Julia T. Betts Solicitors Costs...
We are a very small niche firm and for that reason, we have to be very attentive to the amount of time that we spend on clients' matters.
Sometimes, situations evolved during the transaction that could not possibly have been foreseen at the beginning. This could cause the amount of time that is required to deal with the matter to increase. This may have an impact on costs. If this is the case, we do agree costs between us and the clients. In all cases, our costs must be reasonable and proportionate to the work undertaken.
Additional costs
As well as our fees, there will be certain payments that need to be made to others. We generally refer to these payments as “disbursements”. Please note that the figures we give are approximate and are subject to change.
We set out below the more usual disbursements, but we may recommend others and some may be imposed by lenders. In any event, we would always check with you, the client before we incurred any such expenditure.
| Disbursement and/or Costs | Average costs* |
| Local Authority Search (This varies depending on the Local Authority) | £195.00 |
| Water Search (This varies depending on the Water Authority) | £84.00 |
| Environmental Search | £157.64 |
| Chancel Check | £28.20 |
| Land Registry Search | £7.00 per title number |
| Land Charges Act (Bankruptcy) Search | £6.00 per name searched against |
| Official Copy of Register of Title with Filed Title Plan | £7.00 per document |
| Supporting Title Documents | £7.00 per document |
| Bank Transfer Fee | £30.00 plus V.A.T |
| Administration fee for anti-money laundering checks | £25.00 plus V.A.T |
*All disbursements are inclusive of V.A.T unless otherwise stated. Due to a HMRC directive, we may have to add additional V.A.T at the current rate.
Please note that the average costs of a search bundle is £450.00 to which V.A.T will have to be added. All disbursement costs are inclusive of V.A.T where applicable.
Land Registry Registration fees (to register you as the new owner)
The Land Registry Registration fee is dependent on the value of the property. For more information, please visit:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
Taxes
In every transaction involving land, it is necessary to think about tax; be the transaction a sale or a purchase, or both. We are not tax experts. We cannot give any form of tax advice.
The type of tax most people think about when they are involved in transactions about land is stamp duty land tax. The rules about stamp duty land tax used to be fairly simple. As with life these days, the rules have become quite complex. For this reason and to act in your best interests, we will often recommend that you take your accountant’s advice about stamp duty land tax. If you do not have an accountant, we can recommend and liaise with the accountant about the matter and about any potential fees that will be incurred. The average costs would be somewhere in the region of between £230.00 to £345.00 plus V.A.T.
We cannot stress the importance of dealing properly with stamp duty land tax (and indeed any other tax), the return and payment for which has to be dealt with within 14 days of completion, otherwise there will be sanctions and penalties. For this reason, we would generally start to think about stamp duty in between exchange and completion.
The Stamp Duty Land Tax figure is based on the purchase price of the property.
The Government Stamp Duty Land Tax calculator can be found at:
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro
Additional costs for Leasehold titles
In the case of transactions involving leasehold property, there will be other disbursements associated with the Lease; the cost of which will not become apparent until we begin the transaction. These can include:-
- Ground Rent apportionments
- Service Charge apportionments
- Deed of Covenant Fees
- Licence to Assign Fees
- Management Pack for sales and/or purchase (see below)
- Landlord Notice Fees for purchases (see below)
One of the main disbursements when selling a leasehold property, is the cost of the information that will need to be obtained from any management company. The information is usually provided by the Management Company in the form of a pack. The cost of such packs varies from company to company, but the average costs is £460.00 to 690.00 including V.A.T. The Pack will contain all the information that is relevant to potential expenditure in respect of maintenance of the building of which the property forms part and other useful and necessary information.
When buying a leasehold property, costs associated with the lease will usually be the cost of providing the Management Company and also the freehold owner with 'notices' following completion. Typically, the cost involved is £180.00 and £250.00 plus vat for each document that needs to be notified. It is possible that the total cost of the notices could be as much as £500.00 plus V.A.T. It might be necessary for the Buyer to apply for a Buyer's pack,
If it seems likely that our costs will exceed the estimate, we will then cost the file on an hourly basis. The hourly rates for members of staff are set out on our conveyancing page. Wherever possible, the work is delegated to a more junior member of the team to keep costs to a minimum, but only where this does not compromise the quality of our work and service to the client.
When dealing with leasehold properties, we generally make a retention for future costs and VAT that will be incurred in respect of work that may have to be carried out when there are outstanding management accounts for year ends in respect of service charge. This work involves liaising with the Seller or Buyers’ Solicitor and you the client, to work out and agree apportionments between the parties. Such work generally takes about two to three hours. Hence, we generally retain £460.00 to £690.00 plus V.A.T. Such monies could well be held for a period of up to 2 years depending on how long the Management Company takes to prepare the accounts.
If a transaction begins, but does not proceed to completion, we reserve the right to raise an account based on the amount of time expended/work done and such charges are calculated on a hourly basis.
Contact us:
Telephone:
01623 499 080
Email:
reception@ravensheadlaw.com
Address:
5 Milton Court, Ravenshead, Nottingham, NG15 9BD
SRA Number:
Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority - 47071 (www.sra.org.uk)
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