matter can be subject to a number of different factors such as your transaction being in a chain, the speed of mortgage lenders and other solicitors, complexity or search result delays. However, the average process usually takes between 8 – 12 weeks from us receiving the contract paperwork to completion.

In relation to leasehold matters, which include a lease renewal, these matters can take longer due to the complexity. However, the average would be between 8 – 20 weeks.

Steps up to and including Completion:

Some matters are not included in our fees these include:

  • Financial advice;
  • Valuations;
  • Inheritance and probate advice (contact the private client department);
  • Tax advice;
  • Advice or preparation of a Declaration of Trust (we can ask one of the members of the private client department to contact you).

Where these excluded services fall within our expertise, we can provide you with an estimate of our charges for these services.

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FAQs

Conveyancing is the process of legally transferring ownership of a property or land. For example, this would be required when you buy or sell a property or remortgage.

Conveyancing solicitors act for either the buyer of the seller in a property transaction and their work can involve:

  • Conducting legal searches relating to the property;
  • Providing legal advice and recommendations;
  • Drawing up and assessing contracts, title and transfer deeds and other legal documents;
  • Negotiating with the other side of the property transaction leading up to the exchange of contracts.;
  • Dealing with the buyer’s mortgage lender over arrangements for payment of the mortgage loan;
  • Handling the buyer’s mortgage lender over arrangement for payment of the mortgage loan;
  • Handling the exchange of money on the completion date;
  • Registering the property sale with the Land Registry;
  • Organising payment of the stamp duty charges.

A conveyancing solicitor will be unable to negotiate and agree a mortgage on your behalf.

A conveyancing solicitor will not organise the survey on the property; this needs to be organised directly with your mortgage provider or privately if you are a cash buyer.

The stamp duty land tax relief for first time buyers ended on 24th March 2012. Therefore, stamp duty will be payable in every purchase of a property for more than £125,000. The current stamp duty thresholds are*:

Property or Lease Premium or Transfer Value

SDLT Rate

Up to £125,000

Zero

The next £125,000 (the portion from £125,001 to £250,000)

2%

The next £675,000 (the portion from £250,001 to £925,000)

5%

The next £575,000 (the portion from £925,001 to £1.5 million)

10%

The remaining amount (the portion above £1.5 million)

12%

*Reduced rates of SDLT will apply for residential properties purchased from 8 July 2020 until 31 March 2021 inclusive. There is a temporary SDLT exemption for properties worth up to £500,000. Click here for more information. 

Your matter should be completed within 8 -12 weeks however this can vary depending on the length of the ‘chain’ of connected transactions and the complexity of the transaction.

The main reason for a survey is so you and the lender can find out whether the property is actually worth the amount you have agreed to pay for it. There are 3 main types of surveys available and they vary greatly in price.

Option 1: The simplest and cheapest option is to rely on the valuation from the lender. The lender will send out one of their own valuers to put a value on the property so they can ensure the property is good security for the loan. Lenders will provide a copy of this report but there is not much information to assist you. The report will not tell you whether you have offered too much.

Option 2: The middle option is to have a home buyers report. The lender’s valuer will normally carry out this report at the same time. This survey is not as comprehensive as a full structural survey but will highlight parts of the property that need further investigation.

Option 3: The most expensive option is the full structural survey. This will be carried out by a qualified structural surveyor and will provide a detailed report on the structural condition of the building. This type of report is advisable if the property is of a high value; the property is displaying structural problems; more than 50years old; the property has been completely renovated or you intend to do so and if the property is not a conventional brick or mortar construction.

When choosing between the different types of survey, you need to remember that once you have bought the property you will be responsible for any repairs or major work that needs to be done. If you go for a more detailed report from the outset this will hopefully enable you to make a more informed decision on whether the property is worth the asking price and will put you in a stronger negotiating position in relation to price.

There are two ways in which the property can be held, either as ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’. It is extremely important to consider the different options available to co-own a property.

When you co-own a property as joint tenants, each co-owner owns the whole of the property and neither owner has a specific or identifiable share. Under a tenancy in common, each co-owner owns a specific share in the property. Bendles can provide co-owners with a Joint Ownership Agreement, please let us know if this is of interest to you when buying your home.

As part of the Property Information Form there are questions which cover this topic and attempting to provide evasive or incomplete answers with make a buyer suspicious and raise further questions, so it is better to supply all information at the earliest stage.

Our Residential Property Team

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