OUR FEES
THE SRA REQUIRES LAW FIRMS TO PUBLISH INFORMATION ON HOW THEY CHARGE FOR A SELECT NUMBER OF SPECIFIED LEGAL SERVICES
The Head Partnership LLP/ THP Solicitors always gives clear, transparent and unambiguous fee quotations in advance of doing any work for clients, and we clearly explain the basis on which these estimates are made.
We have trained our staff so that they can provide you with that peace of mind by making it clear from the beginning:
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY FEES
We will discuss your aims and objectives at the outset and agree with you how you would best prefer to be communicated with, the frequency that you wish to be updated and any other factors which are important and personal to you.
To ensure the smooth progress of a house purchase or sale, our Residential Property team will:
These legal costs are all subject to VAT charged at 20% of the above fees. The figures shown above are net of VAT.
Examples of ID checks fees that may be incurred are as follows:-
Please note that VAT will be added to the above costs as required by current legislation.
The most important thing to THP Solicitors is that you are clear following receipt of our personalised quotation of the individual costs which your transaction will attract. We would encourage you to phone and have a no obligation chat with one of our team who can provide a personalised quote and also some advice on the process and how we can make it as smooth as possible for you which will help you decide whether we are the right firm for you.
Disbursements
Searches
The standard searches which we undertake on behalf of you and your lender are the Local Authority Search, Environmental Search and Drainage Search. The cost of these does depend upon the Local Authority but they tend to range from £350 – £400. We can give you an accurate figure once we know your post code. Please click here for a link to our searches and survey information sheet. These searches are subject to the addition of VAT as they are obtained electronically.
There are also Pre-Completion Searches which are carried out with the Land Registry and Land Charges between exchange and completion in order to protect both you and your lender:
Land Registry Priority Search (per title) £3.00 plus VAT
Bankruptcy Searches (per name) £2.00 plus VAT
Land Registry Fees
We will in all cases possible lodge the application for registration electronically thus attracting the lower fee. In cases of some new build purchases or purchases of part of a title where a new title number is being created by the Land Registry for the property then this will not be possible and the higher sum will be payable. We will advise you on this when we have all the details of the transaction.
| Property Price | Electronic | Postal & New Build/New Title |
|---|---|---|
| £0-£80,000 | £20.00 | £45.00 |
| £80,001 – £100,000 | £40.00 | £95.00 |
| £100,001 – £200,000 | £100.00 | £230.00 |
| £200,001 – £500,000 | £150.00 | £330.00 |
| £500,001 – £1,000,000 | £295.00 | £655.00 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £500.00 | £1105.00 |
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
Stamp Duty Land Tax is payable on the consideration i.e. the purchase price or other value given directly or indirectly for the property.
The standard rates which are apply are currently :
Property or lease premium or transfer value SDLT rate
If the property you are buying is a new lease i.e. you are being granted the lease then you will pay SDLT on the purchase price of the lease using the rates above and if the total rent over the life of the lease is more than £125,000 you will also pay SDLT of 1% on the portion over £125,000.00.
If you or a spouse owns another property then you may be subject to the higher rate which is an additional 3% unless you are replacing your main residence. If all purchasers meet the requirements for first time buyers then you may be eligible for first time buyer relief.
If you are purchasing in a Company name you will be subject to the higher rate even if it is the Company’s only property and if the purchase price is over £500,000.00 then you may be subject to the 15% rate of tax and also may be subject to an annual tax on enveloped dwellings.
SDLT is a self-assessment tax i.e. the HMRC will not tell you how much you need to pay it is for you to calculate and assess. It has become more complicated over the years and there are various reliefs which may apply and as such if you are at all unsure about the level of SDLT payable in your transaction we would recommend you take specialist advice.
Please visit HMRC’s website on SDLT for more information https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax
Leasehold Transactions
In Leasehold transactions you are likely to be required to pay a proportionate amount of any annual service charge or ground rent.
In addition, often Landlords will charge administration fee for dealing with notice of your purchase and any other administrative facilities associated with your purchase. Again these will become clear once we have the paperwork from the Landlord/Management Company and we will advise you on these at the earliest opportunity.
How long will my house sale/purchase take?
- How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move into your property will depend upon a number of factors for example how many people are in the chain, whether any of those people have their own agenda as to timing i.e. a reason to need it done quickly or a desire to wait for an event in the future before completing. The average process takes 6-8 weeks from when we receive the paperwork from the Sellers Solicitors or issue the paperwork to the Buyers Solicitors. It can be significantly quicker or longer if there are complicating factors in the title or if for example someone in the chain needs to remedy a defect in their title or extend their lease or it could simply be someone is not prepared to complete until after the expiry of their early repayment penalty or needs the timing to fit in with their tax affairs.
Who will advise you?
An appropriate member of our team will work on your property transaction supervised by Rachel Gaylor who is Head of the Residential Property team. You can find out more about the members of our team below:
DEBT COLLECTION
We understand that unpaid invoices can affect your business cash flow and create anxiety and uncertainty. We can provide practical advice to help you recover the maximum amount of the debt, as quickly as possible and with minimum cost.
What should you expect in terms of cost?
Generally speaking, for a claim for unpaid invoices with a value up to £100,000 which is not contested and no enforcement action is required, the costs can be broken down into 3 stages:
Fixed Fees:
Stage 1: Drafting and sending a Letter Before Action in accordance with the relevant protocol and advising you on your options. If relevant, receiving payment and forwarding to you. Letter Before Action – £220-£660 plus VAT
Stage 2: Issue of your claim in the County Court Money Claims Centre – £440-£1,100 plus VAT
Stage 3: Entry of Judgment – £110-£350 plus VAT
Hourly Rate
All time spent on your case, in addition to the fixed fees set out above, will be recorded in 6-minute units and charged at £220 plus VAT per hour. That time may include making and receiving phone calls, further outgoing or incoming correspondence, whether by e-mail, fax or post, with yourself and/or others, time spent speaking to yourself and/or others, considering, dictating notes of telephone conversations, drafting, preparing documents/forms and carrying out searches.
We would therefore set an initial budget of £550 plus VAT (representing 2.5 hours) in addition to the fixed fees set out above. We will regularly provide you with accurate costs so that you can always ensure that the costs/benefits are acceptable and keep you informed at every stage.
How long will it take?
Disbursements
Courts fees payable to the Court to issue proceedings are based on a scale dependent upon the band into which the amount claimed you are claiming falls. Please note that interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding which will result in a higher Court fee being payable.
Claim amount Court fee
Up to £300.00 £35.00
£300.00 – £500.00 £50.00
£500.00 – £1,000.00 £70.00
£1,000.00 – £1,500.00 £80.00
£1,500.00 – £3,000.00 £115.00
£3,000.00 – £5,000.00 £205.00
£5,000.00 – £10,000.00 £455.00
£10,000.00 – £200,000.00 5% of the claim
There may be other expenses which we will incur on your behalf such as, but not limited to, Counsel’s fees, Land Registry fees, tracing agents fees etc. It is this firm’s practice to ask for those fees to be paid in advance.
Statutory costs awarded by the Court
Fixed costs on commencement of claim
Between £25.00 – £500.00 £50.00
Between £500.00 – £1,000.00 £70.00
Between £1,000.00 – £5,000.00 £80.00
£5,000+ £100.00
Judgment
Between £25.00 – £5,000.00 £22.00
For £5,000.00 or more £30.00
Issue of Warrant £2.25
Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
Who will be advising you?
Laura Colebrook handles the Debt Recovery within our Dispute Resolution Department and is involved with the collection of debts prior to issue, the preparation and lodgement of Claims at Court, obtaining Judgments and issuing enforcement for individuals, companies, firms and sole traders.
ESTATE ADMINISTRATION FEES
We provide a personalised and tailored service which fits with your individual requirements and circumstances. As such, each estate administration is different and there is variation in both our costs and the services required.
Because of the bespoke nature of estate administration, the easiest way to obtain details of both our costs and the services required would be to telephone a member of our team (details below) for an initial discussion on a no obligation basis.
We would then organise a meeting to discuss the estate with you, which is charged at a fixed fee of £350 plus VAT.
We would encourage you to bring all of the estate paperwork with you to this meeting. During this meeting, you can discuss any queries or concerns you have, chat through the details of your matter and also meet the person who you will be dealing with. We will then be able to provide you with an accurate quotation based upon how many hours we believe it will take to finalise the matter, and the level of service that you require.
However, we do understand that it is useful for you to have an indication of the likely costs of estate administration at the outset. We pride ourselves on providing clear guidance in relation to costs and being transparent in this regard at the outset. You can engage our services in a number of different ways, whether this is to provide full estate administration services, bespoke estate administration services, or Grant only applications.
We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to publish general information on the costs of estate administration. The information that follows is, therefore, generic and is purely intended for illustrative purposes to give you an idea of the likely costs involved. We will always provide you with a bespoke cost indication at an initial meeting and this will depend entirely on the circumstances of your individual matter. We agree all costs with you prior to any costs being incurred and we pride ourselves on being upfront and open about costs.
Factors that affect costs
Who will advise you?
In general terms, our costs and quotes will be based upon the work required by our fee earners in the estate administration. Accordingly, these costs are then based upon the hourly rates of the most appropriate members within the team to carry out the work, that range between £250 and £340 + VAT per hour. You can find out more about the members of our team below.
- Shirah Blackwood TEP
- Victoria Baker
- Elizabeth Moffitt TEP
- Kaley Hobbs TEP
- Deborah Clark
- Emma Harrison
Please note that in insolation, this hourly rate will not give you a clear indication of the likely cost of your matter. For example, a higher hourly rate will be due to the level of experience and qualification of the individual, meaning that they may be quicker at dealing with matters and the overall cost may balance out with a lower hourly rate.
It is also often the case that more than one fee earner will work on your matter, so that the more technical aspects are covered by the more experienced members of the team, where the more junior members of the team can deal with the general administration. This will have a positive impact on your fees as it allows appropriate levels of expertise to be involved at different stages lowering the overall cost.
For illustrative purposes, below are some examples of the different fee structures available in relation to our involvement and assistance with estate administration.
As referred to above, these are illustrative only as every estate is individual and will be quoted for on an individual basis
Scenario 1
This is a relatively small estate where we are engaged to complete the full estate administration. There will be no IHT to pay and there will be a Will that leaves all of the estate to the surviving spouse or to children. There will be no trusts and the assets will be straightforward comprising only cash assets in bank accounts.
The work required to complete this estate will include:-
Scenario 2
This is an estate subject to IHT with the estate passing to a small number of beneficiaries. We will have been engaged to complete the full estate administration. The estate assets will be split between bank accounts, investments, shares, and a residential property.
The work involved in dealing with such an estate will include all of the work listed in the above example together with the following:-
Scenario 3
Full estate administration involving an estate which is subject to IHT, with an estate passing to a combination of exempt and non-exempt beneficiaries, complex estate assets involving private company shares, bank accounts, investments, traded stocks and shares, various properties and a complex IHT scenario.
This will include all of the work listed in examples 1 and 2, and in addition:-
Our costs for this type of estate will be between £7,000 and £15,000 plus VAT. Please note this does not include any tax payable to HMRC, estate liabilities or any disbursements (see below).
Scenario 4
In some circumstances, clients opt to complete much of the estate administration themselves, relying on legal expertise in the application for the Grant only.
For such matters, we will:-
Our fees for obtaining the Grant of Probate will be between £1,500 and £3,000 plus VAT, and the ultimate quote will depend upon the complexity of the estate and the level of assistance you require from us.
If, having obtained the Grant, you require any additional assistance, this will be charged on a time basis on the hourly rates specified previously.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. Where we are instructed in the full estate administration, we will handle the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
The likely disbursements that will be incurred in an estate administration are as follows:-
Timescales
We believe it is very important to ensure that our clients understand the likely timescales in an estate administration. Therefore, at our initial meeting we will always endeavour to give you an indication of how long it will take to obtain the Grant of Probate and once it has been received, we will then be able to confirm the likely timescales for finalising the estate administration.
Sometimes there will be matters which delay the conclusion of the estate administration, for instance the sale of a property, or queries raised by HMRC, and these will be outside of our control. However, we will always keep you informed on a regular basis and let you know of any delays that are likely to be caused by third party involvement.
