Business

Our charges are based upon the time we spend in dealing with a matter. The hourly rate for our specialist Solicitor would be £270 plus VAT at 20%. Should it become necessary for applications to be issued at Court, Court fees would be payable to HM Courts & Tribunal Services. Court fees vary and the fee earner dealing with your matter will be able to supply you with information as to Court costs should the need arise.

Court Claims

For work we carry out in respect of an unpaid invoice where the amount due is not disputed and enforcement action is not required our costs will start at £500 plus VAT at 20%. Our costs will range upwards if the other party disputes your claim at any point and we will discuss any further work required providing you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor.
• Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
• The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.

Our fee includes:

• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
• Where relevant undertaking solvency searches
• Sending a letter before action
• Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default
• When Judgement in default is received, to correspond with the other party to request payment
• If payment is not received within 28 days, providing you with advice on next steps and providing details of anticipated costs

Matters may take many weeks from receipt of instructions from you to recover of payment of outstanding sums from the other party, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the presumption that the other party pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take significantly longer to resolve.

Samuel Brown is the principal Solicitor with over 10 years of experience.

Individuals

Residential Conveyancing

• • Our costs for acting in the purchase of a freehold residential property start from £595 plus VAT at 20%. Costs increase commensurately based upon the price/consideration payable in connection with a transaction and also taking into account the level of complexity involved in dealing with the matter. Complicating factors include, dealing with leasehold properties, new build plots or barn conversions.
  • We would urge prospective clients to discuss any proposed transaction with us for a detailed cost estimate however, the following information serves as an indicative guide as to typical costs associated with freehold transactions:-

    Properties with a price up to £150,000- £595 plus VAT at 20%

    Properties with a price of up to £250,000- £950 plus VAT at 20%

    Properties with a price of up to £350,000- £1,050 plus VAT at 20%

    Properties with a price of up to £450,000- £1,250 plus VAT at 20% .

    For transactions where the purchase price exceeds the levels referred to above, professional fees are charged on an hourly rate basis of between £250-£300 per hour plus VAT at 20% depending of the level of seniority of the member of staff dealing with the matter on your behalf.

  • The anticipated expenses including any VAT in the purchase of a freehold property in Wolverhampton by a First Time Buyer purchasing a Freehold registered property at circa £150,000 would be:-
    

    Local Authority Search	£69.00
    Coal Mining Report	£50.34
    Environmental Search	£73.20
    Severn Trent Drainage Search	£69.60
    HMLR Application Fee	£95.00
    HMLR Official Searches	£5.00

  The cost of a Local Authority Search will vary depending upon the location of the property to be purchased as each Local Authority determine the costs attributable to a search. The costs for Local Searches within the surrounding areas are as follows:

  South Staffordshire Council-£143.10
  Shropshire Council-£116.00
  Staffordshire County Council-£97.34
  Birmingham City Council-£130.00
  Dudley MBC-£161.00
  Sandwell MBC-122.10

  You can obtain information regarding search costs directly from the relevant Local Authority for the area in which a property is based, if required.

  • Stamp Duty 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.

    The speed of the transaction will be determined by issues affecting other parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it should be one of the quicker transactions. However, if you are buying a leasehold property which are typically more involved due to liaison with other third parties such as the freehold owner or management company, this can take significantly longer.

  • Stages of the process The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, below are those usually encountered:
    • Taking instructions and providing initial advice to you
    • Receipt of and advising upon contract documents
    • Carrying out searches
    • Obtaining further planning documentation if required
    • Making any necessary enquiries of seller’s solicitor
    • Providing you advice on all documents and information received
    • Going through conditions of the mortgage offer with you
    • Sending final documents to you or meeting with you to discuss the documents for signature
    • Seeking to agree a completion date (date from which you own the property)
    • Exchanging contracts and notifying you that this has happened
    • Arranging for all monies needed to be received from lender and you
    • Completing purchase
    • Dealing with payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax
    • Dealing with application for registration of your ownership of the property at Land Registry
  • Additional Possible Expenses for Leasehold transactions
  • • Notice of Transfer fee – this fee is payable to the Landlord/Management Company whose costs would need to be ascertained
    • Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is payable to the Landlord/Management Company whose costs would need to be ascertained
    • Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is payable to the Landlord/Management Company whose costs would need to be ascertained
    • There may be additional fees payable depending upon the terms of the Lease

Our fee assumes that:

• 1. 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
  2. this is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
  3. the transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complications arise
  4. all parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
  5. no indemnity policies are required to address defects in title. Additional expenses may apply if indemnity policies are required
• The anticipated expenses in the sale of a freehold registered property would be:-HMLR Official Copies £6.00
• The transactions are allocated internally based upon the nature of the transaction by experienced Conveyancers and Solicitors all of whom are members of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme. The industry views upon the average transaction times vary. Frequent opinion is expressed at an average time of 8 – 12 weeks but some commentators have now suggested it may be 16 weeks.
• Alex Thompson is Head of Conveyancing and based at our Wolverhampton office. Alex is a Solicitor with in excess of 20 years post-qualification experience. Mahira Sajid is also a qualified Solicitor specialising in residential conveyancing from our Bridgnorth office.
• Lilly Timmins, a qualified Solicitor and Nikyle Bains, an experienced conveyancer, are based at our Wolverhampton office.

Probate

• Our costs for acting in obtaining a Grant of Probate on behalf of the Executors named in a Will start from £1500 plus VAT at 20% but this will depend upon the complexity of the estate and value and nature of the assets within it. Our costs will range upwards from £2000 plus VAT if you would wish us to act in the administration of the Estate itself and such costs will depend on the anticipated work involved with our costs being on time spent basis at the hourly rate of the specialised solicitor being £270 per hour. Please contact us to discuss the nature of your matter. We will at that stage be able to advise as to our costs in more detail and will provide a small range for our estimated costs at that point. Should there be any proposal at any time to alter such provision, we will first seek your approval. Common expenses would include:-
  • £300 (HM Courts & Tribunal Service Probate fee)
  • £1 (Bankruptcy Search per Beneficiary)

  Our fees would typically include:-

  • Providing you with a dedicated and experienced probate solicitor to work on your matter
  • Identifying the legally appointed executors or administrators and beneficiaries
  • Accurately identifying the type of Probate application you will require
  • Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application
  • Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms for the Executors approval
  • Drafting a legal oath for you to swear
  • Making the application to the Probate Court on your behalf
  • Obtaining the Grant of Representation
  • Collecting all known assets in the estate, discharging liabilities
  • Preparing Estate Accounts and distributing the Estate

  The time taken upon each stage of work will inherently vary with the different aspects of each matter. Once we are able to submit the application for the Grant of Representation it takes approximately 8-16 weeks to issue the Grant. Thereafter it is our experience that most institutions should release the monies held within a further 14 – 28 days of our request for closure of the accounts. The Executors may then be in a position to authorise an interim distribution to the Beneficiaries.

  Andrew Plimmer is the Head of our Probate Department with 10 years post-qualification experience, as is Alex Thompson with over 20 years experience.