Lewes Smith
Terms of Engagement
I am pleased that you have instructed my firm to act for you and I am writing to set out the terms of our engagement in respect of the work that you have asked Lewes Smith to undertake This
agreement is a legally binding contract between you and us. Before you sign and return it to us, please read it carefully. Scope
of the work Your
property transfer will be carried out in accordance with accepted conveyancing practice and in accordance with the estimate enclosed or already provided. Please read the notes and conditions attached to the estimate. You are the client in this matter and I am happy to accept instructions from both or either of you. The usual timescale for the completion of a sale/purchase is 6 to 8 weeks from the start of the case. Personnel
The
Solicitor supervising and conducting this case will be Clive Smith assisted by Jill Oliver (senior FILEX) and Jackie Knee (part qualified legal executive) and other experienced legal assistants, all of whom will be reporting to you from time to time throughout the transaction. Charges
The
fees you will be charged are in accordance with the attached letter/estimate. Additional fees may be incurred as a result of any material change in the work as set out in the notes and conditions attached to the estimate. On property sales and purchases the fees are usually invoiced on completion of the transactions and are deducted from the sale proceeds. Occasionally interim invoices will be rendered where a case exceeds three months. Our fees are payable prior to completion, except where interim accounts have been delivered where the account is payable within 30 days of the invoice being issued or on completion whichever is the earlier. In respect of interim accounts if payment is not made within 30 days then we charge interest from the date of our bill (at the rate set out in the solicitors remuneration order) and we may stop working on your matter. If we hold any money for you (for whatever reason) we reserve the right to use it to pay what you owe us. Service
delivery Clive
Smith is responsible for ensuring that this matter is handled satisfactorily on your behalf. If you have any concerns at any time including problems with the service provided, please contact him. E-Mail
If
we communicate by e-mail you accept that e-mail is not a secure form of communication and the contents of e-mail could be intercepted and read by a third party. Abortive
Transactions If
this firm does not complete the work, we will charge you £120.00 per hour for each hour of work. We will charge for writing letters and for making and taking telephone calls in units of 1/10th of an hour. Our charges for considering letters received will be in units of 1/20th of an hour. Our total charge will not exceed the estimated fixed fee. Our bill will also include expenses. The agreement is a non-contentious business agreement under Section 57 of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you sign it, you will not be able to ask the Law Society to check the bill. You will have the right to get our bill reviewed by a court if you claim that the agreement as a whole is unfair or unreasonable. If the sale and/or purchase is not completed and you disagree with the bill but do not object to the agreement as a whole, you may ask a court to assess the reasonableness of the time spent, but not the hourly rates. Indemnity
Insurance Occasionally
title investigation leads to a need for legal indemnity insurance; for example; if there are breaches of restrictive covenants, no formal rights of way, or defects in a lease. Your lender may require you take out such insurance as a condition of granting the mortgage. The premium for such insurance is not included in any estimate of costs and expenses. Mortgage
Advance Funds - Purchases Unless
your lender forwards the mortgage advance by bank transfer (BACS) payment the advance will be requested by a (CHAPS) payment to arrive the on the working day preceding completion. This may incur you in an extra charge by the lender (usually not more than £30.00 and additional interest on the mortgage). Balanced against the potential interest and cost penalty imposed for late completion we feel this is a worthwhile expense. Leaseholds
If
you are obtaining a mortgage, your lender may require us to carry out a Company Search against any company that either owns the freehold title of the building in which you to purchase a flat or is involved in the management of the building. This will lead to an additional expense of approximately £30.00 plus Vat. Third
Party Advice The
estimate provided does not include the cost of advice to a third party e.g.: a potential occupant of the property. This is charged for separately either by us or by an independent solicitor asked to provide advice to such third party. If we are instructed to act for your lender as well you authorise us to disclose such information as may be required by the lender in their mortgage offer/instructions. Storage
of papers and deeds After
completing the purchase, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents while any money is owing to us. We will keep our file of papers for no more than 6 years and will thereafter destroy the file. We will not destroy any documents that we have agreed in writing to keep in safe custody. We do not normally make a charge for retrieving stored papers, or deeds, in response to continuing or new instructions to act for you. However, we reserve the right to make a charge based on the time we spend on reading papers, writing letters, or other work necessary to comply with the instructions. Termination
You
may terminate your instructions to us in writing at any time. For example, you may decide you cannot give us clear or proper instructions on how to proceed, or you may lose confidence in our work. In these circumstances, we are entitled to keep all your papers and documents, while money is owing to us. We will decide to stop acting for you only with good reason and on giving you reasonable notice. If you or we decide that we will stop acting for you, you will pay our charges on an hourly basis and expenses as set out earlier. We will begin work when you tell us that you accept our terms by signing and returning to us the attached duplicate of the agreement. Please also let us have a cheque for £200.00 in order that we may carry out the search with the relevant local authority. Sign
here................................................... Sign
here ................................................... Insert
Date................................................... LEWES
SMITH CONVEYANCING FEES ESTIMATE NOTES AND CONDITIONS 1.
Our aim in providing this statement is to give you a firm and reliable estimate of legal costs and expenses likely to arise during your move. 2.The
estimate is the charge as set out in the attached letter for the proposed transaction and INCLUDES:- 2.1
The preparation of all documentation recommended by The Law Society's TransAction scheme from information provided by your deeds and documentation provided by you. 2.2
All legal formalities leading to exchange of contracts and completion. 2.3
All work in connection with the completion or redemption of first mortgage. 2.4
Reporting to you in writing and on the telephone and by email upon the progress of your transaction as and when necessary. 3.
There are occasions when a matter can become unduly complex or time consuming in circumstances that we cannot reasonably foresee and we must therefore reserve the right to make an additional charge although we will not do so unless we first notify you of our intention to do so. Examples of matters which are NOT INCLUDED are:- 3.1
Alterations to title documents occasioned by defective title. 3.2
Negotiations with other parties in relation to the purchase price, property defects, completion dates and management accounts. 3.3
Any matters relating to a second or subsequent mortgage. 4.
VAT, STAMP DUTY, LAND REGISTRY FEES AND OTHER EXPENSES. The estimate has been calculated on the basis that there will be no changes in the rates currently applicable for the above fees before completion. The estimate of these items is approximate only and they are statutory charges over which we have no control and they may be varied before completion. 5.
PAYMENT. An initial sum is required to cover local search fees and administration costs. This will be set off and deducted from any final account. 6.
FINAL PAYMENT. In accordance with terms of engagement. 7.
ABORTIVE COSTS. If your sale or purchase should fall through for any reason an account for abortive charges will be delivered. This will be based upon the amount of time spent on the transaction up to the date of termination. (In accordance with terms of engagement 8.
Please note that when buying leasehold property, additional expenses are usually payable to cover such items as apportioned ground rent and maintenance. If buying a new lease, you may have to pay the freeholder's costs for preparing the lease, and the land registry fee and stamp duty will be increased. You will be notified of any additional costs as soon as possible. 9.
This estimate is prepared on the basis that the transaction(s) will be completed within a period of 3 months from the date of the estimate. If completion does not take place within that period then we reserve the right to reconsider the estimate subject to prior notification. END | 
