Residential conveyancing
Buying, selling orre-mortgaging a home
Our fees cover all the work required to complete your transaction, including dealing with registration at the Land Registry. Our precise costs depend on the value and location of the property.
| Transaction | Freehold | Leasehold |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | from£1,250 | from£1,750 |
| Sale | from£1,150 | from£1,650 |
| Mortgage / re-mortgage | from£600 | from£700 |
Costs range upwards from the figures shown, plus VAT.
Possible additional costs
- Lifetime ISA or Help to Buy ISA: £50 plus VAT per ISA
- Lender instructions through a panel management portal: £60 plus VAT
- Search fees on a purchase: between £220 and £310 plus VAT
- New build developer document fee: from £100 plus VAT
Freehold sale at £450,000Based on our costs of £1,300 plus VAT.Total£1,686.00
- Our costs£1,300.00+ £260.00 VAT
- Telegraphic transfer£40.00+ £8.00 VAT
- Identity verification£40.00+ £8.00 VAT
- Office copy entries (estimated)£30.00
Freehold re-mortgage, borrowing £450,000Based on our costs of £750 plus VAT.Total£1,085.40
- Our costs£750.00+ £150.00 VAT
- Telegraphic transfer£40.00+ £8.00 VAT
- Identity verification£40.00+ £8.00 VAT
- Office copy entries£6.00+ £1.20 VAT
- Land Registry fee£45.00
- Local search£24.00+ £4.80 VAT
- Bankruptcy & Land Registry searches (est.)£7.00+ £1.40 VAT
A purchase or sale typically takes 12–18 weeks from an accepted offer, longer in a chain. A freehold re-mortgage takes about 4 weeks from the mortgage offer; leasehold 4–8 weeks.
Worked example
Our costs
- Costs re freehold purchase£1,450.00+ £290.00 VAT
- SDLT/LTT return form£75.00+ £15.00 VAT
- Telegraphic transfer£40.00+ £8.00 VAT
- Identity verification£40.00+ £8.00 VAT
- Source of funds checks£40.00+ £8.00 VAT
Expenses
- Search fees (estimated)£285.00+ £22.40 VAT
- Land Registry fee (electronic)£150.00
- Bankruptcy & Land Registry searches (est.)£13.00+ £2.60 VAT
Excludes Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax, which depend on the purchase price.
Immigration for individuals
Immigration fees
Estimates are based on the £250 plus VAT hourly rate of a senior immigration lawyer with 10+ years' experience. If you are overseas you may be exempt from VAT.
Consultation
£250+ VAT
A fixed-cost consultation with a senior immigration lawyer.
Application review
£450+ VAT
We check the application you have prepared, confirm all requirements are met and list any recommended actions.
Plus VAT. Identity verification is £40 plus VAT in addition.
Typical application fees
Excluding VAT. These are not fixed fees unless specifically agreed with you.
Initial, extension or settlement
- Visitor visa£1,000
- Partner, spouse or fiancé(e) of a UK resident£1,500
- To study£1,000
- To work for a UK sponsor£1,000£1,500 to settle
- Start Up or Innovator entrepreneur£2,000
- Investor£3,000
- Family member under the points-based system£1,000
- Dependent relative or child joining a UK parent£2,500
- UK Ancestry£1,500
Other settlement routes
- ILR on the basis of 10 years' long residence£2,000
- Settlement on the basis of private or family life£3,000
EU Settlement Scheme
- Pre-settled or settled status (main applicant)£350
- EUSS family permit£500
Citizenship & right of abode
- Naturalisation or registration as British£850
- Confirmation of British status or right of abode£1,000
Challenging decisions
- Administrative review application£1,000
- First-tier Tribunal appeal (preparation & representation)£3,000 – £5,000
Our fees do not include Home Office fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge, interpreters, translations or expert reports. Costs may be higher for dependants applying at the same time, complicating factors, urgent instructions or a Home Office interview. Applications normally take 2–4 weeks to prepare.
Employment tribunal claims
Unfair or wrongfuldismissal claims
Our pricing for bringing and defending claims, for employers and employees. We charge hourly, and the seniority of the lawyers on your case will depend on its complexity.
Simple case
£10,000 – £20,000
c. 1–2 day hearing
Medium complexity
£20,000 – £45,000
c. 3–4 day hearing
High complexity
£45,000 +
5+ day hearing
Plus VAT.
- Senior lawyers (partners or 10+ years)
- £280 – £310 / hr
- Junior lawyers
- £140 – £200 / hr
- Tribunal hearing attendance
- £900 – £1,800 / day
- Counsel's fees (estimated)
- £850 – £5,000 / day
All plus VAT. Identity verification is £40 plus VAT.
Less than two months if settled in pre-claim conciliation; 12–24 months if the claim proceeds to a final hearing.
Probate (uncontested)
Dealing with an estate
For a straightforward uncontested probate or administration where all assets are in the UK. Our costs are based on time spent, usually between 5 and 15 hours.
Hourly rates
£160 – £300
per hour plus VAT
Total including VAT and expenses
£2,270.40
Worked example
Seven hours at £200 plus VAT, on an estate with a gross value of £300,000.
- Our costs
- £1,400.00 + £280.00 VAT
- Telegraphic transfer & ID verification
- £80.00 + £16.00 VAT
- Probate fee
- £155.00
- Certainty will register search
- £90.00 + £18.00 VAT
- Statutory advertisements
- £185.00 + £37.00 VAT
- Oath (per executor) & bankruptcy search (per beneficiary)
- £9.00 + £0.40 VAT
Our costs may also include a value element (1% of the first £400,000 of the gross estate and 0.5% of any excess, less 50% of the value of the deceased's interest in their home), which we will always discuss and agree with you in advance. A grant alone usually takes up to 3 months; full administration of a straightforward estate 3–6 months.
Debt recovery for businesses
Recovering undisputed debts up to £100,000
| Debt value | Our fees | Court fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £10,000 | Up to £250 | £35 – £455 |
| £10,000 – £50,000 | Up to £750 | 5% of claim |
| £50,000 – £100,000 | Up to £1,500 | 5% of claim |
Our fees are plus VAT, which cannot be reclaimed from your debtor. A further fixed fee of £50 plus VAT applies to obtaining judgment in default. Excludes enforcement action. Matters usually take 3–12 weeks.
The small print
- VAT is charged at the current rate of 20% where stated. We also charge £40 plus VAT to verify the identity of each client.
- Expenses (disbursements) are payable to third parties, not Bower Bailey. We handle these payments on your behalf, usually requiring funds from you in advance.
- Estimates are not binding, but we will not exceed them without good reason or without warning you in advance that extra cost is likely.
- When we start work for you, we will confirm our terms and give you an estimate of costs and timescales specific to your circumstances.
Questions about our fees? Call 01865 311133 or send us a message.