Our Tailored Service

We tailor our service to our client’s needs, from an “advice only” approach to a bespoke personal service. Our “advice only” approach anticipates that we are provided with all necessary documentation and information in order to advise on the matter.

Transparency & Pricing

Majority of our fees are generally estimated as a fixed fee which is usually agreed on upon taking initial instructions from you. However, in circumstance where we are unable estimate a fixed fee, we will provide our fees based on an hourly rate and give you an approximated time in which to complete your matter. The hourly rate will be based on the experience of the case handler. We will let you know and agree with you the amount of hours it will take to deal with your case and the applicable hourly rate of the fee earner dealing with your matter.

We will not charge you more than the fees we initially agreed with you unless the matter becomes very complex and takes more hours than the initial hours estimated. Our fees are exclusive of VAT. The applicable VAT rate is 20%.

RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCING

Our professional fees in a residential purchase, sale or remortgage are usually based on a fixed fee which will be agreed on us taking initial instructions from you. The fixed fee, will cover all the work required to complete a standard conveyancing transaction. This will include taking initial instructions to the completion of the transaction and dealing with the submission and payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax and the registration of the property with the Land Registry. If you are selling your property, the sale of your property will cover all the work required to complete the sale and redeeming of the mortgage on the property (if applicable).

Some transactions would vary on a case-by-case basis as they will reflect the requirements of your sale or purchase. In order to give you a detailed quote and to discuss your specific conveyancing requirements please contact us on 020 8493 0917 or at info@philsolicitors.co.uk. We can then give you a written quote tailored to your transaction based upon the information available at the time. Our residential conveyancing team have many years of experience ranging from Paralegals to Solicitors with over 20 years of experience. Our Ms Phyllis Egole has the overall supervision of the Conveyancing team. For details on each of our Solicitors, their experience or qualifications, please click here.

Your Conveyancing transaction will include the following key stages:

  • Taking initial instructions (Anti Money Laundering (AML) Searches)
  • Pre Exchange (Property Searches and Enquiries)
  • Exchange of Contracts (OS1 (Priority Search) and Bankruptcy)
  • Completion (SDLT Return (Stamp Duty) and Registration of the Property)
  • Registration at the Land Registry and Post Registration matters

How long will the Purchase or Sale take?

On average: Freehold transaction with no chain will take between 6-8 weeks.

Leasehold/Freehold with chain, between 8-12 weeks.

Re-mortgage, between 4-5 weeks.

Unregistered Property Transaction, between 12-16 weeks.

It may be quicker or slower depending on the type of transaction, for example, if you are buying or selling a new build property with a mortgage or buying or selling a leasehold off plan property this may take between 4-6 months. Where a transaction is protracted and additional work is done this may attract additional charges.

Pre-Exchange Enquiries and Searches

If buying, this involves conducting the most appropriate searches, we will peruse the contract and supporting documents, raise enquiries and report you on the results.

If selling, we will require you to complete the relevant forms such as; property information, fixtures and fittings and a leasehold information form (if the property is a leasehold). Once we are in receipt of the said forms, we will forward them to the buyer’s solicitors who would then raise enquiries which we would assist the client in dealing with. Once both parties are satisfied on the enquiries and terms of the contract, there will be an agreement on the exchange of contract.

Exchange of Contract

At this stage the buyer will have to make available the agreed deposit (usually 10% of the purchase price). On exchange of contract, the seller’s solicitors will receive the deposit from the buyer’s solicitors. It is at this stage that the buyer would insure the property.

Pre-completion

• The Transfer Deed and Mortgage Deed will be prepared for you to sign.
• We will carry out the final searches.
• We will prepare a Certificate of Title for your lender and ask them to transfer the mortgage money in time for completion.
• We will prepare the financial statement and ask you for the balance of the money required to complete including Stamp Duty Land Tax and legal fees.
• At the date of completion you will have to make arrangements to ensure the structure of the property is to your satisfaction and that of the lender’s, if not dealt with at the exchange stage.
• You should make arrangements for the utility meters to be read.

Completion

Completion is when the balance of the purchase money is paid by the buyer's solicitor to the seller's solicitor. Furthermore, the title documents are sent to the buyer's solicitor and the keys released to the buyer. We deal with the legal formalities on your behalf however, you should normally inspect the property before completing even if you are not moving in.

In any event, you will have to make arrangements to collect the keys from the sellers/agents.

On completion we deal with the repayment of your existing mortgage (if any) from the sale proceeds.

Registration and Post Completion Matters

When the transaction is completed, we will deal with the payment of any Stamp Duty Land Tax payable and will deal with the registration procedures. Once the registration at the Land Registry has been completed, we will provide you (and your mortgagees) a copy of the title to the property.

Our Fees and Other Expenses

Our fees range from a minimum fixed fee of £850 to £3500 plus VAT. Our fees are fixed based on the complexity of the transaction(s), the urgency with which the matter is dealt and the total time that the matter takes.

The above fees are exclusive of VAT and Disbursements. VAT payable on our fees and disbursements is 20%.

Disbursements

The disbursements on a purchase are standard and are as follows :-

AML Search (Electronic ID Check)...........................................£10.00
Local Authority and other usual searches estimated …….........£350.00
Stamp Duty Land Tax................................................................depending on purchase price
Land Registry Priority Searches/Bankruptcy (as required).......£6.00
Land Registration Fee...............................................................depending on the purchase price
Bank Transfer Fees…………………………………………....£25.00

Our firm will charge full fees even if the transaction does not proceed to completion.

COMMERCIAL CONVEYANCING

Our fees start from £1,200 plus VAT excluding disbursements.

VAT rate is 20%.

Standard disbursements are Land Registration fee, Stamp Duty (Land Tax), AML Search fee and Bankruptcy Search.

  • AML (Electronic ID Check)............£12.00 plus VAT
  • Bankruptcy Search...........................£3.00 plus VAT
  • Land Registration Fee......................depending on the value of the property
  • New Lease of up to one Million.......from £45 to £1,105 (no VAT payable)

Majority of transactions take 2 months to complete from initial instructions.

Key Stages in the process:

  • Taking initial instructions
  • Peruse and review Head of Terms and Draft Lease
  • Amendments of Draft Lease
  • Exchange (Bankruptcy Search will be done around this time)
  • Completion
  • Registration

Please note that full fees will be payable even if the matter becomes abortive.

IMMIGRATION

Our fees for immigration services range from £1,200 – £3,500 (depending on the type of Visa application) for each applicant with no VAT payable (however VAT is payable for Naturalisation Applications). If there is any dependant to be included in the application process, we may charge you for this separately. Our costs are based on a combination of competitive market pricing as well as an approximate hourly rate based on the amount of work involved for complex matters. On a complex matter which needs a tailored quote, fees would be calculated at a rate of £350 per hour for a qualified solicitor and up to £250 per hour for a paralegal dealing with your application.

EXPERIENCE LEVEL DESCRIPTION FEE
Grade A Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with 8+ years of experience. Up to £350 (+VAT)
Grade B Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with 4+ years of experience. Up to £300 (+VAT)
Grade C Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with up to 4 years of experience. Up to £275 (+VAT)
Grade D Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and other fee earners. Up to £250 (+VAT)

 

Complex matters can be defined as appeals or administrative reviews which may give rise to various issues. Please contact us to get a more accurate quote to enable us to assess the complexity of these types of matters.

Our Services & Key Stages include: -

  • Taking initial instructions
  • Preparation and submission for Visa applications for the Home Office
  • Document checklist filing and submission
  • Biometric Appointment Booking
  • Applications to Appeal (if needed – charged separately)
  • Application for administrative review (if needed – charged separately)
  • Subject Access Request Applications (if needed)

The time frame for most visa applications ranges from 6-12 weeks while administrative reviews and appeals can take up to 6 – 9 months to be heard.

Costs & Disbursements

Most applications will only incur Home Office fees and some applications will also incur an Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which is an NHS Surcharge (£776 - £1,035 per year depending on your visa route).  The NHS Surcharge does not apply to Visitor visa categories or visas to enter the UK which are less than 6 months duration & submitted overseas. Both Home Office fees and IHS surcharges are not subject to VAT. Any appeals to the Immigration Tribunal, the Court or an administrative review would be subject to an application fee depending on the type of application, please contact us for further details. Biometric enrolment is also a disbursement which can range from a free of charge appointment to approximately £200. It is important to note, while not a disbursement, the Home Office will want to ensure you meet the financial requirements for your chosen application which will need to be evidenced in the form of bank statements, payslips, etc.

Below are some of the Visa Applications we can assist you with:

Study & Visitors Visa:

Our professional fees are at a fixed fee of £1,200. Disbursements for Visitor Visa’s include Home Office fees which range from £115 - £963 depending on the length of the visit. An extension of a Visitor Visa will attract an additional professional fee of £1,000 and another Home Office fee of £1,000. Visitors Visa’s do not attract IHS while Study Visas attract IHS at a rate of £776 per year. Study Visa Home Office fees can range from £200-£490 depending on the duration of study.

Spouse Visa (Leave to Remain/Entry Clearance):

Our professional fees are at a fixed fee range of £1,200 - £1,500. The Home Office charges for the cost of a spouse visa application made within the UK at £1,048. Applications made outside of the UK (classified as a ‘settlement visa’ for entry clearance) is £1,846. For a spouse visa granted for 30 months (2.5 years) within the UK, the total IHS amounts to £2,587.50 for leave to remain.

Indefinite Leave to Remain:

Our professional fees are at a fixed fee range of £1,500 - £2,000. The application fee for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) set by the Home Office is currently £2,885. Other disbursements include the priority service (if you choose to do so) which provides an ILR decision within 5 working days for an additional fee of £500 or a super priority service which costs £1,000 with a decision provided within 1 working day. It is important to note that if you apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and end up being granted limited leave to remain by the Home Office, you may be required to pay IHS.

Naturalisation:

Our professional fees are at a fixed fee range of £1,200 - £1,500 plus VAT at 20%. Disbursements include Home Office fees which currently are £1,580 per adult and £1,214 for the naturalisation per child. Additional disbursements include paying for the Life in the UK test currently at £50 per person.

Work Visa’s

Our professional fees are at a fixed fee range of £2,500 - £3,500. Disbursements include Home Office fees which range from £192 - £1,884 depending on your working circumstances. IHS will be payable but will vary depending on the duration of your work visa. Please call to book a consultation regarding your choice of work visa to get a more accurate calculation of what you may expect to pay.

Administrative Review/ Appeal:

Our professional fee’s may be charged as a fixed fee at a range of £2,000 - £3,000. Disbursements to include Home Office fees of £80 for administrative review and £140 for the court fee for immigration appeals. However, if we instruct Counsel/a Barrister to represent you in any hearings, the fees may range from £1,500 - £3,500 and may be subject to VAT. The costs of a Counsel/Barrister will of course depend on the level of experience of the Counsel/Barrister. Please contact our Ms Phyllis Egole who has the overall supervision of our Immigration department for further details on such costs.

Please note the fees quoted above do not include interpreting or translation services.

Timescales

The timescale from inception of the file to completion for each immigration application will mainly depend on the processing times by the UK Border Agency or Home Office. We aim to process your file and application and prepare it for submission within 1-6 weeks depending on the complexity of your case. Although the UK Border Agency and Home Office provide guidelines on the waiting times or processing times, there are many cases where an application takes much longer for them to process or make a decision. Therefore, it is difficult to give a precise timescale. However, we recommend that you refer to the UK Border Agency and Home Office websites for their estimated turnaround times.

EMPLOYMENT

OUR FEES

Our fees are charged on an hourly basis. Our employment team is supervised by our Ms Phyllis Egole. The team will ensure that the work is done on a cost-efficient basis and clients will be regularly kept informed with the time and costs incurred on their matter.

Our fees are estimates, not capped or fixed and the circumstances may result in an estimate being higher or lower depending on circumstances that emerge during the course of the matter. We will always advise you if particular complications arise which may make it likely that we may exceed our estimated fee.
Our fees will be based on the hourly rate of £350.00 (excluding VAT) of the partner; our Ms Phyllis Egole who deals with most of our Employment Tribunal matters.

EXPERIENCE LEVEL DESCRIPTION FEE
Grade A Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with 8+ years of experience. Up to £350 (+VAT)
Grade B Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with 4+ years of experience. Up to £300 (+VAT)
Grade C Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with up to 4 years of experience. Up to £275 (+VAT)
Grade D Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and other fee earners. Up to £250 (+VAT)

We estimate our overall legal cost in Employment Tribunal matters to be as follows:

Simple application: £12,000 to £15,000 based on an hourly rate of up to £350 + VAT at 20%.

Medium complexity: £18,000 to £20,000 based on hourly rate of up to £350.00 + VAT at 20%.

High complexity: £24,000 to £30,000 based on hourly rate of up to £350.00 + VAT at 20%.

High Complexity matters can be defined as: -

  • Allegations of discrimination
  • Applications which may need to be adjusted to amend or provide further disclosure
  • A hearing going beyond 3 days
  • Complex preliminary issues
  • A high number of witnesses
  • Making or defending cost applications

No two Employment Tribunal Claims are exactly the same and our fees will reflect the client’s particular circumstances. These variable requirements make it difficult to provide a meaningful estimate before we know the particular circumstances. A claim such as unfair dismissal brought by the claimant/client may seem simple however, in the process of the Tribunal claim other issues may arise making the claim more complicated than anticipated which may result to amendments being made or more hearings required than usual.

These explanations are not exhaustive as it would all depend on the particular circumstances of the matter. At all times the client is kept abreast as to the costs incurred in their matter.

It is also pertinent to note that where a client has other funding options available, such as cover under an insurance policy, we will endeavour to check with the client at their first appointment of the possibility of such insurance policy covering their legal costs for the Employment Tribunal claim. The hourly rate of £300 as set out above will be applicable.

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

  • Taking initial instructions, reviewing documents and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change);
  • Entering into the mandatory pre-claim conciliation to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
  • Preparing the claim or response;
  • Reviewing and advising on the claim or response from the other party;
  • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process;
  • Preparing or considering a schedule of loss;
  • Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing;
  • Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing to a bundle of documents;
  • Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing on their content with witnesses;
  • Preparing the bundle of documents;
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements;
  • Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list; and
  • Preparation and attendance at the Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.

The stages set out above are an indication. If some of the stages above are not required, the fee will not be charged.

DISBURSEMENTS

Disbursements are costs related to the client’s matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on the client’s behalf to ensure a smoother process.

Counsel’s fee for Opinion which involves advice and merit of the client’s claim is estimated to be between £1500 and £4000 (plus VAT at 20%). Counsel’s fees are estimated to be between £1600 to £4000 per day (plus VAT at 20%) (depending on the experience of the Counsel) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).

How long will my matter take?

The time that it takes from taking the client’s initial instructions to the final resolution of the matter depends largely on the stage at which the client’s case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, the case is likely to take about 12 months. If the claim proceeds to a Final Hearing, the case is likely to take 24 months. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and as the matter progresses.

PROBATE & ADMINISTRATIVE OF ESTATE:

We charge for our legal services on an hourly basis as it is difficult to provide an estimated cost of dealing with matters in this area. This depends on a number of issues which may arise such as the complexity and value of the estate etc. Our Probate team supervised by our Ms Phyllis Egole will be responsible for dealing with your matter. The team will ensure that the work is done on a cost-efficient basis and clients will be regularly kept informed with the time and cost incurred on their matter.

Our fees are estimates, not capped or fixed and the circumstances may result in an estimate being higher or lower depending on circumstances that emerge during the course of the matter. We will always advise you if particular complications arise which may make it likely that we may exceed our estimated fee. Our fees are exclusive of VAT which is charged at a rate of 20%.

Our Ms Phyllis Egole deals with most of our probate matters and her hourly rate is £300 to £350 (plus VAT) depending on the complexity of the case. Alternatively, a Trainee Solicitor/Paralegal working on your matter would incur an hourly rate of £200 to £250 per hour. Below is a table detailing hourly costs depending on experience:

EXPERIENCE LEVEL DESCRIPTION FEE
Grade A Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with 8+ years of experience. Up to £350 (+VAT)
Grade B Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with 4+ years of experience. Up to £300 (+VAT)
Grade C Solicitors & Legal executives (or equivalent fee earners) with up to 4 years of experience. Up to £275 (+VAT)
Grade D Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and other fee earners. Up to £250 (+VAT)

 

Below is the estimate which may be incurred at the completion of a probate matter:

  • £12,000 plus VAT to £25,000 plus VAT for straight and medium complex cases.
  • £25,000 plus VAT for complex cases.

Our Services & Key Stages include: -

  • Assessing the value of the Estate
  • Assessing Inheritance Tax Liability (IHT)
  • Corresponding with the other side (for contested probate matters).
  • Applying for Probate
  • Informing interested parties
  • Gathering the assets of the Estate
  • Paying any debts owed by the Estate

Other additional Costs in estate administration

There may be a number of additional costs which are commonly referred to as disbursements. The probate hourly rate does not include disbursements in its calculations. VAT is charged on most disbursements, but not on court fees.

Common disbursements would be:

  • Probate Court fees - £273
  • £5 per personal representative/£7 per proving executor on swearing of the oath (we can advise what this means);
  • Bankruptcy searches (against deceased and beneficiaries) – £2 per individual
  • Notices in the London Gazette and local newspaper to where the deceased died to protect the executors/personal representatives – we can advise on this, and the costs associated.
  • Land registry Office Copies entries - £3 per document
  • Decree Absolute search (if required) - £45

The above disbursements are inclusive of VAT.

Estimated time to deal with the matter

The overall likely timescale of how long an administration of an estate will take to complete is 9-12 months.

The various stages and time frames would be in the region of the following: -

  • Registration of death and obtaining valuations of the assets of the deceased, together with completion of the relevant Inheritance Tax return and drafting of specific oaths for the personal representative/executor to swear – 3 to 5 months;
  • Payment of Inheritance Tax (if applicable) and return of receipt of payment of the Inheritance Tax from HMRC – 2-3 months;
  • Applying for Grant of Probate – 2-4 weeks depending on valuations required
  • Obtaining the Grant of Probate – Probate Office currently takes approximately 16 weeks to process;
  • Upon receipt of the Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration, encashing the assets – 1 to 6 months (if for example a house needs to be sold); and
  • Once all monies are received, distribution of the assets with full estate accounts provided – 2 to 6 weeks.

Please note that the tax advice (including assessing IHT liability), valuation of assets, process server and investigator fees are not included in our fees. Clients will be asked to seek advice from external qualified accountants, valuators and investigators.