Costs

Our highly experienced Property Service department is headed by Vincent Hambleton-Grey. He is joined by Minnie Waite, Peter Arnstein and Emma Faulkner (currently on maternity leave).

We provide fixed fees for all property-related matters, although depending on the complexities of the matter, the fee may vary. However, you will always be informed of any price change in advance.

Purchase of Residential Property

We charge a fixed fee commencing at £1,750 plus VAT for any property purchases below £1M, plus disbursements. For properties over £1M fees are subject to discussion.

Disbursements in a property purchase include stamp duty, land registration fee, land searches and title searches. A minor bank charge relating to money transfers will also be levied. The amount of stamp duty and land registration fees to pay are dependant on the purchase price.

On purchase of leasehold properties, you will incur a fee payable to the freeholder or management company for service of notice of your purchase. Depending on the terms of the lease, you may be  required to enter into a deed of covenant with the freeholder/ management company and again, you are likely to incur a fee for the provision of such a deed.

Depending on the terms of the lease, a certificate of compliance may also be required from the freeholder/ management company to enable registration of the title with the Land Registry. You will incur a fee to obtain this consent. You may also gain a share of the freehold/ management company which incur a fee for provision of the share certificate to you. These fees are not under our control, but we will notify you of them as soon as we know.

Ground rent and a service charge are likely to apply through ownership of a leasehold property. We will confirm the ground rent and anticipated service charge as soon as we have this information.

Sale of Residential Property

Our fees for the sale of residential property mirror those of the purchase of residential property (see above).

However, should the property be leasehold, then you are likely to incur a disbursement to the management company for provision of a management pack which is required by the buyer. The fee for such a pack differs from management company to management company, but in our experience is likely to be in the region of between £200-£400 plus VAT.

Grant of Leases in Commercial Property

Our fees start at £1,800 plus VAT depending on the terms of the lease. The fees we charge will vary depend on the nature and complexity of the work involved. Any additional fees will be discussed with you in advance.

There will be additional disbursements incurred in any grant of a lease, the most common of which will be stamp duty on the rent and the land registration fee. Any individual circumstances can be discussed with you.

Lease Extensions

Our costs will be dependent on whether or not notices are required to be served upon your freeholder  Our charges commence at £1,100 plus VAT depending on your circumstances and those of the freeholder. You will be liable for the freeholder’s costs of carrying out a valuation as well as the legal costs of the freeholder’s solicitors. You will also incur fees for land registration and for obtaining documents from the land registry, such as the title document and a copy of the lease. These costs are additional to our fees.

How Long will a House Purchase Take?

How long it will take from your offer being accepted until you can move in to your new home will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8-12 weeks.

It can be quicker or slower depending on the parties in the chain. For example, if you are a first time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle, it could take 6 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that require an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer.

The precise stages involved in the purchase of property vary according to circumstances. However, here is a bullet point guide to the basic steps:

• Take instructions and give 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 advice on all documents and information received
• Go through conditions of mortgage offer
• Send final contract for signature
• Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
• Exchange contracts
• Arrange for all monies needed to be received from the lender
• Complete purchase
• Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/ Land Tax
• Deal with application for registration at Land Registry

Our Wills and Probate department is headed by Lara Symons. Lara charges out at £300 an hour, plus VAT although we will charge a fixed fee for the following work:

• Drafting and execution of straightforward Wills – £400 plus VAT
• Drafting and execution of straightforward  mirror Wills – £700 plus VAT
• There is also an additional fee for a home visit (if requested) – £75 plus VAT

Lara will undertake probate work in relation to all uncontested probate matters, which include both testate and intestate, and taxable and non-taxable estates.

Contested probate cases are dealt with by Vincent Hambleton-Grey and David Thorley.

It is very difficult to estimate the likely cost of obtaining a grant of representation and administering an estate. The main reason for this difficulty is that there is insufficient information at the outset as to the nature of the estate and the potential problems. Our charges are calculated in accordance with the Solicitors’ (Non-Contentious Business) Remuneration Order 2009. This provides that a solicitor’s remuneration for non-contentious (i.e. non-litigious) matters should be such sum as may be fair and reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances of the case. The most important factor to be taken into account is the time spent in dealing with the matter. There are also other factors such as the complexity and importance of the matter, the skill involved, and the need for urgency.

In non-contentious matters such as probate, our costs are based on two factors, a “time element” and a “value element”.

(a) The time element

As mentioned earlier, it is impossible to estimate how many hours of work will be needed to obtain the grant and to administer the estate. Each case will depend on its individual facts and unexpected difficulties may arise. Having said that, it may be helpful to give some simple examples to illustrate the amount of time which might be involved in certain cases:

(i) Example 1: An estate (say £325,000 to £499,999) can sometimes be wound up in about 10 hours if there are no complications and if there is a sole executor who is also the sole beneficiary.

(ii) Example 2: An estate (say, £500,000 to £999,999) might be wound up in between 10 and 20 hours, depending on the number of beneficiaries and the difficulty in collecting the assets and settling the liabilities.

(iii) Example 3: An estate (above £1,000,000) might be wound up in between 20 and 60 hours, depending on the nature of the assets and assuming that there are no major difficulties.

(b) The value element

Our charges will also contain an element based on the value of the estate. This is because the value is a reflection of the importance of the matter and, consequently, the responsibility imposed on the firm.

How the value element is calculated:

(i) Where a solicitor is acting as an executor (either solely or jointly with another person), the Law Society guidelines suggest the following percentage value formula:

• Value of gross estate less residence 1.5%
• Value of residence 0.75%

(ii) Where a solicitor is not acting as an executor, the Law Society guidelines suggest the following percentage value formula:

• Value of gross estate less residence 1%
• Value of residence 0.5%
• The value element will be reduced on a sliding scale for estates valued above £3,000,000.00.

Fees and Disbursements

It may be the case that we will need to instruct counsel or other experts to assist with a preparation of your case. These fees are additional to our costs, and are any court fees which need to be paid as part of you claim. We will advise you as to the likely costs of you disbursement as your matter progresses.

Counsels and other expert fees will attract VAT at the rate of 20%. Court fees do not attract any VAT.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further clarification.

You may have to pay a fee to apply for probate. Whether you need to pay depends on the value of the estate.

If the value of the estate is over £5,000, the application fee is £300.

There’s no fee if the estate is £5,000 or less.

You can order extra copies of the probate document for £1.50 each. This means you can send them to different organisations at the same time.

If probate has already been granted, it costs £20 to make a second application. For example, if you want to apply as an executor after holding ‘power reserved’ on the first application. You’ll have to pay the fee even if the value of the estate is £5,000 or less.

Our Family Law department is headed by Vincent Hambleton-Grey whose hourly rate is £350 plus VAT. He is assisted by Emma Faulkner who qualified as a solicitor in 2016. Emma charges out at £250 an hour, plus VAT.

It is difficult to provide a fixed fee for Family Law work as it can range from an uncontested divorce which can conclude fairly quickly, to prolonged financial proceedings which take much more time.

Our Immigration department is headed by Lara Symons. Lara qualified as a solicitor in 1997. Lara charges out at £300 an hour, plus VAT.

At Baron Grey, we usually charge a fixed fee for immigration work, ranging from £150 for a one -off consultation to £3,000 for more complex applications.

We provide a range of potential fees to cover all work on your application and when quoting for the work at the outset, we will make it clear what is included in the quoted fee and what is not.
In some cases it may be more appropriate to be charged on an hourly basis. When charged on an hourly basis, we will provide an estimate of how many hours work are required and an estimate of total costs.

There are many factors that we will consider when providing you a quote for your work. These include:

• whether it is a first-time applicant or extension if there are multiple dependents (eg several children)
• the language of the client
• the number of supporting documents or witnesses
• possible attendance at a Home Office interview
• whether it is a fast tracked or premium application

By way of guidance, below are some examples of our price ranges for common types of cases:

One–off consultation

This is a face to face meeting at our office with one of our solicitors, up to one hour – £150 excluding VAT and disbursements, such as an interpreter, if required.

Applying to become British

Applications to naturalise or register as a British citizen – from £1,500 excluding VAT. The Home Office fee for naturalisation is currently £,1,500 (no vat) per adult applicant and £1,351 (no vat) per child applicant.

Applying to join your family in the UK

Entry clearance application for a partner, spouse or child – from £,1800 excluding VAT. The application fees in this category are typically £1,846 (no VAT) for standard proceedings.

Applying to remain in the UK

An initial application, or an application to extend leave to remain in the UK for a partner, spouse or child – from £1,500 excluding VAT. The Home Office fees are typically around £1,048 (no vat) for standard processing.

Applying to visit the UK

Applying for a visitor visa for tourism, or visiting family and friends – from £750 excluding vat. The application fee is around £115 (no VAT).

Appealing to the independent immigration courts against a decision to refuse your application

Completing Notice of Appeal and drafting grounds of appeal – £400 excluding VAT. Court fee is currently £140 (no VAT). Preparation for appeal hearing from £1,500 excluding VAT and representation at the appeal hearing.

What services are included:

• discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming whether this is the most appropriate application for you to make and what other options may be available to you
• giving you advice about the requirements of the Immigration Rules and whether you meet the criteria
• if you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how
• considering the supporting evidence you have provided
• where necessary, helping you obtain further evidence (such as medical records and bank statements), including taking statements of any witnesses
• preparing your application and submitting it on your behalf
• attendance at a Home Office interview: if the Home Office ask you to attend an interview, we will give you clear advice (and discuss the possibility of us attending with you) at the appropriate time
• giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take

What is not included:

• Disbursements – these are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as interpreters fees and independent expert reports, for example medical experts
• If there is an interview and we do attend with you, there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses
• Any Home Office fees for making the application. You will pay this to the Home Office directly as part of the application process
• Where the Home Office refuse your application, advice and assistance in relation to any appeal.

How long will my application take?

We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. Current processing times are available to view on the Home Office website. When we take your instructions, we will estimate how long your application may take to prepare and submit. A typical application to join your family in the UK or to extend your leave to remain will take 2-4 weeks to prepare, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this.

All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate time estimate once we have more information about your specific case. If you are able to provide sufficient evidence at our first meeting and clearly meet the applicable Immigration rules the preparation time will clearly be less than a more complex case.

Our Commercial Law department is headed by Vincent Hambleton-Grey. He is assisted in these matters by David Thorley. Vincent has run the practice since 1990 and is highly experienced in this field of law. Vincent works under his hourly rate of £350 an hour, plus VAT, for all commercial matters.

We understand how frustrating it can be when you are owed money by an individual or a company and they refuse to pay what they owe. At Baron Grey Solicitors, we are experienced at recovering sums of money, whether that be through a mediation or through the court. Our fees in respect of the recovery of the debt will always be proportionate to the amount that needs to be recovered. Our debt recovery department is headed by Vincent Hambleton-Grey whose hourly rate is £350 plus VAT. Please contact us to discuss your case so we will be in a position to provide you with an estimate of our costs.

Our Employment Law department is headed by Vincent Hambleton-Grey whose hourly rate is £350 plus VAT. Vincent has great experience in dealing with whole spectrum of employment cases, from unfair dismissal claims through to discrimination matters. In all cases, we try to settle any matter without having to resort to the Employment Tribunal because costs are not recoverable from an Employment Tribunal. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss you potential claim further so we can provide you with an estimate of what our costs are likely to be.

Each case is different. Accordingly, it is not possible to tell you how long your case will take. Having said that, if cases can settle before going to court, you can reasonably expect a matter to conclude within 6 months. Should matter progress to court, then a case take anywhere between 6 months – 2 years to conclude, depending on the nature and complexity of the case, and its’ venue.