Buying A Commercial Property

The stages involved in buying a commercial property vary with each transaction, but below are a few key stages:

• Take your instructions and give you initial advice
• Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
• Receive and advise on contract documents
• Carry out searches
• Obtain further planning documentation if required
• Make any necessary commercial property enquiries of seller’s solicitor
• Give you advice on all documents and information received
• Go through conditions of any finance mortgage offer
• Obtain your signature to the purchase contract
• Draft the Transfer
• Advise you on joint ownership or ownership structure
• Obtain pre-completion searches
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) or Land Transaction Tax if the property is in Wales (LTT)
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

How long will my commercial property purchase take?

How long it will take from an offer being accepted until you own your new property will depend on several factors. The average process takes between 10-16 weeks. It can be quicker or slower. Registration at the Land Registry is currently taking several months

How much does it cost?

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your commercial property, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (LT) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

• Our fees would be calculated by reference to an hourly charging rate. The range of rates is currently £175 to £275 per hour plus VAT (£210 to £330 incl. VAT), depending on the purchase price. In our experience the average purchase takes between 10 and 15 hours’ work.

• Search fees £400.00 – £800.00 (estimated)
• HM Land Registry fee Set by the Land Registry depending upon the value of the property. See HM Land Registry Fees
• Electronic money transfer fee £26 plus VAT (£31.20 incl. VAT).
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.
SDLT or LTT – the amount 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.

For more information on buying a commercial property, you can contact us by calling 0114 272 9721, sending an email to Commercial-property@lfbbsolicitors.co.uk or clicking here.