Our fees for acting on a sale or a purchase property vary. We rarely act in respect of purchasers regarding mortgages but in the cases we do the same hourly rates will apply. Most of our transactions are not standard and for that reason our legal fees are calculated by reference to the total time spent on the transaction and the hourly rates of the member of the team who deal with it. Our current rates are;
Partners – between £645 and £875 per hour
Solicitors between £370 and £575 per hour
Consultants £550 per hour
The majority of the work will be undertaken by our two specialist Consultants.
We will always look to give an estimate or range of our likely fees plus additional charges see below. Many of our transactions are more complex and where matter become more complex we will advise accordingly on any estimate in respect of fees.
The factors that make a case more complex and therefore more costly include:
- there being defects in legal title, planning breaches or other legal problems that need to be resolved;
- the property being newly or recently built or refurbished with negotiations over contractual recourse for defects to the original contractor, developer or seller;
- the property being unregistered and/or leasehold, whether the matter involves a sale or a purchase;
- on sales, the extent and nature of the questions asked by the purchaser’s lawyers;
- the length of time required to complete the transaction;
- the level of client involvement required and the seniority of our personnel required to be involved by the client; whether we visit the property;
- whether the property is purchased subject to a tenancy agreement or with vacant possession;
- whether consents from any third party (typically but not always a landlord) are required and whether that third party attaches conditions to that consent;
- specific non-standard terms agreed by the parties that need to be catered for in the documents; and
- on a mortgage, our being able to act for both the borrower and the lender.
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs we incur on your behalf, such as land registry fees and search fees. We estimate these at the outset and they will appear on our invoice to you. Usually on a purchase these will include:
- search fees in the order of £500 plus VAT; and
- Land Registry registration fees which could range between £455 and £910 no Vat is chargeable.
Key stages
The fee ranges set out above cover all work in relation to the following key stages of a straightforward purchase, sale and mortgage:
- taking your instructions and providing an overview of the transaction and process;
- drafting or reviewing the contract and (where appropriate) negotiating its terms;
- undertaking due diligence (to include but not limited to a title review, commissioning and reviewing appropriate property searches, raising appropriate enquiries and reviewing replies) or responding to the purchaser’s or lender’s enquires about the property;
- taking appropriate legal steps to correct or mitigate defects in title;
- advising you on the terms of the transactional documents, reporting to you on our due diligence exercise and advising as to stamp duty land tax payable;
- obtaining third party consents where necessary;
- exchanging contracts;
- undertaking pre-completion searches and completing of the transaction; and
- submission of stamp duty land tax returns and registration of the transaction at the land registry.
Transaction timescales
We can and occasionally do exchange contracts within days of contractual papers being issued. More typically we are able to exchange contracts on a straightforward sale or purchase transaction with a well prepared counterparty where there are no complications within 10 or 15 working days of contractual papers being issued.
VAT
For legal advice provided in relation to UK sited real estate, VAT is always chargeable at the prevailing rate (currently 20%) on that advice.