Residential Sales

Our Fees

The estimated fees we will charge in relation to a residential sale are set out below. These fees are based on the value of the transaction and on the presumption that the transaction proceeds with no unexpected issues arising.

In the event of the transaction being more complex than originally anticipated (eg if there are issues with the title which need to be resolved), we will advise you at that stage of the estimated additional costs involved.

Should the transaction fail to proceed to completion then our firm’s charges for that transaction will be such lesser sum as is reasonable having regard to the amount of work done by that stage in the transaction together with VAT and any payments which have been made to any other organisation on your behalf.

In addition to the above we charge £50.00 plus VAT in respect of all transactions as a payment towards postage and administration costs.

If we are required to make an electronic payment by telegraphic transfer or CHAPS then we will charge £35.00 plus VAT for each payment.

We also charge an administration fee of £30.00 plus VAT in the event of any Land Registry application being required although this is not usually necessary when dealing with a sale.

Other fees

As well as our fees as set out above, there may be other costs payable to other organisations associated with your sale. They may include:

For registered properties

• Office copies of the registered title from the Land Registry - £6.00 per title

• Office copies of documents referred to in the registered title from the Land Registry - £3.00 per document

For unregistered properties

• Land Charges Search - £2 per name

• Search of the Index Map - £4

Our Service

Whilst every transaction is different, the process of selling will usually proceed as follows:

1. Upon receipt of the notification of sale from the selling agents (or receipt of the buyer’s solicitor details from yourselves if there is no agent instructed) we will send you our client care letter and confirmation of our charges together with property information forms to complete.
   We will also issue the initial contract papers to the buyer’s solicitors to include (wherever possible) evidence of your title to the property and the draft Contract.

2. Once you have completed and returned the property information forms to us then we will forward them to the buyer’s solicitors.

3. The buyer’s solicitors will then issue the searches in respect of the property and raise enquiries in relation to the title, the information set out in the property information forms and the search results.

4. Once the buyer’s solicitors have approved the draft Contact and submitted the draft Transfer for our approval we will make arrangements for you to sign the same either by attendance at our office or via post/email.

5. We will liaise with you and the buyer’s solicitors to agree a mutually convenient date for exchange of contracts and completion of the sale.

6. Following completion, we will make arrangements for the transmission of the completion monies to you and provide the buyer’s solicitors with the relevant post-completion documentation.

Exclusions

Please note that we are unable to provide advice in relation to tax upon the sale of residential property. You will need to take advice from an accountant in relation to any taxation issues arising from a sale.

Timescales

It is difficult to provide an accurate estimate as to the time the transaction will take as whilst we will make every effort to progress matters as quickly as possible we are dependent on a number of external factors to include:

• the ability of the buyer’s chain to proceed

• the time taken for the buyer’s searches to be processed

• the number of enquiries raised by the buyer’s solicitors

• the buyer’s mortgage offer being issued

• replies from third parties to enquiries raised during the transaction eg Land Registry, utility providers, the Local Authority

A straightforward transaction with no unanticipated delays or issues will usually take between 10 – 12 weeks but as stated above there are a number of issues which could delay progress. We will keep you updated with the position throughout the transaction and will relay any proposals in respect of exchange and completion to you once they are received.

Residential Purchases

Our Costs

The estimated fees we will charge in relation to a residential purchase are set out below.

These fees are based on the value of the transaction and on the presumption that the transaction proceeds with no unexpected issues arising.

In the event of the transaction being more complex than originally anticipated (eg if there are issues with the title which need to be resolved), we will advise you at that stage of the estimated additional costs involved.

Should the transaction fail to proceed to completion then our firm’s charges for that transaction will be such lesser sum as is reasonable having regard to the amount of work done by that stage in the transaction together with VAT and any payments which have been made to any other organisation on your behalf.

In addition to the above we charge £50.00 plus VAT in respect of all transactions as a payment towards postage and administration costs.

If we are required to make an electronic payment by telegraphic transfer or CHAPS then we will charge £35.00 plus VAT for each payment.

We also charge an administration fee of £30.00 plus VAT in connection with the application to register the Transfer of the property with the Land Registry.

If you are obtaining a mortgage there will also be a mortgage administration fee of £30.00 plus VAT.

If you are purchasing with the assistance of a Help to Buy ISA there will be an additional fee of £50.00 plus VAT in relation to each Bonus Request.

Other fees

As well as our fees as set out above, the following other costs may be payable to other organisations in connection with your purchase. They may include:

Our Service

Whilst every transaction is different, the process of purchasing will usually proceed as follows:

1. Upon receipt of the notification of sale from the selling agents (or receipt of the seller’s solicitor details from yourselves if there is no agent instructed) we will send you our client care letter and confirmation of our charges.We will also contact the seller’s solicitors to request the contract papers.

2. Once we have received evidence of title in relation to the property, the draft Contract and the property information forms from the seller’s solicitors we will report to you upon the same and raise such enquiries as may be appropriate with the seller’s solicitors and approve or request amendments to the draft Contract as appropriate.

3. When we have received the Land Registry or other acceptable plan in respect of the property and you have been able to approve the same we will issue the searches in respect of the property.

4. Upon receipt of the search results we will report to you upon the same and raise such further enquiries as may be appropriate with the seller’s solicitors. We will also provide the seller’s solicitors with the draft Transfer for their approval.

5. Once the seller’s solicitors have dealt with all our enquiries appropriately and approved the draft Transfer we will make arrangements for you to sign the Contract, Transfer, Mortgage Deed, draft Land Transaction Tax/Stamp Duty Land Tax Return (as appropriate) either by attendance at our office or via post/email.

6. We will liaise with you and the seller’s solicitors to agree a mutually convenient date for exchange of contracts and completion of the sale and request from you (and your lender if appropriate) the funds required to complete the purchase.

7. Following completion, we will deal with the Land Transaction Tax and Land Registration requirements and revert to you once these are completed.

Exclusions

We are unable to advise upon the physical condition of the property and you should take advise from a fully qualified surveyor in this regard.

Timescales

It is difficult to provide an accurate estimate as to the time the transaction will take as whilst we will make every effort to progress matters as quickly as possible we are dependent on a number of external factors to include:

• the ability of the seller’s chain to proceed

• the time taken for the searches to be processed

• the number of enquiries which we will need to raise with the buyer’s solicitors and the time taken by them to respond

• your mortgage offer being issued

• replies from third parties to enquiries raised during the transaction eg Land Registry, utility providers, the Local Authority

A straightforward transaction with no unanticipated delays or issues will usually take between 10 – 12 weeks but as stated above there are a number of issues which could delay progress. We will keep you updated with the position throughout the transaction and will relay any proposals in respect of exchange and completion to you once they are received.

Probate Fees

Our Costs

The process of dealing with the administration of an Estate after someone has passed away varies greatly depending on a number of factors to include the value of the estate, the nature of the assets involved, whether any inheritance tax will need to be paid, whether there are any reliefs which can be claimed such as Agricultural Property Relief or Business Property Relief, the number of beneficiaries, whether the deceased made a Will or died intestate (without a Will).

It is therefore difficult to estimate how many hours of work will be necessary to complete a matter however following the initial meeting and discussions regarding the estate, you will be given an estimate of our fees and we will then advise you if it becomes apparent that we will have to spend substantially more time than usual in matters of this nature.

Our charge rate is £215.00 per hour plus VAT. In addition to our hourly rate, our charges will also contain an element based on the value of the estate. This is because the value is a reflection of the importance of the matter and, consequently, the responsibility on the firm.

We can charge up to 1% of the gross value of the estate (excluding any residence in which the deceased resided where the rate will be ½%). This means that if the cash element of the Estate amounts to £50,000 then we will charge £500 in costs and if the residence is worth £100,000 then we will charge £500 in costs.

In cases where we have been appointed to act as the Executors of the deceased’s estate, please note that we will charge 1.5% of the gross value of the estate (excluding the deceased’s residence where the rate will be 0.75%).

The above costs provide a guide of our maximum % charge however the overall fee charged will take in to account the estate and its complexities and this will be taken into account when the initial estimate of our costs is provided.

Please feel free to contact us should you require an initial quotation for dealing with an estate.

We are also able to provide a quotation should you wish for us to deal with the application for the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration only and this will be charged on a fixed fee basis (calculated at the hourly rate of £215 plus VAT per hour).

Other fees

As well as our fees as set out above, there may be other costs payable to other organisations associated with the estate. They may include:

Our Service

1. We will firstly require a copy of the deceased’s death certificate and original will (if not held by us already). It will then be necessary to gather details of the assets and liabilities relating to the estate from the deceased’s papers and records. We will need to contact banks, building societies, pension providers, the Local Authority, DWP and HMRC at this stage. At this stage it will also be necessary to obtain valuations in respect of any residential or commercial property comprised within the Estate

2. Once we have been able to ascertain the value of the estate it will be possible for us to prepare the relevant inheritance tax return (whether or not any inheritance tax is due).

3. We will then submit the probate application to the Probate Registry.

4. Once Probate has been granted it will be possible to collect in the assets of the deceased and discharge the liabilities.

5. An Estate Account will then be prepared and once the same has been approved by the Executors the Estate can be distributed in accordance with the terms of the Will or the rules of intestacy as appropriate.

Exclusions

If any residential or commercial property is comprised within the Estate, then the costs of transferring or selling such property will not be included in the estimate provided to you at the outset. Once we are in a position to transfer any such property to the relevant beneficiary or market the property for sale we shall provide you with a separate estimate in relation to such transaction.

Please also note that our estimated costs do not apply if the estate is contested in any way or should a claim be made against the estate pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975. In such circumstances, a separate quotation will be provided in respect of dealing with the matter.

If an Estate is to be varied by way of a Deed of Variation or Deed of Disclaimer then we will provide a separate quotation in respect of our costs for providing advice and dealing with the preparation of the relevant deed.

Timescales

It is difficult to provide an accurate estimate as to the time it will take to administer the Estate as whilst we will make every effort to progress matters as quickly as possible this will depend upon the complexity of the Estate and we are dependent on a number of external factors to include:

• being provided with full details in respect of the assets and liabilities of the deceased from pension providers, the Local Authority, DWP, HMRC etc

• the time taken by the Probate Registry to issue the Grant of Probate

• obtaining the Inheritance Tax Clearance Certificate/Letter from HMRC

A straightforward Estate with no unanticipated delays or issues will usually take no more than 6 months to administer but as stated above there are a number of issues which could delay progress.

We will however keep you updated with the position throughout.