Read our story
Download our free guides for easy step-by-step advice on buying and selling your home.
maloco + associates Ltd (trading as maloco mowat parker) is a Solicitor and Estate Agency practice registered with the Law Society of Scotland. Among many legal practice requirements, the Law Society has issued Guidance on what is called Transparent Pricing. This is information to be made available to clients and potential clients about fees, outlays and costs that may be incurred when instructing solicitors. The Guidance is in place for all firms in Scotland that offer legal services to consumers/private clients.
Here you’ll find some examples of pricing for the range of services in which we practise. These are only illustrations and not definitive costs for such transactions because every transaction is unique and fees and associated costs can vary. Over and above fees VAT will always be chargeable. VAT will be charged at the rate in force at the time the work is undertaken. VAT is currently 20%. Outlays may also be payable. Outlays are charges and costs paid out by the Firm on behalf of the client to other organisations – e.g. the Registers of Scotland, search companies, Local Authorities, the Sheriff Court, Office of the Public Guardian and others. These charges are incurred by us on behalf of the client as being a necessary part of the work undertaken.
In any event and in line with Law Society requirements all work carried out by solicitors must be preceded at the earliest practical opportunity by a written estimate or quotation of fees, vat and outlays and we will, if instructed, send this to you within the first few days of your instruction.
To discuss matters more fully and to obtain a detailed estimate of fees please contact us via info@maloco.co.uk or call us on 01383 629720
In Scotland many firms of solicitors including maloco mowat parker also provide property estate agency services. The Firm’s work for a client who instructs us to market property may include our staff consulting with the client, advising on value and marketing strategy/process, visiting and valuing the property, preparing a sale schedule, registering it on online property portals, arranging a Home Report, dealing with enquiries, arranging/conducting viewings, negotiating with prospective buyers and processing offers received.
Commission may be based on our unique pricing product known as “Pay What You Want” where we have a recommended sales commission of 1% plus VAT of the sale price achieved with our clients being able to reduce that fee to as low as 0.7% if after we have achieved a sale they are unhappy with the level of service. they have received. Please note however that we do operate with a minimum estate agency fee of £995 plus VAT.
Outlays such as our marketing fee of circa. £250 plus VAT plus ESPC registration fees and a Home Report (payable to the surveyor) costing between £350 and £1,000 dependent upon the value of the property being sold will also be payable. Some of these may be payable in advance of your sale.
The Firm deals with transactions for clients selling a home, whether it be a flat, house, or land to build upon. The work may involve communication and advice by the solicitor with the client, correspondence with estate agents and the purchaser’s solicitor, drawing up a range of documents including a formal legal acceptance of the buyer’s offer and further missives, provision of title, ordering of searches and reports, revising of a new title (disposition) and discharging mortgage security where necessary, arranging completion/settlement of the transaction, managing the funds from buyer’s lawyer and redeeming outstanding mortgage to the lender, registration of discharge where necessary, reporting to and settling with the client.
Our fees are charged on a sliding scale from our minimum fee of £625 plus VAT for a property worth up to £100,000 to over £1,000 plus VAT for a property worth in excess of £500,000.
Outlays such as land registration dues, LBTT, Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) searches and coal reports etc may be payable also. LBTT and title registration dues change on sliding scales according to the price of the property and full details of which apply and the costs of same will be included in your written estimate if we are instructed.
The Firm deals with transactions for clients buying a home, whether it be a flat, house, new-build property land to build upon. The work may involve: communications and advice by the solicitor with the client, correspondence with estate agents and the seller’s solicitor, drawing up a range of documents including a formal legal offer and further missives, examination of title, inspection of searches and reports, drafting of a new title (Disposition) and mortgage security where necessary, arranging settlement (completion) of the transaction, obtaining and managing the funds from both client and mortgage lender, completion of Anti Money Laundering procedures, submission of LBTT (Scottish Stamp Duty) return and making payment of tax where due to Revenue Scotland, registration of new title (and mortgage security where funding comes from a lender), reporting to client and lender after registration.
Our fees are charged on a sliding scale from our minimum fee of £625 plus VAT for a property worth up to £100,000 to over £1,000 plus VAT for a property worth in excess of £500 000.
Outlays such as land registration dues, LBTT, Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) and searches etc may be payable also. LBTT and title registration dues change on sliding scales according to the price of the property and full details of which apply and the costs of same will be included in your written estimate if we are instructed.
The Firm deals with transactions for clients who are re-mortgaging a home. The work may involve communication and advice by the solicitor with the client, examination of title, drawing up a range of documents, including a new mortgage security and a discharge of the old mortgage, ordering and inspection of searches and reports, obtaining and managing funds from the new mortgage lender, redeeming outstanding mortgage to the old lender, registration of discharge arranging completion/settlement of the transaction, registration of new mortgage security, reporting to client and lender after registration.
The fee for this work starts from £395 plus VAT.
Outlays such as land registration dues and searches etc may be payable also. Title registration dues change on sliding scales according to the price of the property and full details of which apply and the costs of same will be included in your written estimate if we are instructed.
For those lucky enough to have paid off their mortgage, there is a conveyancing process to update title deeds known as discharge of security. Security is the correct Scottish legal word for mortgage. The mortgage lender has a charge over the client’s title while the loan remains under repayment, and this can be removed once full redemption has been made and the bank or lender no longer has a claim over the property.
For a basic discharge of mortgage security, our fee starts from £125 plus VAT.
The outlay is a charge of £80 payable to the Registers of Scotland.
A will is an important document to get right – in content, expression and execution. It is a mistake to assume that a will is either not necessary or that it is necessarily straightforward. In Scotland, the law of inheritance can be complex and very often not what the ordinary client expects in terms of the rights of family members to a share – or not – of the estate. So this Firm’s work will almost certainly involve discussing and advising on options and risks to achieve even the most basic will. If there are more complex family circumstances, dispositions of assets and/or potential or actual exposure to Inheritance Tax, then the work required may be extensive and thus carry an additional fee charge.
For a basic job of consultation, advice, preparation of a straightforward single will, completion execution and storage, the fee is £175 plus VAT and for two “mirror” wills it’s £250 plus VAT.
There are usually no outlays associated with this process.
Executry is the name used by lawyers for the work required in winding up the estate of someone who has died. It is another area where it is difficult, and often impossible, to give accurate levels of fee in advance. The Terms of Engagement often require a time-and-line/hourly/unit rate charge. It also makes a difference to the amount of work whether or not there is available a valid will signed by the deceased – more work and other costs are likely if there is no will. The work may involve meetings and consultations between the family/executor and the solicitor, collating and valuing the assets and liabilities of the estate, corresponding with financial and other institutions (e.g. banks, building societies, share registrars, employers/pension administrators, DWP, HMRC, council tax departments, factors, mortgage lenders and more), drawing court documents and forms for Confirmation (Scottish equivalent of Probate), dealing with the Sheriff Court processing the forms, ingathering the financial estate (i.e. collecting in all the money), accounting to the executor and distributing the bequests and shares of estate among beneficiaries.
There may also be a home/heritable property to sell on the open market or transfer to a beneficiary. That work is not included in this example as it is a conveyancing process (see Sale of Residential Property (Conveyancing) above), nor is calculating and dealing with Inheritance Tax, which affects only a limited number of estates and generates considerable work.
The fee for executry work in winding up a particular estate depends largely on the size of the estate, the make up of the estate and the split between heritable estate (property) and moveable estate being the proceeds of bank accounts, pensions, investments, shares etc. The larger the estate and the more sources of estate the larger the fee.
Our fee is partially arrived at dependent upon the time spent on the case and partially made up of a commission. We typically charge £175 to £250 plus VAT per hour for work undertaken PLUS 0.5% of the overall value of the entire state plus 5% posts and incidents to cover postage, telephone calls etc.
Outlays may include Court Confirmation dues of £276 plus £8* for each individual asset certificate if needed.
There are various kinds of Power of Attorney (POA). The most-used is a document that supports a person who is incapacitated mentally and/or physically so cannot carry out normal business and/or personal care – known as the Combined Power of Attorney. It allows a trusted friend, family member or multiplicity of people to do what is needed, armed with full legal rights conferred by “the Adult” as the granter of the POA is known under the Adults With Incapacity (Scotland) Act. The document is lengthy and complex and must be tailored to the specific needs and circumstances of the Adult. A basic POA may require meeting and consultation with the solicitor, the drafting of the POA document, its completion and execution (ie. signing and witnessing) – it must also be certified by the solicitor, and then registered with the Office of the Public Guardian Scotland (OPG) to take effect.
For a basic single POA, our fee starts from £300 plus VAT and £450 plus VAT for a pair. There may be an additional fee if a home or hospital visit is required. The outlay is currently £85 per Power of Attorney charged by and paid to the OPG.
We manage the rental of residential property providing both a fully managed service whereby we deal with all aspects of the let including the advertising of the property for rent, vetting prospective tenants via third party agencies, the preparation of formal rental agreements and all other day to day matters such as periodic inspections, dealing with repairs, rent collection etc. For this service we charge 10% plus VAT of the monthly rent received subject to a minimum fee of £50 plus VAT. We also provide a tenant-find-only service where we will advertise the property for rent, vet prospective tenants via a third-party agency and prepare the rental agreement. Landlords then take over and are responsible for rent collection and all other matters arising. For this service, we charge 40% plus VAT of the first month’s rent or £495 plus VAT whichever is the greater.
As general practice solicitors this Firm takes on a range of clients and cases/transactions. Sometimes the work is preliminary advice, or assistance with a minor or brief legal issue requiring correspondence with other parties or solicitors, and/or creating of legal documentation.
We often offer preliminary consultation without charge for a discussion or meeting, though we reserve the right to charge for all services and advice. Some examples of miscellaneous charges:
For notarising/certifying documents a fee may be £50 plus vat. No outlays.
For advising on and corresponding with a neighbour re boundary disputes and the like the fee may be based on an hourly rate of £250 plus VAT per hour for a qualified staff member and £175 plus VAT for non-qualified staff. Usually, there will be no outlays but these can become payable if for example, surveyors require to be instructed to prepare deed plans etc.
To discuss matters more fully and to obtain a detailed estimate of fees please contact us via info@maloco.co.uk or call us on 01383 629720.
Website Design and
Maintenance by Simplicity
