Purchase of Residential Property

Fees

Freehold Property

Leasehold Property

Typical disbursements

Searches

The number of searches depends upon the locality of the property and the nature of the purchase. The Water, Drainage and Environmental searches are standard on every transaction and dependent upon the local area additional searches may be advisable. On average searches cost between £350 and £400.

Land Registry fees

These fees are fixed by the land registry and depend upon the value of the property.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

These fees depend upon the number of properties you have and whether the property is your main residence. There are various tax exemptions available. The calculation of stamp duty land tax is bespoke to each transaction and so can be provided to you once we have the details available to us.

Other disbursements

Sale of Residential Property

Fees

Leasehold Property

Typical disbursements

Land Registry fees

Copy title documentation has to be obtained from the land registry. The cost is £3 per document. Approximately 2-4 documents are usually required.

Planning documents

We may need to obtain further documentation from the Local Authority. The fees for this are approximately 10-20.

Other disbursements

Transfer of Residential Property

Fees

Leasehold Property

Typical disbursements

Land Registry

Copy title documentation has to be obtained from the land registry. The cost is £3 per document.

The transfer fee will depend upon the value of your property as the land registry have a set scale of fees depending upon value.

Other disbursements

First Registration of Residential Property

Where property is unregistered with the Land Registry we can make an application to register it on your behalf.

Fees

Typical disbursements

Land Registry fees

Copy title documentation has to be obtained from the land registry. The cost is £3 per document.

The registration fee will depend upon the value of your property as the land registry have a set scale of fees depending upon value.

Estate Administration

Our assistance with the administration of an estate can range from; providing an executor or beneficiary with advice in relation to a will or intestacy, applications for Grants of Probate or Letters of Administration only where details of the assets and liabilities are provided to us or assisting in the complete administration.

Due to the varied assistance we can provide in relation to estate administration it is difficult to estimate likely costs until we have met with you and discussed your circumstances and established the advice and work required.

Fixed fee

We do offer a fixed fee for only dealing with the application for a Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration where details of the assets and liabilities are provided to us.

This would include the preparation of the inheritance tax account and statement of truth. Our fixed fees vary dependent upon whether there is inheritance tax to pay. Once the Grant has been issued any further advice would be calculated at the hourly rates set out below.

Fees

• Application for Grant only with IHT 205 (no inheritance tax to pay) – from £850+VAT and disbursements.
• Application for Grant only with IHT 400 (inheritance tax to pay) - from £1250 +VAT and disbursements. Additional cost will be incurred for assistance with the payment of inheritance tax.

Typical timescales

Once all of the information is available, preparation of the paperwork can take between 2-4 weeks and the obtaining of the Grant or Letter of Administration thereafter depends upon the time taken by the probate registry to issue. Usually a Grant or Letter of Administration is issued within 10 weeks of the probate registry receiving the application.

If we are acting on a fixed fee quotation, once the Grant or Letter is received we would send it to you so that you may complete the administration of the estate. Any further instructions received to assist you after this stage, would be calculated at the hourly rate set out below.

Hourly fee

Hourly fees for the time spent on your matter would be charged where we assist with the complete administration. This would include for example; establishing the assets and liabilities, obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration, closing assets, settling liabilities, advising on tax during the administration period and distributing the estate.

Where the hourly rate is charged, on taking your initial instructions, we will provide you with an initial estimate and will review the cost for you as the matter progresses. If we have reason to believe the initial estimate will be exceeded we will inform you. As every estate is different, this allows us to provide an initial quotation based on the circumstances and assets within the estate and update you in relation to our costs should additional complexities arise.

Hourly rates:

Jas Kaur – Partner, Solicitor £225 per hour plus VAT

Typical timescales:

Establishing the assets and liabilities and preparing an application for a Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration can take between 4-12weeks depending on the circumstances, the number of assets and the time taken by third parties to respond.

Obtaining of the Grant or Letter of Administration thereafter depends upon the time taken by the probate registry to issue. Usually a Grant or Letter of Administration is issued within 10 weeks of the probate registry receiving the application.

Once the Grant or Letter of Administration is received, collecting the assets and settling liabilities can then take a further 4-12 depending on the number of assets and the time taken by third parties to respond.

Once the assets have been collected we can advise on tax during the period of administration, prepare an estate account and distribute the assets which usually takes between 8-10 weeks depending upon the duration of the administration, the complexity or any other factors which may affect or delay the completion of the administration.

Typical disbursements

Disbursements are additional fees charged by third parties.

• Probate Court fees – currently £155
• Official copies of the Grant or Letter of Administration – currently £1.50 per copy
• Land Registry searches - £3 per search for office copies and £2 for bankruptcy searches
• Swear fees – currently £5 per document and £2 per exhibit per person
• S27 Trustee Act Notice in the London Gazette and local paper – from £150 approximately (quotations can be obtained)