Pricing
The areas of law in which we specialize are property, commercial, corporate, commercial property and commercial disputes.
Commercial:
Within commercial transactions there are numerous variations and complexities with the result that meaningful price guidelines are difficult to achieve. You are welcome to email your enquiry or to ‘phone us for an initial free chat in which we can seek to establish your objectives and then provide you with an initial costs quotation. You will be pleasantly surprised. Any quotation provided is underpinned by our professional duty only to charge what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances of your particular transaction. Our charges are based on our hourly rates (see below).
Conveyancing/Property:
Within conveyancing transactions, costs and disbursements vary depending on the price and the tenure of the property. For example, in a typical freehold purchase transaction for a property costing up to £200,000 our fees will be c. £1,000 - £1,500 plus VAT and disbursements including a Land Registry fee of £100. In a purchase up to £500,000 our fees will be c. £1,500 to £2,000 plus VAT and the Land Registry fee increases to £150. In a purchase above £500,000 our fees will be c. £2,000 - £2,500 plus VAT and the Land Registry fee is £295. If you are buying at £1m or above our fees will start at £2,500 and the Land Registry fee is £500.
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The fee ranges are the same for sales. Sales are not necessarily quicker or cheaper than purchases although sometimes they can be. We have set out our fee structure as ranges, to enable flexibility in pricing to account for varying levels of work involved, as it is not always possible to know this at the outset of a transaction.
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Non-typical freehold transactions incurring fees at the higher end of the ranges (occasionally even above) will include properties with, for example; private water/drainage arrangements; freehold rentcharges, service charges or maintenance charges; statutory declarations of easements (rights of way) and so on.
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Leasehold and some freehold transactions incur additional legal fees as there is always also a freehold title and management arrangements of a varying nature in addition to the leasehold title to consider. There are also additional administrative fees for both buyers and sellers imposed by the freeholder/management company/managing agent for information required to complete/register the transaction. These fees usually become clear in the course of the transaction and are usually in the region of £100 - £500 each, often with VAT. Many leasehold transactions include several such fees.
The stamp duty land tax (SDLT) liability on a purchase varies depending on the price and whether you are a first time buyer, a mover or an additional/buy to let home buyer. To check your stamp duty liability use the gov.uk online SDLT calculator and answer the questions to get a calculation.
Other disbursements include search fees (£250 - £550), bank charges (variable and to be confirmed) and sundry charges for official Land Registry documents (now £7 per document) and Land Registry searches (bankruptcy and title checks (£6/7).
We will always ensure that any quotation is submitted to you in writing.
Services Included:
Taking your instructions; establishing your objectives and desired outcome; preparing and implementing any required documentation; instigating any necessary searches, enquiries and due diligence; keeping you advised and reporting to you at key stages of your case or transaction.
Where it is necessary to effect completion of a transaction, we will make all the necessary arrangements including; collecting in and remitting any completion funds; paying any stamp duty or registration fees from the funds provided by you.
If instructed by you and provided you place sufficient funds with us, we will pay other professionals and service providers including estate agents.
We do not undertake property surveys or valuations nor do we undertake Energy Performance assessments or floor plans.
Our Solicitors:
Edmund (32 PQE) charges an hourly rate of £350.
Laura (12 PQE) charges an hourly rate of £275.
These rates are in keeping with the national guidelines.
VAT:
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VAT at 20% is chargeable on our fees and some disbursements.
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Our Terms of Business:
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1. Fees and Quotations
Our fees are computed on the basis of the time we spend on your affairs and also on the levels of skill and responsibility involved. There will be cases where we have given you an estimate of the costs involved for acting on your behalf in a particular transaction. In such cases that estimate is based on the assumption that the transaction will proceed normally with no undue complications and that it will not become unusually protracted. We will do our best to ensure that we stick to the estimate given but occasionally matters arise which make this impossible, for example where we have to deal with redemption of several mortgages or on a purchase with more than one mortgage lender or in cases of “negative equity” or defective title. Also, it is important to remember that in business or commercial transactions and in cases involving court proceedings there are likely to be far greater complexities. Accordingly, we reserve the right in such circumstances to vary the estimate given to a figure which is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances and in particular having regard to the figure previously given to you and the additional work involved. If it is necessary to vary the figure, we will endeavour to advise you as soon as it becomes apparent.
2. Charging Rate
We record all time spent on every case or transaction. Where it is necessary to vary the figure given to you at the outset of the matter (as explained in 1 above) or should a transaction fail to proceed to completion we will apply a charging rate of £275.00/£350.00 per hour to that recorded time. In such circumstances all attendances, preparation time, perusal of incoming correspondence and documents, letters written and telephone calls will be recorded and charged on that basis. This charging rate is reviewed from time to time and you will of course be notified of any variation. The recorded time and charging rates are not the only criteria for assessing the fee. Our overriding obligation to you is to charge what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances.
3. VAT
The charge for services and some disbursements attract VAT at the current rate of 20%.
4. Disbursements
In most cases we will incur some disbursements (i.e. court fees, registration fees, search fees, etc.) in the course of the transaction. These will be included as a separate item in any account issued and we may ask you to pay for disbursements as these are incurred during the course of the transaction.
5. Methods of Payment and Money Laundering Regulations
Payment should be made to Bailhache Law Limited by bank transfer or personal or building society cheque. Please allow 5 working days for the clearance of personal cheques. Direct bank transfers can be made by prior arrangement and this method is preferred where significant funds are required. Due to the money laundering regulations, we are only permitted to accept limited amounts of cash in relation to any transaction. We will not be able to accept payments prior to your identity being verified. You will be asked to complete an AML form. We will require you to provide proof of identity and, separately, your address. We may, at our discretion, carry out electronic identity checks and a charge of £5.00 plus VAT for each individual involved in the matter will be made.
6. Timing of Accounts
It may be appropriate for us to render interim accounts particularly if the matter becomes unusually protracted. This is usually the case in litigation matters which involve court proceedings. In any case where it is appropriate for interim accounts to be rendered these will be billed at appropriate intervals (usually monthly) during the course of our instructions at our discretion and will then be due for settlement. In every case however a final account will be issued at the conclusion of the transaction and is due for payment immediately.
7. Interest and Administration Charge
Should any account rendered for fees remain unpaid after thirty days from the date of the invoice we reserve the right to suspend services and/or charge interest from the date of the account at the rate of 2% per calendar month such interest to be calculated on a simple interest basis until the account is paid. We reserve the right to transfer the account to a collection agency and to recover any charges so incurred in addition to the original debt and interest. Our fees and disbursements in conveyancing matters are payable at the latest in cleared funds by the working day before completion. If they are not, we reserve the right to charge an additional fee of £50.00 which will attract VAT of 20%. In addition, we reserve the right to charge interest at 15% p.a. on all invoices left unpaid one month after the date of the invoice.
8. Difficulties in Paying
If you have difficulty in paying an account it will be beneficial to us both if this is discussed immediately. We may be able to establish a mutually satisfactory arrangement for payment.
9. Complaints Concerning Your Account
If you wish to discuss any aspect of the transaction we are handling or any account received with which you are not satisfied or if a mistake has been made then we shall do our best to resolve your concern. Any complaint will be acknowledged immediately in writing and we aim to resolve all complaints within 28 days. In the first instance please contact:- Edmund Bailhache, 2 Church Square, Taunton TA1 1SA (Telephone 01823 333098) or Email: edmund@bailhachelaw.com). If your concern relates to a matter that has been dealt with by Edmund Bailhache, please contact Laura Bailhache at the same address (Email: laura@bailhachelaw.com).
10. Limitation of Liability for Fraudulent Email
We do not accept liability for fraudulent emails purporting to be from our company.
11. Client Money
On the 30th January 2017, the protection limit for deposits protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) was reduced to £85,000. FSCS limit applies to the individual client, so if you hold other personal monies in the same deposit-taking institution as our client account, the limit remains £85,000 in total. There are certain exceptions for temporary high balance up to £1,000,000. For more information please go to http://www.lawsociety.org.uk
12. Professional Indemnity/Our Liability
We limit our liability (and that of our partners, employees and consultants) to you for a breach of your instructions or any duty of care we may owe to you. This limit may be set out in our letter of appointment but if no limit is stated, it will be £3 million sterling per claim, whether made by you or any third party, inclusive of interest and legal and other costs.
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