RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCING
Who will be dealing with your case?
Our property team are experienced in delivering a high quality, personal service in all matters relating to residential property transactions. The team is made up of the Department Head and Managing Member of the firm, Roland Gibbins, who has over 40 years’ experience in conveyancing. Roland supervises Khalid Salim a Solicitor, Sarah Powell a Conveyancing Executive as well as Jean Fraser, Helen Phillips, Deborah Rouse and Sandra Jordan, who provide secretarial and administrative support. Click on Roland name to find out more about his experience and career to date.
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- Purchases and Sales* (excluding right to buy purchases)
SELLING PRICE TO BUYING Standard Standard £ £ £ 1010.00 100,000 1100.00 1060.00 150,000 1150.00 1110.00 200,000 1200.00 1160.00 250,000 1250.00 1210.00 300,000 1300.00 1260.00 350,000 1350.00 1310.00 400,000 1400.00 1360.00 450,000 1450.00 1410.00 500,000 1500.00 1460.00 600,000 1550.00 1510.00 700,000 1600.00 1560.00 800,000 1650.00 1610.00 900,000 1700.00 1660.00 1,000,000 1750.00 POA Above £1m POA
NOTES RE SALE
Likely Disbursements in relation to a Sale:-
Office Copy Register Entries: £6.00 per set
Office Copy Documents: £3.00 each
Telegraphic Transfer Fee: £19.20 per Transfer (inc Vat) - LEASEHOLD FLATS
When selling a Leasehold Flat, extra work is incurred including dealing with managing agents for which an additional charge of £75.00 plus VAT is made.
NOTES RE PURCHASE
Likely Disbursements in relation to a Purchase:-
Telegraphic Transfer Fee: £19.20 Transfer (inc VAT)
Local, Drainage, Environmental, Flood and Chancel Searches: Price applicable at time of application
Land Registry Search: £3.00 per title number.
Bankruptcy Search: £2.00 per name
Land Registry Fee: graded on purchase price ranging between £20 and £655 for purchases up to £1million
Stamp Duty Land Tax: At current rates with 3% additional for second properties - LEASEHOLD FLATS
When buying a Leasehold Flat, extra work is incurred in checking information relating to service charges, insurance and other details for which an additional charge of £100.00 plus VAT is made
- Purchases and Sales* (excluding right to buy purchases)
- NEW BUILD PROPERTIES
When buying a new build property, there is a large amount of additional paperwork to be checked and verified for which an additional charge of £100 plus VAT is made.
- HELP TO BUY SCHEME AND HELP TO BUY ISAS
A large amount of additional work is involved for purchases using the Help to Buy Scheme for which an additional charge of £150.00 plus VAT is madeFor Help to Buy ISAs only the additional charge is £50.00 plus VAT per ISA
- Other residential property transactions
See prices quoted in the chart above plus any leasehold supplement.Transaction Price Shared Ownership (i.e. when a property is owned by the client and a housing association in differing shares) See prices quoted in the chart above, plus any leasehold supplement Freehold purchase/lease extension 685 plus VAT Remortgage/mortgage only 650 plus VAT Transfer of equity (not subject to mortgage) 650 plus VAT Transfer of equity (subject to mortgage) 700 plus VAT Right to buy purchase 685 plus VAT
What’s included in the price?
The basics of a residential property transaction are set out in the information included in our “Services” tab. Click on this link to access it.
Timescales
If you are buying a property that’s part of a chain, it can take a while to complete the process. Most conveyancers would probably agree that “you can only go as fast as the slowest person in the chain!” A straightforward sale and purchase, with no unforeseen problems should take around 4 – 6 weeks to complete. If you are under particular time pressure to complete, let our team know and we’ll do what we can to help.
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NON CONTENTIOUS PROBATE
Who will be dealing with your case?
Our non-contentious probate department is headed by Roland Gibbins. They are supported by Laura’s assistant, Lisa Roots. Roland has extensive experience of dealing with non-contentious probate cases, ranging from the most simple estates to ones involving multiple, international assets. Click on Roland’s name for more information on his experience and career to date.
How much will it cost?
We charge our non-contentious probate work on an hourly rate basis. Our fees are outlined in the table below:
| Member of Staff | Hourly Rate | Letters, emails and other communications received | Letters, emails and other communications sent by us for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roland Gibbins | £285.00 | £14.00 | £28.00 |
The prices quoted in the table above are exclusive of VAT and disbursements. A disbursement is an expense that we must incur in order to progress your case. For example, in the case of a non-contentious probate matter, a court fee would be a disbursement.
We always aim to conduct your case in the most cost effective manner possible. However, the types of thing that may lead to an increase in your costs are:
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- Estates comprising multiple assets;
- Estates which involve foreign assets;
- Insolvent estates;
- Estates which are subject to Inheritance Tax;
- Estates which require consideration of other tax issues.
We are able to provide estimates on request. In order to do this, we’ll need some basic details about the assets and liabilities of the deceased’s estate.
What’s included in the cost?
As part of the process of applying for a Grant of Probate, we will:
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- Meet with the executors or administrators to talk to them about the deceased’s assets and liabilities;
- Gather in further details of those assets and liabilities. For example, write to the deceased’s bank to find out the balance of any accounts held on the date of death;
- Prepare the necessary probate forms and draft the Oath that must be sworn by the executors/administrators;
- Send the probate application to Court;
- Gather in the assets of the estate and pay off any debts belonging to the deceased;
- Liaise with HMRC if there is any Inheritance Tax to pay, and in relation to income tax issues;
- Distribute the estate to beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of the deceased’s will or, if there is no will, according to intestacy laws.
Things that we do not budget for when providing a quote for a non-contentious probate matter include:
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- Preparing deeds of variation (if the beneficiaries of a will want to vary how the estate is distributed) and renunciations (if an executor decides they do not want to act); and
- The cost of selling a property belonging to the deceased. Our residential conveyancing costs are set out above.
Timescales
It is very difficult to give an estimated timescale in relation to obtaining a Grant of Probate. The amount of time it takes can be affected by the number of assets and liabilities making up the estate and the complexity of those assets and liabilities. We are also dependent on other organisations for much of the information we need, such as banks, building societies and pension providers.
You should expect your case to take around six months from start to finish. We always endeavour to provide an efficient service. If we can deal with matters more quickly, we will.
DEBT RECOVERY
Who will be dealing with your case?
Our debt recovery work is conducted by Peter Day. Peter has been a qualified Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives since 1978 and has a vast amount of experience in all types of commercial litigation. Peter also conducts advocacy work.
How much will it cost?
We do not offer fixed fee work for debt recovery cases. Your case will be charged according to Peter’s hourly rate, which is currently £250 plus VAT. This does not include possible disbursements that we may have to incur. The most likely disbursement in a debt recovery case is Court fees. A complete list of current Court fees can be found at https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees. Court fees do not attract VAT.
Disbursements in debt recovery cases are not limited to Court fees. For example, we may have to request official copies from the Land Registry, or carry out company searches. These types of disbursements cab vary between £3 – £30 per search.
What’s included in the cost?
A typical debt recovery claim will involve us:
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- Preparing a letter before action to send to the debtor, setting out the claim;
- A company search, if appropriate;
- Gleaning information on whether a debtor is worth suing;
- Interest and penalty calculations;
- Preparing a claim form, issuing it with the Court and serving it on your opponent;
- Preparing a defence, admission or counterclaim if necessary.
Timescales
The length of time it takes to deal with a debt recovery claim, from start to finish, can vary greatly and will depend on, amongst other things, the complexity of the evidence involved and the willingness of parties to negotiate. You should prepare yourself for your case to take at least 6 months to resolve. We will be able to give you a more accurate time estimate after your first appointment, when we have more information on your case.
Prices quoted are correct as at August 2021 but VAT and any disbursements will be at the current rate payable at the time of completion/application. VAT is currently charged at 20%
