We will always, before undertaking any work on your case, agree a costs estimate and charging scheme with you. Our costs work in one of two ways or, sometimes a combination of both:-
- Fixed Fee – we will charge a fixed fee (plus disbursements paid to third parties) for your case. This generally applies to transactional or “one off” matters and is usually chargeable when the matter completes, although we may request funds on account from you at the outset.
- Chargeable Time – we will charge based on the amount of time spent by our lawyers and support team on your case. We will report monthly on time spent and invoice you periodically as agreed at the outset. The hourly rate charged will be notified to our at the outset and will differ depending on which lawyer or support staff work on the case for you.
Although every case is different and we will always tailor our costs estimate to your particular circumstances, the SRA Transparency Rules 2018 require us to provide our likely costs for certain types of matter on our website and we have set these out below.
Please note these are only estimates, and in some cases the minimum charge we would apply, so you should not rely on these as final figures for your costs estimate. The final, correct figure will be contained in your bespoke client care letter.
RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCING PURCHASE
- Barretts Law Fees – starting at £1,500 + VAT (always on a fixed fee basis subject to revisiting them if the circumstances of the transaction change).
- HM Land Registry Registration – dependent on your purchase price, between £50 and £955.
- Searches – between £300 and £500 depending on the water authority and local authority conducting the search.
- Stamp Duty Land Tax – this is based on your purchase price and other circumstances, we can advise upon receiving full information from you.
- Landlord / Management Company Notice Fees – your new landlord and / or management company may charge a fee for receiving notice of your ownership and mortgage, where applicable. This can range from £5 to £500 depending on the parties concerned and we will ascertain these costs before you exchange contracts.
RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCING SALE
- Barretts Law Fees – starting at £1,500 + VAT (always on a fixed fee basis subject to revisiting them if the circumstances of the transaction change).
- HM Land Registry Official Copies – between £6 and £20 depending on the title to your property.
- Landlord / Management Company Resale Pack Fees – your landlord and / or management company may charge a fee for providing current information on the property and block, where applicable. This is usually between £150 and £500 depending on the parties involved.
RESIDENTIAL RE-MORTGAGE
- Barretts Law Fees – starting at £600 + VAT (always on a fixed fee basis subject to revisiting them if the circumstances of the transaction change).
- HM Land Registry Official Copies – between £6 and £20 depending on the title to your property.
ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
We charge on a “chargeable time” (see above) for probate and administration matters. The cost of the matter will, therefore, vary depending on multiple factors including:-
- The hourly rate of the lawyer or support staff working on your case
- Whether there is a valid will
- Whether there are any properties
- Whether there are any bank or building society accounts
- Whether there are other intangible assets
- If disputes arise between beneficiaries on division of assets.
- If there is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC
- When there are no claims made against the estate
There are disbursements that we may need to pay on your behalf:-
- Probate application fee = £155
- Copy grants of probate = 50p each
- Gazette notice = £50 (approx)
DEBT RECOVERY
The nature of debt recovery as such that it is difficult to offer a fixed fee service, although we can usually provide a costs range based on the likely chargeable time spent on four stages of the process:-
- Pre-Action Work – contacting the debtor and providing them with pre-action material required before a claim can commence. Much of the ground work is spent on this point and we usually incur costs of £300 – £500 + VAT.
- Issuing a Claim – we can fix the cost of this element at £750 + VAT. We may, at this point, bring counsel in to assist with particular points of law or drafting particulars and their hourly rate will be agreed separately.
- Hearings – you will need to budget approximately £1,500 + VAT per hearing.
- Enforcing Judgment – the cost of enforcing judgment will vary depending on the type of enforcement. We can advise fully on the likely procedure and associated costs once judgment is obtained.