Fees - Rachel Stafford Legal Services

Conveyancing

Sale of a freehold / leasehold residential property

Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale of your home.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

Legal fee £1200
Electronic money transfer fee £70
VAT payable £240
Subtotal £1510

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Land registry Official Copies of Title £12
If Leasehold – Management company sale pack £100 – £350

How long will my house sale take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6-12 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on how many people are involved in the transaction.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the sale of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. Below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

Take instructions and give initial advice
Issue a contract pack to buyers solicitors
Reply to any enquiries raised by seller’s solicitor
Send final contract to you for signature
Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
Complete sale

Purchase of a freehold residential property

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 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.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

Legal fee £1500
Electronic money transfer fee £70
VAT payable £300
Subtotal £1870

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Search fees £300 – Search package – drainage, environments and local search
HM Land Registry fee (scale fees depending upon the property value £80 – £540

Stamp Duty or Land Tax (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website here..

How long will my house purchase take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your house will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 6-12 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 6 – 12 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 2 and 6 months and additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. Below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on contract documents
Carry out searches
Obtain further planning documentation if required
Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
Give you advice on all documents and information received
Go through conditions of mortgage offer with you
Send final contract to you for signature
Agree completion date (date from which you own 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

Purchase of a leasehold residential property

Our fees cover all 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 is in Wales.

Conveyancer’s fees and disbursements

Legal fee £1500
Electronic money transfer fee £70
VAT payable £300
Subtotal £1870

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. There are certain disbursements which will be set out in the individual lease relating to the Property. The disbursements which we anticipate will apply are set out separately below. This list is not exhaustive and other disbursements may apply depending on the term of the lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the seller’s solicitors.

Search fees £300 – Search package – drainage, environments and local search
HM Land Registry fee (scale fees depending upon the property value) £80 – £540
Additional Fees may be charged by the Freeholder or management company

Anticipated Disbursements*

Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £150- £300.
Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £150- £300.
Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £150- £300.
Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £150- £300.

*These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential leasehold property vary according to the circumstances. Below we have suggested some key stages that you may wish to include:

Take your instructions and give you initial advice
Check finances are in place to fund purchase and contact lender’s solicitors if needed
Receive and advise on contract documents
Carry out searches
Obtain further planning documentation if required
Make any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
Give you advice on all documents and information received
Go through conditions of mortgage offer
Send final contract to you for signature
Draft Transfer
Advise you on joint ownership
Obtain pre-completion searches
Agree completion date (date from which you own 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

How long will my house purchase take?

* Our fee assumes that:

this is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction
this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise

Estate Administration

We offer three service levels depending upon your circumstances

Full Estate Administration – capped fees
Grant only – fixed fees for non-taxable estates
Ongoing retainer – advice and assistance – hourly rate

Estate Administration Service – Capped fees

Our Charges

Hourly rate £150 plus VAT

We will put a costs limit on our fees for completing the administration – the administration may cost less than the amount quoted but will not cost more

The Probate Registry will charge a fee of £155 and £5 for each additional copy

Choose this option if:

You would like us to deal with the whole estate administration, no matter what size or complexity of the estate; or
You have started dealing with the estate administration yourself or have used one of our grant-only fixed fee services but would now like to hand the administration over to us to complete.

How we charge for work completed:

We only charge for the time that we record and document when working on your matter, using our hourly rate as quoted above
We will agree a cap on our fees, this will be based upon an estimate of how much time a matter will take based upon our previous extensive experience of estate administration
The administration may cost less than the amount quoted but will not cost more
We bill bi-monthly for work completed on your behalf, so you can keep track of the costs

How long does it take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 6-12 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 6-12 weeks. This will depend upon the complexity of the estate and whether it is taxable, or not and the type of assets. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 6-12 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, this is not normally until 6 months after the grant of probate has been issued and then normally takes 1-4 weeks.

Grant Only Fixed fee service for smaller estates

Our charges

Fixed fee: £800 plus VAT

The Probate Registry will charge a fee of £155 and £5 for each additional copy

Choose this option if:

You are the executor or administrator of an estate that does not need a full inheritance tax return IHT 400, usually because no inheritance tax is payable; and
The deceased’s bank or other financial institution has told you that a grant of probate or grant of representation is required before you can close the deceased’s accounts; and
You wish to deal with most of the estate administration yourself but would like us to deal with the application for the grant

Our fixed fee will only include:

Completing the Return of Estate Information form IHT 205 with the date of death information provided by you as the executor
Preparing the witness statement for signing
Preparing and Submitting the grant of probate application to the Court
Obtaining and checking the grant of probate and releasing to the executors

How long does it take?

On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 1-2 months from receiving instructions. Typically, the probate registry takes 10 working days to issue the grant once the application is received.

Probate – ongoing retainer

Hourly rate £150 plus VAT

We will charge for work completed and documented on your behalf; we will send an invoice to you on a bi-monthly basis and will agree a budget to be reviewed quarterly

Choose this option if:

You intend to deal with most of the estate administration; or
You are comfortable attempting to administer the estate but may need assistance long the way or may wish to switch to our full estate administration service; and or
You would like ad hoc advice and guidance

Wills and Lasting Power of Attorney

Please Note VAT at 20% will be added to all fees invoiced.

	FEES	(WITH VAT)
Single Will	£150.00	(£180.00)
Mirror Will	£200.00	(£240.00)
Will Containing specialist trust single from	£180.00	(£216.00)
Will Containing specialist trust Mirror from	£250.00	(£300.00)
Severance of Joint Tenancy	£50.00	(£60.00)
Advanced Decision (Living Will) single	£50.00	(£60.00)
Advanced Decision (Living Will) couple	£75.00	(£90.00)
Lasting Power of Attorney	£300.00	(£360.00)
Lasting Power of Attorney couple	£500.00	(£600.00)
N.B. The Court will charge a registration fee of £82.00 per document which is payable directly to the Court if your income is less than £12,000 the fee to the Court is £41.00.
Single Will by Correspondence Only	£100.00	(£120.00)
Mirror Will by Correspondence Only	£150.00	(£180.00)
Advice re Care funding/ Court of Protection £120 per hour (£144.00)