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All matters are dealt with by one of the Partners with the assistance of highly experienced support staff. 

Sale and Purchase of Residential Property  : Our Guidelines

 

The work involved

The work  involved in the sale of a residential property will vary according to the circumstances. However, aspects common to most are these :

 

Legal fees  

The information contained within these pages is intended as a guide only. The cost of legal advice and representation can vary dramatically based on a number of factors to including (but not limited to) the complexity of your matter, changes in the scope of the work, unforeseen issues and how other parties involved respond. At the beginning of your matter we will assess your case and provide you with the best possible costs information at that stage.

Our standard fee is £1,850 exclusive of VAT

For high value properties (value in excess of £750,000) fees are 0.5% of price

Other fees and disbursements (over which we have no control)

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as the Land Registry .  We pay those on your behalf to ensure a smoother process and seek at the onset of the transaction a £150 payment on account (to be credited against your bill on completion) to enable us to do so.

 

How long will my sale take?

How long it will take from you accepting an offer until the sale is completed will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8-12 weeks. It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain and the complexity of your sale.

 

Stages of the process

The work  involved in the purchase  of a residential property will vary according to the circumstances. However, aspects common to most are these :

 

Legal Fees

Our fees cover all work required to complete the purchase of the property, including the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) and registration of your title at Land Registry.

Fees vary depending on the value of the property involved.  Our standard fee is £1,850 plus VAT and disbursements  For illustrative purposes only we have provided an approximate cost based on a property value of £750,000.  On properties with value in excess of £750,000 our fees are 0.5% of the property price.

•            Legal fee  : £1,850 

•            Completion of Land Transaction Return for  SDLT purposes :  £100

•            Completion of Land Registry application and submission through portal : £100

 

Other fees and disbursements (over which we have no control)

•            Local Authority & other necessary searches ; typically £500 - £600

•            Land Registry fees on registration  : typically £270

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees and Land Registry fees. We pay those on your behalf to ensure a smoother process and seek at the onset of the transaction a £600 payment on account (to be credited against your bill on completion) to enable us to do so.

NB Fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you a more accurate figure once we have sight of the transaction documents.

 

Administration of Estates

 

Administering an estate when someone dies can be a daunting task. There may be a variety of assets to deal with, for example, business assets, real estate or foreign property. There may also be inheritance tax to pay and potentially HMRC enquiries to address.

If you are appointed as an executor of an estate then we can assist with the administration process from start to finish. We have a depth of experience and knowledge in dealing with estates, particularly those of a complex nature, with sensitivity and professionalism.

Key stages of the work

We deal with a range of different estates.  However, we would typically expect the scope of our work to involve some or all of (but not limited to) the following:

Exclusions

We would not ordinarily deal with the following tasks. 

We are able to provide expert advice in relation to post-death tax planning, including deeds of variation, but this would be in addition to the services we provide in dealing with the administration of an estate.

Cost Options 

Hourly Rates:

Our hourly rate is £300 per hour exclusive of VAT at 20%. 

In appropriate cases we may calculate our fees by reference to the Law Society’s guidelines which are approved by the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court.   This fee structure will be discussed and agreed in advance, if appropriate.

Illustrative costs estimate

The variety of estates that we deal with means that it is very difficult to provide a generic estimate of our costs in dealing with the administration as each estate is different.

However, if we were asked to provide a cost indication using in the case of an uncontested estate with the Executors, beneficiaries and assets located in the UK, a typical fee range for dealing with this type of estate from start to finish could be from between £3,000 to £10,000 plus VAT and disbursements (payments made to 3rd parties on your behalf), depending on the extent of the assets in the estate, the number of beneficiaries to correspond with and the extent to which we would need to liaise with HMRC (and any other complications that may arise that were not apparent at the outset).

We must emphasise that this costs indication is for illustrative purposes only and we would need a significant amount of background information about an estate before we would be able to provide a reliable range of costs.

Usually, there will be disbursements to pay in addition to professional costs and these could include:

How long may your matter take?

How long an estate administration may take will depend on many factors as outlined above. However for illustration purposes only using the example provided above, the time taken may be from 6-12 months.