Over £700,000                               We operate on a benchmark of 0.25% of the sale price (plus VAT @ 20%) depending upon the complexity of the transaction. Please contact us for a detailed quotation which will reflect the particulars of your specific transaction.

Purchase

Purchase price                                  Legal fee

Up to £200,000                                £1,050 (£1,260 including VAT)

£200,001 to £300,000                      £1,075 (£1,290 including VAT)

£300,001 to £400,000                      £1,250 (£1,500 including VAT)

£400,001 to £550,000                      £1,350 (£1,620 including VAT)

£550,001 to £700,000                      £1,600 (£1,920 including VAT)

Over £700,000                                We operate on a benchmark of 0.25% of the purchase price (plus VAT @ 20%) depending upon the complexity of the transaction. Please contact us for a detailed quotation which will reflect the particulars of your transaction.

If you proceed with the assistance of mortgage finance to be secured against this property and we are subsequently instructed to act for your mortgage company,  there will be an additional fee of £300.00 (£360 including VAT), for each mortgage or loan (including Help to Buy loans), due to the extra amount of work that will be involved.

Leasehold – if the transaction involves leasehold title we will charge an additional legal fee of £500 (£600 including VAT) in light of the extra amount of time that will need to be spent on the transaction.

Remortgage or mortgage transactions – if the transaction is a remortgage only with no transfer of the title then the minimum legal fee will be £1,000 (£1,200 including VAT) plus conveyancing search fees if these are required by the mortgage company.

While acting for you in the mortgage or remortgage of your property, we will carry out the following work:

• Receiving the Deeds of the property from you or your mortgagee, and checking them and any other relevant papers.
• Obtaining Land Registry official copies and checking them.
• All related correspondence and telephone calls, faxes and emails.
• Making Local and H M Land Registry Searches and if instructed by you or your Lenders Mining, Water and Drainage and Environmental Searches, and checking all the replies.
• Complying with the terms and conditions attached to your Mortgage Offer and explaining these to you.
• Applying for a redemption statement from any existing lender(s) and sending to such lender(s) the amount required to pay off their mortgage.
• Completing the Mortgage and receiving the advance monies via the banking system.
• Preparing our statement of account and sending you any monies due to you, if in the case of a remortgage, the amount that you are borrowing exceeds that required to pay off any existing mortgage(s).
• On the mortgage of a leasehold flat, obtaining up to date information from the Landlord or Management Company about the Service Charges, the need for repairs on the building, rent receipts, etc., if you are not able to supply this information.

The total charges will include specific costs and payments, other than for time spent.

We reserve the right to charge extra for drafting and preparing additional items which may only become apparent as the transaction progresses, such as: TP1 Transfer of Part, Declaration of Trust, Deed of Covenant, Statutory Declaration, Statement of Truth, organising Indemnity Insurance quotations and policies with third party indemnity insurance providers. The approximate additional legal fees for attending to each of these matters would be estimated at £250 (£300 including VAT) for each document or policy, depending on the complexity and time spent.

Unavoidable disbursements –  you will have to reimburse the firm for these payments made on your behalf. These may include (and are subject to vary especially if additional searches need to be commissioned such as a china clay mining search in addition to a metalliferous mining search, as well as the fact that this is not an exhaustive list):

a) HM Land Registry FR1/AP1 application fee

£20.00 – £1,150 (this will depend on the purchase price, whether or not the title is registered or unregistered and whether or not scale 1 or scale 2 of the HM Land Registry fees apply but is likely to be between £20 to £1,150)

b) Full Council Local Authority search fee (ex VAT)

£255.00 (£306 including VAT) . This will depend on the individual local authority and county in which the property is located but is likely to be at least £255.00 plus VAT)

c) HMRC Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

Your SDLT liability will depend upon your individual circumstances including whether or not any reliefs apply such as first time buyer’s relief and, for example, whether or not your purchase is a linked transaction. You may wish to liaise direct with HM Revenue and Customs and your accountant or tax adviser in more complex cases. In more straightforward cases you can calculate your SDLT liability by visiting HMRC’s website: Stamp Duty Land Tax: Residential property rates – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

d) Lloyds Bank & Hine Downing Administration CHAPS Telegraphic Transfer fees (ex VAT) amount to £12.50 Bank CHAPS fee plus £30.00 Hine Downing administration fee making a total of £42.50 (£51.00 including VAT) for each CHAPS transfer. We reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £24.00 (£20.00 plus £4.00 VAT) for each BACS transfer.

e) Metalliferous Mining Activity search fee                       £75.00 (£90.00 including VAT)

f) Water and Drainage search fee                                        £51.25 (£61.50 including VAT)

g) Property Search Group administration charge           £29.99 (£35.99 including VAT)

h) Homecheck Pro Environmental Report                       £66.00 (£79.20 including VAT)

i) Chancel Check search fee                                                 £23.00 (£27.60 including VAT)

j) Property Search Group copy production fee               £10.50 (£12.60 including VAT)

k) SDLT.co.uk Electronic Submission Fee                      £10.00 (£12.00 including VAT)

l) HM Land Charges search fees                                       £2.00 per name (£2.40 including VAT)

m) Anti-money laundering search fee each                    £5.00 (£6.00 including VAT)

n) HM Land Registry index map search fee                   £5.00

o) HM Land Registry office copy entries                        £3.00 (£3.60 including VAT) for title plan plus £3.00  (£3.60) for each document

p) Flood Report fee                                                             £44.10 (£52.92 including VAT)

q) HM Land Registry OS1/2 fees                                     £3.00 (£3.60 including VAT) per title

The standard rate of VAT is currently 20%.

Probate, Wills and Trusts

For the administration of a simple estate we would anticipate spending approximately 12 hours in dealing with matters at between £230.00 and £330.00 per hour (£276 and £396 including VAT). Therefore, the overall costs (excluding disbursements) are likely to be between £2,760.00 and £3,960.00 (£3,312 and £4,752 including VAT).

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

This quote is for estates where:

1. There is a valid UK Will.
2. There is no more than one property.
3. There are no more than three bank or building society accounts.
4. There are no other intangible assets, such as Stocks or Shares.
5. There are between one and five beneficiaries.
6. There are no disputes between beneficiaries or claims against the estate.
7. The estate is not subject to Inheritance Tax.
8. No Inheritance Tax Return is required to be prepared and sent to HM Revenue and Customs.
9. In addition to our fees and VAT the following disbursements may be incurred:

• Probate court fee – standard fee of £273.00 in most cases.
• Office copies of the grant – £1.50 per copy as required.
• Valuer’s fees – as and if necessary.
• Anti-money laundering search fee (if required) £5.00 plus VAT (each name).
• Lodging statutory notices under section 27 Trustee Act 1925. This protects you in your role as Executor or Administrator from claims from unknown creditors. These costs vary depending on the publication, but are strongly advised in most circumstances.

If the estate is more complex than outlined above then additional costs may be incurred, particularly where:

• There is no valid Will.
• The Estate is of high value or specific complexity.
• There is more than one property.
• There are more than three bank or building society accounts.
• The deceased held shares and investments.
• The deceased held an interest in a business.
• There are substantial lifetime gifts.
• An Inheritance Tax Account is required to be sent to HM Revenue and Customs.
• The estate is liable to Inheritance Tax.
• The deceased was a beneficiary of a trust.
• There are disputes as to the validity of the Will, or between the beneficiaries or claims made against the estate.
• We are asked to finalise the deceased’s Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax position to the date of death and/or during the period of administration.In the normal course Executors or Personal Representatives are expected to complete the administration within twelve months from the date of death which period is known as the “Executors Year”. Our aim is to complete the matter as soon as possible, and well within that, with an anticipated timescale of 3 to 6 months for a straightforward estate.  We shall strive to complete the administration well within that period and will be able to give you a more accurate indication and estimate of the likely timescale after the issue of the grant of probate should you request us to do so. Factors, such as the sale of property comprised within the estate, are outside our control and may affect the time required to complete the administration. Similarly, should claims against the estate arise, delays are likely to occur before the distribution of the estate. Should the administration appear to us likely to become protracted we will so advise you.
• In addition to the above, if we are asked to assist you with the sale or transfer of the deceased’s property then our Conveyancing Team would be pleased to give you a separate costs estimate.

Our charges for the administration of more complex estates will be based primarily on our hourly rates which range from £230 – £330 per hour (£276 – £396 including VAT), but may also include a value element charged at up to 0.5% of the overall value of the estate (0.6% including VAT). We will set out the basis of our charges in relation to such estates in our client engagement letter at the outset of the administration.

Employment Law

We act for businesses defending Employment Tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal. In relation to these services, our charges as required by the SRA Transparency Rules are set out below:

The cost of us advising and representing you in a claim before the Tribunal are priced on our hourly rates currently £310 (£372 including VAT) for Angelo Micciche, a solicitor with over 24 years of experience.

For the following types of case the total costs comprising our fees and disbursements (referred to below) would generally range as follows:

Simple case: £5,500 – £11,000 (£6,600 – £13,200 including VAT)

Medium complexity case: £11,000 – £22,000 (£13,200 – £26,400 including VAT)

High complexity case: £22,000 – £33,000 (£26,400 – £39,600 including VAT)

These are estimates only and we can provide more specific pricing advice once we have further information about your personal circumstances.

If a final hearing is attended then advocacy will be provided by a Barrister. Generally we would allow 1-10 days depending on the complexity of your case.

We charge £400 (£480 including VAT) to advise on a settlement agreement, although normally the employer contributes towards this sum.

DISBURSEMENTS

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties.  An example is Barrister’s fees, however the Tribunal does not levy a fee.

Barrister’s fees for attending a Final Hearing generally vary between £1,500 to £3,000 (£1,800 – £3,600 including VAT) per day depending on their experience. We also use Barristers for Preliminary Hearings.