The examples below are to give you indicative figures. The fees quoted only relate to properties situated in the U.K.

These fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new home, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and the 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.

Freehold properties – indicative fees range

Purchase price up to £500,000
Our fees will go up to:
£1,000.00 + VAT

Purchase price between £500,001 to £1,000,000
Our fees will go up to:
£1,400.00 + VAT

Purchase price between £1,000,001 to £1,500,000
Our fees will go up to:
£1,600.00 + VAT

Purchase price over £1,500,000
Please call or email us for a bespoke quotation.

The figures quoted above assume a straightforward transaction without unforeseen complexity or issues. If the matter becomes complex then there will be an additional fee, examples of which include (but are not limited to):

• Where your property involves a Help to Buy mortgage
• Where your property is leasehold
• Where your property is new build
• Where your mortgage lender instructs its own solicitor
• Where your lease purchase includes the purchase of a share of the freehold
• Where a lease extension is involved
• Where freeholder consent for any reason may be required
• Where there is a perceived defect in title
• If leasehold, that it is the transfer of an existing lease and not the grant of a new lease
• Shared ownership transactions
• Missing or absentee landlords
• Compulsory Purchase
• Where a transaction is required to be expedited
• Contract races
• Lock out/exclusivity agreements
• Debt Recovery where fees and disbursements are unpaid

Obviously, all cases are different and we will try our best to inform you as soon as we become aware of any feature that might have an impact on the quoted fee. Please note that all are work is normally charged on a fee basis as outlined above. For information purposes, if any work was carried out on a time spent basis, then the hourly rate is Partner at £220.00 plus VAT, Senior Conveyancer and Solicitor at £200 plus VAT and Conveyancer at £180 plus VAT. We will always inform you if any work was intended to be carried out on this basis.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs (i.e. expenses), 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.

The following comprise the usual disbursements:

• Search fees – between £210.00 and £400.00 depending on the type and volume of searches required. For instance, in addition to the searches included in our professional search pack it may be necessary to arrange for a Mining Report which would cost £60 inc vat.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax – Read more
• Land Registry fee – Read more (where the property is in Wales read here)
• Electronic money transfer fee £48.00 inc. VAT
• Managing Agents pack on sale of leasehold – this can only be ascertained on receipt of documents but the average charge is approximately £360.00 inc. VAT, but can vary depending on the Managing Agent or Freeholder
• Notice and compliance fees on leasehold purchases – these can only be ascertained during the transaction but typically can range between £250.00 to £500.00 inc. VAT

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 14 to 18 weeks.

It can be quicker or longer, depending on the number of parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first-time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage offer in place, it could take 6 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 to 4 months. In such a situation additional charges would apply.

Stages of the process

The precise stages involved in the purchase of a residential property vary according to the circumstances. However, 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 the conditions of the mortgage offer with you
• Send final Report to you with the contract for signature
• Agree the completion date (date from which you own the property) with the sellers’ solicitor
• Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from the lender and you
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Our Wills & Probate Fees

Probate Administration Process and Costs

Every estate is unique and our estimates are provided as a guide in accordance with typical testate and intestate estates we have dealt with previously. Our service to you will be for your individual circumstances and tailored to your particular needs. If we have failed to mention specifically anything else which you need then please contact us and we will discuss your requirements with you and provide an estimate of costs.

As a guide our fees are calculated on a work done/time consumed basis with each hour broken down into 10 units of 6 minutes. This means that you are only charged for what we do for you. Please note that all Simpson Jones fees quoted are net of VAT @ 20% unless otherwise stated.

Full Estate Administration

Generally, a simple full estate administration takes between 7 and 15 hours with a fee range of between £1,500 and £4,000. The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. The current hourly rate is £240.

The fee quote assumes:

• There is a valid Will
• There is no more than one property (sale/transfer fees will be quoted separately)
• There are no more than 3 bank or building society accounts
• There are no stocks and shares
• There are no other intangible assets
• All beneficiaries’ whereabouts are known
• There are no disputes between beneficiaries and/or claims against the estate
• All beneficiaries have capacity and are not minors
• There is no Inheritance Tax payable and a full account to HMRC is not required
• This firm is not an Executor in the Will
• We are not required to advise on income tax or capital gains tax
• There are no foreign assets
• There are no Trusts in the Will

Additional costs may arise for example where:

• There is no Will
• There are stocks and shares
• The estate is complex, such as charity involvement, subsequent Trust requirements, investment of minor’s inheritances, multiple beneficiaries
• The estate is subject to the payment of Inheritance Tax and a full IHT form is required
• A Deed of Variation is required

Service overview

We will:

• Collate the information required to prepare the probate documents
• Provide Inheritance Tax advice where required
• Apply for the Grant of Representation
• Collect in the Assets
• Settle the estate debts
• Prepare estate accounts for approval by the Executors and residuary beneficiaries
• Distribute the estate to the beneficiaries.

If any taxes are payable in the Estate these costs will be in addition to our costs for administering the Estate.

We are unable to provide an estimate for any tax that may be payable. Please see https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax for further information in relation to Inheritance Tax. The amount of tax payable will depend on the value of the world-wide estate, including gifts and assets put into trust in the 7 years prior to death, less exemptions and reliefs available. For help valuing an estate please see https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died

Timescale

We cannot be specific at this early stage as we are dependent on the response times of other persons involved in the process. Assuming that everyone acts in a timely fashion, on average an estate will take between 3 and 12 months to complete but this cannot be guaranteed. It may be possible to apply for the Grant within 3 months of instructing us. The Probate Registries have varying degrees of workload but it usually takes between 4 to 12 weeks to issue the Grant and a further 6-12 weeks for us to collect in the assets. When all the assets have been realised and estate debts settled, we will prepare the estate accounts for approval by the Executors and residuary beneficiaries. When all approvals have been received which is usually between 2 to 4 weeks we will distribute to the beneficiaries. If the estate includes the sale of a property, then the timescales will be dependent on the open market. It may be possible to make a distribution before the property is sold but this is case dependent of course. (Covid-19 may cause additional delays).

Additional costs (disbursements)

Grant Only instructions: Fees Guide

Should you wish to carry out the estate administration work and to instruct us only to obtain the Grant of Representation for you, as a guide our fees will be calculated as follows:

• Obtain a Grant (form IHT205 only) £950
• Obtain a Grant (form IHT205 and form IHT217) £1200

These fees and our time estimates are calculated on the basis that:

• You provide us with the valid Will of the Deceased
• You provide us with an original death certificate of the Deceased and satisfactory evidence of your own identity
• We are instructed by or on behalf of all executors entitled to take out a Grant of Probate or by or on behalf of everyone entitled to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration with Will Annexed or by or on behalf of everyone entitled to apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration
• We are provided with and do not have to prepare a schedule of estate assets and liabilities including all lifetime gifts made by the Deceased in the 7 years preceding their death
• The gross value of the estate assets, including the gross value of the declarable lifetime gifts does not exceed £325,000
• There are no assets overseas
• There is no dispute regarding the estate

Should we be required to undertake any additional work, this will be charged on a time basis according to the hourly rate of the fee earner.

Timescale Guide

We aim to make an application to the Probate Registry within two to four weeks of being instructed. Receipt of the Grant of Representation is entirely reliant on Probate Registry workloads at the time, the average being 4 to 12 weeks.

Additional costs (disbursements)

Please contact:

Martin Salt
Head of Wills & Probate
Derby Office 01332-200200
Ashby de la Zouch Office 01530-412046
martins@simpsonjones.co.uk