KJL Solicitors Pricing Structure
VAT is charged at the rate of 20% on all of our services where plus VAT is stated.
Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the sale or purchase of your property, including preparing the contract papers, assisting with enquiries, exchanging contracts and completion. The only time the fee will change is due to unforeseen circumstances, your instructions change or where a lot more work is required than previously envisaged.
Sale
Conveyancer's fees and disbursements
- Legal fee – depends on value:-
£850 plus VAT for a sale up to £300,000;
£900 plus VAT between £300,001-£450,000;
£950 plus VAT between £450,001-£600,000;
£1,150 plus VAT between £600,001-£750,000;
£1,250 plus VAT between £750,001-950,000;
For quotes over £950,000 please contact us directly. Our average pricing is between 0.15% and 0.19% depending on the specific circumstances of the sale.
- Obtaining title approx. £6.00
- Electronic money transfer fee (per transfer) £17.00
Purchase
Conveyancer's fees and disbursements
Our fees cover all of the work required to complete the purchase of your new property, 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.
- Legal fee* – depends on value:
- £850 plus VAT for a purchase up to £300,000;
- £950 plus VAT for a purchase up to £450,000;
- £1,050 plus VAT for a purchase up to £550,000;
- £1,150 plus VAT for a purchase up to £800,000;
For quotes over £800,000 please contact us direct. Our average pricing is between 0.15% and 0.19% depending on the specific circumstances of the purchase.
Plus disbursements: 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 £213.20 these include the following:
Local Search, Drainage and Water Search , Environmental Search & Chancel Search.
- HM Land Registry fee – from £20.00 - £1,105.00 - this will depend on the value of the property and whether the property is already registered, please refer to: http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html
- Electronic money transfer fee £17.00
- Stamp Duty depends on a large number of factors surrounding the buyer and the property, there may be reliefs available, for an indication please visit: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro
- Taking your instructions and giving you initial advice
- Check finances are in place to fund purchase including evidence of source of funds and contacting the lender's solicitors if we are not acting for the lender
- Receive and advise on contract documents
- Carry out searches
- 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
- The legal title is defective
- The property is listed and requires further investigation
- You require a Help to Buy ISA
- The property is shared-ownership
- 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.
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
- No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
- Reviewing documents in relation to the dispute.
- Advising on the Claimant’s Schedule of Loss.
- Responding to the Claimant’s letter before action, if relevant.
- Reviewing and advising you on the Claimant’s Schedule of Loss.
- Entering into settlement negotiations on your behalf with the Claimant and/or via the ACAS Early Conciliation Scheme.
- Preparing the ET3 Response and Grounds of Resistance in response to the Claimant’s claim and submission to the Employment Tribunal on your behalf.
- Conducting settlement negotiations with ACAS and/or with a third party.
- Preparing your list of documents and issuing or responding to appropriate applications to the Employment Tribunal
However this will be on a case by case basis as not all facts are known prior to receiving all information about the property. If there is an annexe for example Multiple Dwellings Relief may be claimed provided it fulfils the criteria.
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, such as when we get the contract papers, how long searches are taking, if there is a chain of parties involved, when we receive your mortgage offer and how quickly the other side deals with the enquiries are raised. The average process takes between 8-12 weeks but this is the average and can vary depending on the circumstances and properties of the parties.
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:
Referral fees
These are arrangements between lawyers and estate agents. If we have a referral arrangement the agent will receive £100 plus VAT for an introduction of a client to this firm. This fee is not passed onto our clients.
Re-mortgage
Our fee £400 plus VAT*
Searches £213.20 (if needed)
Land Registry fee from £20.00 this will depend on the value of the property and whether the property is already registered, please refer to: http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html
Please be aware that there are factors that may change your quote and you should contact us with the specifics of your requirements for an exact quotation. Typical reasons for a cost increase may be:
(this list is not exhaustive)
Leasehold
If the sale, purchase or re-mortgage is leasehold there will an additional fee added to the price quoted above of £150 plus VAT. You should be aware that there are always additional fees when handling a leasehold from the freeholder, when selling the fees of a leasehold information pack (LPE1) should be sought from the freeholder or their managing agent. On a purchase, there are likely to be notice fees which would not be known until the leasehold information pack is provided from the seller’s lawyer.
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.
Mortgages
If there is a mortgage required on the purchase an additional fee of £150 plus VAT will be added to the price.
Newbuild
If the property is newbuild an additional fee of £225 plus VAT will be added to our fee.
There are instances where there are management companies on a freehold and this may also attract further fees.
Our fee assumes that:
The above is for information only, if you require a full and accurate quotation please contact us direct.
Employment Fixed Fee Defending a Claim
Stage 1 – Gathering Evidence
£1,500 plus VAT
Stage 2 – Defending The Claim
£2,000 to £5,000 plus VAT
Stage 3 – Preparing For Hearing
Preliminary Hearing
£2500 plus VAT
Actual Hearing
£3,000 to £6,000
- Instructing an expert where relevant
- Exchanging documents with the third party
- Finalising the bundle of documents, preparing witness statements and continuing settlement negotiations
- Instructing Counsel and all steps leading up to the listed hearing
Please be aware that this quote does not cover any Employment Tribunal fees or Counsel Fees.
Employment Fixed Fee Issuing a Claim
Stage 1 – Understanding your Claim
£2,000-£5,000 plus VAT ( simple case)
£5,000-£15,000 plus VAT (medium complexity case)
£15,000-£30,000 plus VAT (high complexity case)
- Investigation report – we review your documents and advise you on the prospects of your case succeeding - £352.50 plus VAT
- Settlement negotiations – We commence Early Conciliation via ACAS and/or negotiate directly with your employer or third party prior to the commencement of legal proceedings - £350 plus VAT upwards.
Stage 2 – Issuing your Employment Tribunal Claim
£2,500 to £5,500 plus VAT
- Preparing the ET1 Claim form and Grounds of Complaint, prepare your schedule of loss and conduct settlement negotiations after your claim has been issued.
Stage 3 – Preparing For Hearing
£3,000 to £8,000 plus VAT
- Instructing an expert where relevant
- Exchanging documents with the third party
- Finalising the bundle of documents, preparing witness statements and continuing settlement negotiations
- Instructing Counsel and all steps leading up to the listed hearing
Please be aware that this quote does not cover any Employment Tribunal fees or Counsel Fees.
Probate
We do not and have never changed a percentage of the deceased’s estate when dealing with probate and administration of estates. Our fees are changed on an hourly rate and are set out below by way of example.
You will always be given a fee quotation once we have full information on your requirement’s but our charges might look something like those set down below:
Applying for the grant, collecting and distributing the assets
We anticipate a small estate will take between 5 to 12 hours work at £255.00 per hour plus VAT. Total costs estimated at £1275 + VAT lower end of scale to £3060 + VAT at the higher end.
The exact cost will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. For example, if there is one beneficiary and no property, costs are likely to be lower than the lower end quote above. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts, costs will be at the higher end and may even exceed the higher example fee quoted.
We will handle the full process for you. This quote is for examples of estates where:-
- There is a valid will
- There is no more than one property
- There are no more than 5 bank or building society accounts
- There are no other intangible assets
- There are 2-5 beneficiaries
- There are no disputes between beneficiaries on division of assets. If disputes arise this is likely to lead to an increase in costs
- There is no inheritance tax payable and the executors do not need to submit a full account to HMRC
- There are no claims made against the estate
Disbursements in addition to our estimated fees are:
- Probate application fee of £273.00
- £7.00 Swearing of the oath (per executor)
- Bankruptcy-only Land Charges Department searches (£2.00 per beneficiary)
- £84.60 Post in The London Gazette – Protects against unexpected claims from unknown creditors.
- Post in a Local Newspaper – will also help to protect against unexpected claims.
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Potential additional costs
- If there is no will or the estate consists of any share holdings (stocks and bonds) there is likely to be additional costs that could range significantly depending on the estate and how it is to be dealt with. We can give you a more accurate quote once we have more information.
- If any additional copies of the grant are required, they will cost £1.50 (1 per asset usually).
- Dealing with the sale or transfer of any property in the estate is not included.
How long will this take?
On average, estates that fall within this range are dealt with within 3-6 months. Typically, obtaining the grant of probate takes 2-5 weeks. Collecting assets then follows, which can take between 4-8 weeks. Once this has been done, we can distribute the assets, which normally takes 1-2 weeks.
We can help you through this difficult process by obtaining the Grant of Probate on your behalf. We will also undertake the collecting and distributing of assets.
Debt Recovery
These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide 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.
Debts up to £5,000
- 1 hours consultation plus initial letter before action - £255 plus VAT
- 1 hour consultation plus initial letter before action - £255 plus VAT
- 1 hour consultation plus initial letter before action - £255 plus VAT
- 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.
- Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
- Undertaking appropriate 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 in received, write to the other side to request payment
- If payment is not received within X days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs
Debts up to £20,000
Debts up to £50,000
Anything above £50,000 limit should seek a tailored quotation
Our fees for small claim limits disputes are already on our website under “Civil Litigation Fixed Fees in Small Claims”
Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
Our fee includes:
Matters usually take 30 days – 6 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.
Small Claim Work
Small Claims up to £5,000
Up to 1 hour interview and general advice limited to a reduced rate fixed fee £175 plus VAT
Drafting Particulars of Claim in suitable cases £255 plus VAT
Drafting Defence in suitable cases £255 plus VAT
Drafting list of documents (limited volume) £127.50 plus VAT
up to 1 hour attendance and drafting witness statement £255 plus VAT
Up to an hour advising on evidence and procedure at hearing £175 plus VAT
Small Claims from £5,000 to £10,000
Up to 1 hour interview and general advice limited to a reduced rate fixed fee £175 plus VAT
Drafting Particulars of Claim in suitable cases £255 plus VAT
Drafting Defence in suitable cases £255 plus VAT
Drafting list of documents (limited volume) £255 plus VAT
up to 1 hour attendance and drafting witness statement £255 plus VAT
Up to an hour advising on evidence and procedure at hearing £175 plus VAT