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, a Conveyancing Executive as well as 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.

Purchases and Sales* (excluding right to buy purchases)

All prices quoted above are exclusive of VAT which will be charged at 20%.

NOTES RE SALE

Likely Disbursements in relation to a Sale:-
Office Copy Register Entries: £6.00 (no VAT) per set  
Office Copy Documents: £3.00 (no VAT) each
Telegraphic Transfer Fee:  £24.00 per Transfer (inc VAT at 20%) 

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 at 20% is made.

NOTES RE PURCHASE

Likely Disbursements in relation to a Purchase:-
Telegraphic Transfer Fee: £24.00 Transfer (inc VAT at 20%)
Local, Drainage, Environmental, Flood and Chancel Searches:  Price applicable at time of application
Land Registry Search:  £3.00 (no VAT) per title number.    
Bankruptcy Search: £2.00 (no VAT) 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 5% 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 at 20% is made

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 at 20% 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 at 20% is madeFor Help to Buy ISAs only the additional charge is £50.00 plus VAT at 20% per ISA.

OTHER RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

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.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain and also which borough/county the property is in. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 12 weeks. The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below we have suggested some key stages. For sale transactions, much will depend on the circumstances of the buyer and in particular whether the buyer needs a mortgage and is reliant on a related sale transaction. The length of the chain has a large bearing on the likely timescale.

What’s included in the price?

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including 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. Disbursements In addition to our fee plus VAT as set out above disbursements which are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees will be added. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf.

When acting for you selling your property while also representing your mortgage lender to clear any registered mortgages or charges against your property, our service will include:

• Verify your property’s ownership documents
• Provide the buyer’s solicitor with the necessary ownership information
• Prepare and submit the draft Contract and any other supporting documents to the buyer’s solicitor
• Liaise with your mortgage lender
• Respond to any enquiries from the buyer’s solicitor
• Arrange for you to sign the contract
• Approve the draft Transfer on your behalf
• Complete the transaction
• Clear any registered mortgages against your property

When acting for you in a purchase transaction, our service will include:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice

• Receive contract documents
• Carry out searches
• Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
• A meeting to go through the contract pack or send a Contract Report
• Give you advice on all documents and information received
• Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
• Agree completion date (date from which you can move into 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 the residential property transactions

Who will be dealing with your case?

Our non-contentious probate department is headed by Roland Gibbins who is supported by Samra Ullah.  Samra 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:

The prices quoted in the table above are exclusive of VAT at 20% 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:

• • 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:

• • 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:

• • 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.

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 at 20%.  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:

• • 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%