Fees

Our fixed fees

Our fixed fees cover the work necessary to complete the purchase or sale of your home, and includes dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

 Our fee assumes:

1. this is a standard transaction and no unforeseen matters arise such as but not limited to a defect in title which requires further work to rectify before completion or the preparation of additional documents in addition and connected to the main transaction

2. an assignment of an existing lease and not the grant of a new lease

3. the transaction concludes within the expected timescales and there are no unforeseen complications

4. all parties to the transaction are co-operative and no unreasonable delay is occasioned by third parties.

5. That you engage fully with the process and provide documentation when required.

6. no indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.

Purchase or Sale of a freehold residential property

The amount that you will need to pay will include our fixed fees, additional fees and disbursements as set out below. 

The disbursements required for a Sale and Purchase differ.  We set out the typical disbursements below and in general terms the disbursements on sale are significant less and no Stamp Duty or Land Registry fee (save for obtaining Land Registry entries) are required.

The disbursements and our additional fees will vary depending on the nature of your transaction whereas our fixed fees will remain the same unless the circumstances set above occur. 

Leasehold:

A supplementary charge of £175.00 plus VAT of £35.00 giving £210.00 in addition to the fixed fees above for Leasehold property.

In addition to the Fixed Fee and if applicable supplementary charge above the following additional charges apply.

Our additional fees

Electronic money transfer fee £35.00 per transaction.

• VAT £7.00

• Subtotal £42.00

Your transaction is likely to incur at least one Electronic money transfer.  If you have a mortgage to discharge an Electronic money transfer will be required. 

If you are a purchaser a further Electronic money transfer will be needed.  The number of Electronic Money transfers will depend on your specific circumstances. 

AML Search (per person)  £11.25

·       Vat of £2.25

·       Sub total £13.50

Disbursements

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. We set out below the likely disbursements being the Typical disbursements, Land Registry fee and Stamp Duty Land Tax.  The figures provided are for illustration purposes as these fees vary.  You are able to calculate the Land Registry Fee and Stamp Duty payable using the hyperlinks provided.

Disbursements vary according to your transaction but we set out below typical disbursements

a)     Typical disbursements

Purchase

• Index Map Search fee                                      £4.00

• Bankruptcy search                                            £2.00 per name

• Search with priority                                         £3.00 per title number

• Local Authority Search Approx.                      £215

• Drainage and Water Search Approx.                £105

• Environmental Search Approx.                       £90

• Chancel Search Approx.                                  £27.60

• Depending on where the property you are purchasing is there may be additional searches to be carried out

       Sale

·       Land Registry Office Copies                            £6.00 - £15.00

b)     Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This 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.

Main residential tax rates (although these may be subject to change)

Transactions with an effective date on or after 10 October 2022

Price threshold                                                                                   LTT rate

The portion up to and including £225,000                                           0%

The portion over £225,000 up to and including £400,000        6%

The portion over £400,000 up to and including £750,000        7.5%

The portion over £750,000 up to and including £1,500,000     10%

The portion over £1,500,000                                                    12%

Higher residential tax rates

Transactions with an effective date on or after 22 December 2020 

Price threshold                                                                         LTT rate

The portion up to and including £180,000                                           4%

The portion over £180,000 up to and including £250,000        7.5%

The portion over £250,000 up to and including £400,000        9%

The portion over £400,000 up to and including £750,000        11.5%

The portion over £750,000 up to and including £1,500,000     14%

The portion over £1,500,000                                                    16%

c)     Land Registry Fee  (on purchase)

The amount to be paid depends on the purchase price and whether the property is registered or unregistered. The fee can range from £20 to £1,105. Further information can be found on the HMLR website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees

d)     Possible additional disbursements depending on your transaction in leasehold matters.

• Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50.00 - £150.00

• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50.00 - £150.00

• Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £50.00 - £150.00

• Certificate of Compliance fee - To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £50.00 - £150.00

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.

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of leasehold property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house 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. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 12 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 5 months. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

• 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 enquiries of seller's solicitor

• Give you advice on all documents and information received

• Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you

• Send final contract to you for signature

• 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

• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Example:   Purchase of a residential property for £300,000

Conveyancer's fees

• Legal fee £850.00 plus VAT = £1,020.00

• Electronic money transfer fee £35.00 plus VAT = £42.00

• Subtotal £1,062.00

Disbursements

Estimated total: £832.60

Stamp Duty Land Tax

This 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.

Stamp duty payable:     £4,500.00

Grand total for the worked example  £6,394.60

Progress of your transaction

The precise stages involved in transactions vary according to the circumstances. However, these are some key stages that are likely to take place:

• 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 enquiries of seller's solicitor

• Give you advice on all documents and information received

• Go through conditions of mortgage offer

• Send final contract to you for signature

• Draft Transfer

• Advise you on joint ownership

• 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

• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry 

Pricing

The fees involved in a probate matter can vary and this will depend on the individual circumstances involved.

The costs will depend on whether or not there is a valid Will and the composition of the Estate and the ability to both identify beneficiaries and assets. 

For illustrative purpose we set out our likely fees

Example estate 1 – basic estate

• 1 property

• 2-3 bank accounts

• Valid will

• No liabilities

• 4 beneficiaries

• Estate value £180,000

We would anticipate fees of around £2,500 -£3,000 plus VAT of £500-£600 giving £3,000 to £3600.

Example estate 2 – estate

• 1 property

• More than 2-3 bank accounts

• Valid will

• 4 beneficiaries / personal representatives

• Estate value £250,000

We would anticipate fees of around £3500 + VAT of £700 giving £4200

Example estate 3 – more complex estate

• 1 property

• 8 bank / financial institution accounts

• No will (intestate)

• 4 beneficiaries

• Estate value £730,000

We would anticipate our fee of around  £10,000 (+VAT and disbursements)

Our Conveyancing Department will be pleased to deal with the sale of property for which separate fees apply.  If it is the sale of a property then we would refer you to our pricing in relation to conveyancing work. 

In addition to our costs above there are additional costs.

Our additional costs

Electronic money transfer fee £35.00 per transaction.

• VAT £7.00

• Subtotal £42.00. 

AML Search (per person)  £11.25

·       Vat of £2.25

·       Sub total £13.50

Disbursements

These are costs associated with the administration of an estate and payable to third parties.  We have set out above some of the usual disbursements but there may be additional liabilities depending on the nature of the Estate.

 a)     Inheritance Tax

This will be paid in addition to the costs set out and will be determined by the size of the Estate and composition of the Estate. 

Please use the hyperlink below which will help you determine whether inheritance tax is payable on the estate and the amount.  Whilst we will be able to provide you with a provisional view as to whether inheritance tax will be payable we will only be able to provide a definitive answer once we have fully accurate values for all assets and liabilities of the Estate.

HMRC tools and calculators - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

b)    Other Costs

There are potentially other costs associated with the administration.  This may include property clearances, costs of sale of shares and relevant insurances relating to the administration and properties.

Share Registration Fees

If the Estate comprises shares, disbursements may be incurred in relation to the sale of those shares and the need to obtain replacement share certificates if all original share certificates cannot be located.

Please note that we generally instruct share agents to sell shares on our behalf, who will raise a fee for doing so. The cost of our share agents depends on the number of shareholdings and the value of those share holdings.

Re-Sealing Charges

If an estate comprises foreign assets there may be a need to re-seal the Grant of Probate in the country in which those assets are held.

Potential Additional Costs

If the estate involves the creation or winding up of a trust, or a change of Trustees, this will incur additional charges and we will have a discussion with you about these additional costs and your options once the circumstances of the trust have been investigated.

Time Scales

On average, probate for the typical estate not subject to inheritance tax usually takes between 3 – 12 months.  Please be aware that once an application is made for Probate there have been significant delays at the Probate registry.  An estate’s administration may also be delayed by the sale of any properties.  The Registration of properties with the Land Registry can also take a significant period of time due to delays at the Land Registry. 

If an estate is subject to inheritance tax, we would estimate that the process is likely to take between 12 and 24 months.

Please also be aware that in the event of a potential dispute in terms of the distribution of the Estate we may have to advise you to delay distributing the Estate until either the proceedings have been resolved or relevant limitation dates have passed.

Exclusions

The following are not included in our costs estimate:

The cost of selling a property comprised in the estate

The cost of registering a Trust created by a Will, with HMRC

The cost of completion of income tax returns

Completion of any Capital Gains Tax submissions

The cost of resealing a Grant of Probate in a foreign jurisdiction

If the need arises, we can provide with details of our costs for undertaking the above work.

Third Party Services

Additional services that will require the assistance of a third party at additional cost include:

Specialist tax  and accountancy advice

Valuations for property, investments or other assets

Property Clearance

Certain services involving foreign assets

Selling/Transferring of Shares

Agents instructed to reseal a Grant of Probate in a foreign jurisdiction

Some of questions answered

What is Probate?

Probate is the process of proving that a will is valid and confirming who has authority to deal (administer) the estate of the person who has died.

Before executor named in the will can deal with any of the deceased's assets they may have to apply for a grant of probate.

If there is no Will then an application can be made for a Grant of Administration and a Grant of Administration is similar to that of a Grant of Probate.

Do you need a Grant of Probate or Grant of Administration?

 This depends entirely on the nature of the Estate and the circumstances surround it. 

Generally if the only assets are a bank account with less than £15,000 (the amount varies and depends on the bank or financial institution concerned) the Bank may be prepared to release the funds to you upon you signing and declaration.

If there is a property that does not automatically transfer to the surviving co-owner then you will need a grant of probate.

 What is the process?

The probate process often involves a specific stages.

1: Identifying all of assets liabilities (debts ranging from loans to utility bills), to work out the value of the estate.

Identifying the beneficiaries either through the Will or by way of intestacy.

This steps usually takes around 6-8 weeks depending on how prompt organisations respond to request for information.  This steps may also be delayed if there is a need for a valuation.

2: Paying Inheritance Tax to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) where applicable and submitting the Inheritance Tax return.

Then applying to the Probate Registry for the grant of representation.

The Probate registry does take around 16 weeks or longer to provide a grant.

3: Once there is a grant the process of collecting in the assets, paying any debts and selling property and other assets take place.  It may also be necessary to account to HMRC for any further Inheritance Tax, Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax due to or from the estate.

4: Preparing estate accounts setting out what has been gathered in, paid and setting out the distribution. Once the Estate Accounts are approved then assets can be transferred distributed provided there are no further complicating factors.