Our Prices and Costs Explained

Our team has over 35 years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to Residential Conveyancing.

Our Mr Anthony Foley, the principal of the firm and Solicitor, and Mrs Catriona Hope, our Licensed Conveyancer, will be able to act for you and all matters will be supervised by our Mr Foley who is in charge of residential conveyancing.

Residential Conveyancing Rates – Anticipated Legal Charges

Please note, preferential rates may be available upon request, for example, to returning clients and first time buyers.

In relation to the sale of a property:

The services included within the above anticipated legal charges are –

• Taking Sellers instructions.
• Forwarding our terms of business together with appropriate Property Information Forms to the Sellers for completion and return.
• Contacting the Buyer’s Solicitors requesting confirmation of instructions.
• If the sale is of a leasehold property, where appropriate, obtaining information from the Freeholders or Management Company.
• Obtaining official copy entries from the Land Registry or obtaining the Title Deeds in order to establish and confirm ownership of the Property.
• Preparing draft Contract documents.
• Forwarding the draft Contract Documents to the Buyer’s Solicitors.
• Dealing with any enquiries before Contract raised by the Buyer’s Solicitors.
• Agreeing a completion date and exchanging Contracts.
• Obtaining any redemption statement to redeem any mortgages secured against the property.
• Completing the sale.
• Discharging any mortgages secured against the property.
• Forwarding completion Deeds/documents to the Buyer’s Solicitors.
• Accounting to the sellers for the net proceeds of sale.

In relation to the purchase of a property:

The services included within the above anticipated legal charges are:

• Taking instructions from the Buyers and giving initial advice.
• Forwarding our terms of business to the Buyers.
• Checking that finances are in place to fund the purchase.
• Contacting the Seller’s Solicitors to request draft Contract documents.
• Receiving and advising on the Contract documents and investigating title.
• Carrying out pre-contract searches.
• Raising any relevant and appropriate enquiries arising from the draft Contract, investigation of title and results of the pre-contract searches.
• Going through conditions of mortgage offer with the Buyer.
• Advising as to joint ownership (if required).
• Reporting to the Buyer and arranging for them to sign Contract.
• Agreeing a completion date.
• Exchanging Contracts.
• Arranging for the balance of the money from the Buyer and the Lender as appropriate.
• Complete the purchase.
• Obtaining the completion documents from the Seller’s Solicitors.
• On completion, submitting a stamp duty return and paying any Stamp Duty Land Tax due to H M Revenue & Customs.
• Serving necessary notices on the Freeholder and Management Company if the property is leasehold.
• Dealing with the application for registration at the Land Registry.
• Following completion of registration, notifying the Buyers and any Lender.

Circumstances when the fees set out above may be higher:

The figures shown on the tables are representative of a standard transaction without complications. The purchase of flats and apartments, newly built properties, shared ownership  purchases, Help to Buy matters and Islamic mortgages are more complex and additional fees  may be payable.

It is also assumed that the transaction does not involve a new lease, that there is no material delay from third parties and no indemnity policies are required otherwise extra charges could apply.

Re-mortgages and Transfer of Property by Gift

The following anticipated legal charges apply –

• Re-mortgages – our charges are £300 plus VAT of £60 – Total £360
• Transfer by Gift – our charges are £275 plus VAT of £55 – Total £330
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Other costs and Expenses

In addition to the above charges there may also be a number of expenses.

Sale – On the sale of a residential property, provided ownership of the property is registered  at HM Land Registry, there will also be the cost of downloading Official Copy Entries and  possibly other Land Registry documents, depending on whether the property is subject to  covenants or a lease (if the Seller does not have these available). As a minimum, we would expect to have to obtain Official Copy Entries and Title Plan at a cost of £6 + VAT of £1.20 per title. Where it is necessary to discharge a mortgage or the Seller requires the proceeds of sale to be paid by way of a Bank Transfer to them, there will be a Bank Transfer fee to pay totalling £29.17 plus VAT of 5.83 for each transfer. There will also be a case  management fee £21.90 plus VAT of £4.38 and an Identity Check of £1.67 plus VAT of 33p per person, which is carried out under the Money Laundering Regulations. In addition, if the property is leasehold, a management pack may be required from the freeholder or the management company. Their fees can range between £200 - £500 (plus VAT as appropriate).

Purchase – On the purchase of a residential property, the expenses will depend to an extent on where the property is located and whether the Buyer receives a mortgage. If mortgage finance is required, a Buyer will be expected to carry out a full range of standard pre-contract searches, the cost of which will depend on the location of the property. As a guide, the cost of pre-contract searches at the present time may total approximately £250 (including VAT).

As regards a purchase transaction, there will be a Bank Transfer fee for transferring funds to the Seller’s Solicitors on completion totalling £29.17 plus VAT of £5.83. The will also be a  case management fee of £27.38 plus VAT of £5.48, an ID Check of £1.67 plus VAT of 33p per person and a Land Registry fee. The following is a link to the Land Registry’s website and in particular, onto the calculator which gives details of their fee. These fees do not attract VAT.

http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html

If the property to be purchased is leasehold, there will be other anticipated disbursements: -

Notice of transfer fee to the Freeholder/Management Company. Often the fee is between £3 - £125 (plus VAT as appropriate).

• Notice of charge fee to the Freeholder/Management Company (if the property is to be mortgaged). Often it is between £3 - £125 (plus VAT as appropriate).
• Deed of Covenant fee payable to a Freeholder/Management Company. It can be between £150 - £500 (plus VAT as appropriate).
• Certificate of Compliance fee payable to the Freeholder/Management Company. It can range between £100 - £300 (plus VAT as appropriate).

These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

On a leasehold property, you should also 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. An apportionment of the ground rent and/or service charge may be expected to be paid on completion by the Buyer for any ground rent and/or service charge which has been paid by the Seller in advance.

Stamp Duty Land Tax may also be payable. The following is a link to the Government online calculator so that potential buyers can work out how much stamp duty they will be liable to pay.

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro

Remortgages and Deeds of Gift

As regards re-mortgages and transfers of property by gift, there will also be fees for the cost of Official Copy Entries from the Land Registry and other applicable Land Registry documents such as copy Leases/Deeds (if these are not available), and also Land Registry Registration fees, the amount of which will depend on the value of the property being transferred.

Finally, on all transactions it will be necessary to obtain identification evidence for anyone on whose behalf we act and in respect of any persons contributing towards the purchase of any property and it will also be necessary to carry out online identification checks. The cost of each ID check is £1.67 plus VAT of 33p.

As to how long your house sale/purchase will take depends on a number of factors including persons in the chain and their circumstances. The average process takes between 6-12 weeks. Re-mortgages can be done quicker because only the Lender and Buyer are involved in the process. These can take up to 3-4 weeks to complete.

Estate Administration

Probate

We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf. We will also undertake the collecting and distributing of assets. Our Mr Foley who is the principal and Solicitor (with over 25 years of probate experience) will act for you. Our firm does not charge for initial interviews should you wish to discuss the estate of a deceased.

Uncontested Probate Work

How much does this service cost?

We anticipate this will take between 15 and 25 hours work at £185.00 per hour. Total costs estimated at £1,900 - £5,000 + VAT of £380 - £1,000 = £2,280 - £6,000.

The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, i there is one beneficiary and no property, costs will be at the lower end of the range. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end.

We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for estates where:

• There is a valid will
• There is no more than one property
• There are no more than four bank or building society accounts
• There are no other intangible assets
• There are two-four beneficiaries
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
• There is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full  account to HMRC
• There are no claims made against the estate

Disbursements:

• Probate court fee (including office copies) of £161.00 (no VAT payable)
• Bankruptcy search – Land Charges Department searches (£2 + VAT 40p – total £2.40 per beneficiary).
• Post in The London Gazette £73.20 (approx. and including VAT) – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
• Post in a Local Newspaper £120.00 (approx. and including VAT) – This also helps to protect against unexpected claims.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

As part of our fee we will:

• Have an experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter.
• Identify the legally appointed Executors or Administrators and Beneficiaries.
• Accurately identify the type of Probate application you will require.
• Obtain the relevant documents required to make the application.
• Complete the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms.
• Make the application to the Probate Registry.
• Collect and distribute all assets in the estate.
• Provide you with a final Statement of Account.

On average, estates that fall within this range area are dealt with currently within 6-9 months. Typically, obtaining the Grant of Probate can take 12 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 3-6 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 2-3 weeks.

Exceptions to the average range as to which a bespoke estimate/quote will be provide:-

• If Inheritance Tax is payable.
• The preparation of a full HMRC account in respect of the estate.
• If it considered that significant time will be needed to be spent on the collection and sale of specific assets, including a property.
• The complexity of the assets held in the estate, for example if the deceased owned a business.
• If there are problems about the validity of any Will.
• If there are disputes between beneficiaries.
• If potential claims have been made or are pending against the estate.
• If there are problems identifying and locating Beneficiaries.
• If the Will being administered has a greater degree of complexity.

Dealing with the sale or purchase of any property is not included.