Key information

Our prices

Residential Conveyancing

We charge 0.5% of the sale or purchase price (subject to a minimum of £1,500 for freehold transactions and £2,000 for leasehold transactions) plus VAT and Disbursements.

Disbursements – are the expenses which we pay out on your behalf.  In a typical conveyancing transaction this can include the following:

  • Local Authority Search fee – The amount will depend upon the location of the property and which varies between different local councils.
  • Drainage and Water Search fee – Thames Water’s current price is £63.48, although other water and utility companies charge different prices.
  • Environmental Search – £94.19
  • Chancel Search – £49.80
  • HM Land Registry Official Search with priority – £3
  • If you are buying using mortgage finance, then assuming the mortgage is being provided by a UK high street lender, there will be an additional fee of £250 plus Vat.
  • Bankruptcy Search (required if buying a property with a mortgage) – £2 per person.
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax – This will depend upon the price of the property; whether the property is freehold or leasehold property; residential, commercial or mixed-use property; whether you are a UK resident; whether you own other property; whether the purchase of the property will replace your main residence; and whether there are any Stamp Duty Land Tax reliefs available.
  • Additional Leasehold Expenses
  • If you are selling or buying a leasehold property, there may be charges from the freeholder or managing agents which will only come to light during the transaction. These are typically: the sales assignment pack, License to Assign, Deed of Covenant, Notice of Transfer and Charge, Certificate of Compliance.
  • On 14 February 2022 the Building Safety Act 2022 (“the Act”) was passed by Parliament to regulate the service charge costs which landlords can recoup from tenants to pay for remediation works. The Act provides qualifying leaseholders with protection against having to pay to remove dangerous cladding and can cap the amount which they can be asked to contribute to other historical building defects.
  • If you are buying or selling a residential property which is more than four stories or 11 meters high, we reserve the right to add a charge to reflect the amount of additional work required to ensure you are protected under the Act.
  • If you are obtaining a new lease for the property at the same time as you are selling or buying a leasehold property, we will make a separate charge for advising you and acting for you on the grant of the new lease.

 

We will provide you with the exact amounts after we have reviewed the documentation in connection with your transaction.

In some instances, difficulties can occur which increases the amount of work that we must do for you and for which we will make an additional charge. For example, if legal title is defective or part of the property is unregistered; if building regulations or planning permission has not been obtained; and if crucial documents are not available.  If this happens, we will try to let you know at the earliest possible time and discuss with you the difficulties and the level of any anticipated extra charges.  If the transaction is delayed and it is necessary to redo any work, then we reserve the right to charge for any additional time spent at a rate of £200 per half hour plus Vat.  For example, if any search results expire and it is necessary to carry out new searches.

If you are obtaining mortgage finance and your lender wishes to instruct another solicitor to act on its own behalf, then there may be additional costs to pay.  If we are also instructed to act for your lender and there is a conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest, we may insist that your lender is separately represented.

Should the transaction fail to complete, then our charges will be such less a sum as is reasonable having regard to the amount of work done by that stage of the transaction, together with VAT and any disbursements incurred.

 

Probate

Our fee will depend upon the amount of time which we estimate we will have to spend, as well as the value and the complexity of the deceased’s estate and financial affairs.  In most cases our fees will be settled from the deceased’s estate at intervals.  We will bill the estate after obtaining the Grant of Probate; after collecting in the assets, paying the liabilities and the legacies; and after preparing the Estate Accounts and making the final distribution.  Most uncontested probate cases take between 10 and 40 hours.  We charge £350 per hour plus VAT and disbursements.  The work is carried out by a senior solicitor who will provide you with regular updates.  

We also charge an additional fee of between 1.5% and 3% of the value of the gross estate to reflect the complexity and value of the deceased’s estate and their testamentary wishes.  This is a lower charging rate than banks which charge 5%.

In our experience most probate cases take between 6 and 18 months.  Timing to a large extent depends upon how long it takes to sell the assets of the estate; how long it takes to finalize the deceased’s tax affairs; and how well the deceased’s tax affairs were managed during their lifetime.

It is important to note that the Inheritance Tax account will have to be filed with HM Revenue & Customs before the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration are granted.  If there are no liquid assets in the estate from which to pay the inheritance tax liability, it may be necessary to sell assets from the deceased’s estate.  This can cause a significant delay.  

We may charge additional fees for cases where:

  • the deceased did not leave a valid Will.
  • the beneficiaries wish to rewrite the Will in a Deed of Variation.
  • there are disputes between Executors and/or beneficiaries.
  • there are intangible assets such as copyrights, trademarks, patents.
  • there are claims against the estate.
  • the deceased had a substantial number of shareholdings and investments.
  • there is a large number of beneficiaries.
  • there are missing beneficiaries.
  • the estate includes foreign assets.
  • The deceased made substantial lifetime gifts of more than £3,000 per annum.

The usual disbursements and expenses include:

  • If the value of the estate is over £5,000, the probate application fee is £300.
  • Extra copies of the probate document are charged at £1.50 per copy.
  • London Gazette Statutory Notice £119.50.
  • Local newspaper notices £288.

 

Debt Recovery up to £100,000

For undisputed debts up to the sum of £100,000 our charges are based upon the amount of time which we spend on recovering the money owed to you.  We, like most Solicitor firms, charge out in units of one tenth of an hour. Our hourly charge for undisputed debt collection ranges from £250 to £400 per hour depending upon the complexity of the case.  Our minimum charge for advice on recovering an undisputed debt is £600 plus VAT.

We will try to recover your debt without having to involve you in court proceedings. 

For disputed debts we will provide you with fee information after considering the facts specific to your case.

Contact us to tell us how we can help you

Enquiries

Send us a short email about how we can help you with your legal issue to law@andrewtobias.co.uk

Or complete this form and we will contact you.

Stay in touch

© Andrew Tobias & Co 2024

Contact us to tell us how we can help you

Enquiries

Send us a short email about how we can help you with your legal issue to law@andrewtobias.co.uk

Or complete this form and we will contact you.

© Andrew Tobias & Co 2024