A. L. Hughes & Co.

Solicitors and Commissioners for Oaths


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Introduction

A. L. Hughes & Co. is a small firm of Solicitors in Streatham, South London, founded in 1950. The photograph shows a view of Streatham from more or less outside our offices, but taken in the 1960s. Currently the road is a red route, with perpetual congestion and no-one lurking on the road as shown above.  Although Streatham High Road was voted the least attractive high street in Europe, or was it the world(?), the architectural features of the frontages are such that the Council decided that it should be a Conservation Area, a judgement which raised a few eyebrows, but is a fair one. By all means look up at the attractive gabling and tilework, but watch out for potholes and abandoned debris beneath your feet.

To get to us, why not start by clicking on the hyperlink

Location Map of our offices

You'll then need to arrange transport.  The area is well served by trains and 'buses. 

What are we about?

We aim to provide our clients with a quality of service which they would expect from a central London legal practice, but with the personal touch of a small firm, and at a reasonable cost to them.

Our Client Information Notes and Terms of Business are available on-line. Just click on the hyperlink.

Client Information Notes

 

 

Our fields of work.

We specialise in Property Law work.  In essence that means:

  • Commercial Property:  Leases, Assignments, Renewals.
  • Domestic Property: Conveyancing, Re-mortgages, Lease extensions, collective enfranchisements.
  • Development Property:  Setting up developments, Building land. 
  • Unregistered land Conveyancing
  • Town and Country Planning advice.
  • Wills and Probate and Estate Planning.
  • Powers of Attorney and Public Guardianship Office applications.
  • Partnerships and Shareholder agreements.


 

Costs Information and Price Transparency

The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority require all firms to publish costs information on their website in relation to certain areas of work.  The areas which we undertake which are affected by this are Conveyancing and Probate.

So to explain how we charge clients…

Conveyancing

We like to give an estimate at the outset which sets out our fees and expected expenses.  We estimate the length of time a transaction will take, and charge a rate currently £250 per hour plus plus a small fraction (50p per £1,000) of the price, and 25p per £1,000 of any mortgage being entered into).  VAT is charged on all of our costs at the current rate at the point of charge (currently 20%).

Examples:

Conveyancing fees (excluding disbursements (see below)) for the sale of a freehold property at the price of £700,000 with a mortgage which needs repaying would be £2,017.20 including VAT at the current rate of 20%

Conveyancing fees (excluding disbursements (see below)) for the sale of a leasehold property at the price of £700,000 with a mortgage which needs repaying would be £2,305.20 including VAT at the current rate of 20%

Conveyancing fees (excluding disbursements (see below)) for the purchase of a freehold property at the price of £700,000 with a mortgage of £240,000 would be £2,449.20 including VAT at the current rate of 20%

Conveyancing fees (excluding disbursements (see below)) for the purchase of a leasehold property at the price of £700,000 with a mortgage of £240,000 would be £2,593.20 including VAT at the current rate of 20%

One question we are often asked is “How fixed are your estimates?”  The answer to that is that in the unlikely event of a transaction becoming very protracted, we will discuss our charging with you and seek agreement to a way forward.  However, we can’t remember the last time that happened.

If a transaction is abortive and no special arrangements have been made as above, we will cap our fees at a maximum of 50% of our estimate, but obviously if less work is done than this cap, we will be charging less.

How much Solicitor chargeable time will the average transaction take?

We expect that an average freehold purchase or sale will take about 4 hours of time, and an average leasehold 5 hours.  We also expect to spend 45 minutes dealing with the additional work involved in satisfying mortgage lender requirements. 

A mortgage or remortgage is expected to take about three hours of time. We recommend that clients use “in house” services provided by mortgage lenders, as engaging our firm to deal with these transactions is usually not cost effective, and so we will not take these matters on unless specialist help is needed.

Are there any other extras?

·       We make a standard charge of £80 plus VAT (currently 20%) for drafting and submitting your Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax return

·       We make a standard charge of £35 plus VAT (currently 20%) for dealing with the administration of paying and receiving funds. We do not pass on bank charges unless we are sending funds to a foreign bank or there are currency conversion costs.

What else will or might you have to pay for?

·       Local Searches* – the amount varies from Council to Council but an appropriate range would be between £200 and £400 including VAT.

·       Water Searches* - the amount varies between Water Companies but an appropriate range would be £60-£80 including VAT for residential properties and double that for commercial ones.

·       An Environment Search*.  The cost of these depends on the property being purchased and the size of the site.  For a domestic property, these searches cost between £70 and £90 including VAT; for commercial properties between £200 and £300 including VAT.

·       Any other searches recommended by us or required by a mortgage lender or yourself*.

·       Land Registry Fees (there is a calculator here, but we are happy to give you the amount with our estimate)

·       Stamp Duty Land Tax (if the property is in England).  (Calculator here)

·       Land Transaction Tax (if the property is in Wales) (Calculator here)( Neu yn Gymraeg, yma)

·       Land Registry Searches and fees for copies of title documents.  (Currently £3 per document)

·       Bankruptcy Searches (currently £2 per name)

·       ID verification costs* (currently £10 per person including VAT)

·       Any indemnity policies required by you (which will carry Insurance Premium Tax (currently 12%).

·       Management information or other charges made by third parties if you are selling a leasehold property or a property where there is a management company or estate charge.*  This can vary between nothing and £600 including VAT.

·       Registration fees payable to third parties if you are buying a leasehold property or a property where there is a management company or estate charge*. This can vary between £60 and £600 including VAT.

·       In some cases, where consents or certificates are needed, you may need to pay other fees and charges to third parties.* This can vary between £60 and £600 including VAT.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but we think it covers the vast majority of cases. We try to drill down to give you more accurate figures at the start of the transaction for those disbursements which are uncertain in cost.

The charges marked with a * will carry VAT at the standard rate (currently 20%)

Notes

·       Any disbursements are charged at their cost and any discounts we secure are passed on to you.

·       Any VAT charged to us is of course passed on to you. If rates change during a transaction, then we will apply any revised rate to costs and disbursements according to the rules then in place,

·       If any prices change during a transaction, then if we have to pay more or less for something necessary for the transaction, then this extra or reduced cost will be passed on, but we will advise you of the change.

·       We will not incur additional disbursement costs over £30 plus VAT (currently 20%) without asking you.

 

Property transaction timescales

Property transactions are complex and involve numerous variables which tend to affect how long they take.  We have compiled a guide here which sets out the steps needed for a transaction and assigns an estimated time for each step.  You can download it here.

Another useful guide (which we have not prepared) can be obtained from this link.

Probate

Probate transactions are charged on a time basis at the rate of £250 per hour plus VAT (currently 20%).  Any Conveyancing element of a Probate is charged instead at the Conveyancing rate above and of course any other charges associated with the Conveyancing will need to be made.

What else will or might you have to pay for?

·       Probate Fees (see this link)

·       Investigative costs (which would discuss with you) if needed to administer the estate.*

·       Copies of any Land Registry documents in relation to property assets of the estate (currently £3 per document)

·       Any other expenses or costs necessary to administer the estate.*

·       Inheritance Tax.

The charges marked with a * will carry VAT at the standard rate (currently 20%)

 

Timescales and process

Probate transactions fall generally into three phases:

1.   Information gathering, where we work with the Executor(s) or intended Administrator(s) to assess the estate of the deceased and find out their assets and liabilities, and also the names and addresses of those entitled.

2.   The application for a grant of Probate or Administration and its return to us as a grant. This will also include completing inheritance tax forms.

3.   The administration of the estate, liquidating assets, paying tax and debts, transferring assets where appropriate and distributing funds.

The time taken will depend on these three phases.

Phase 1 can range between 1 and 3 months

Phase 2 can take between 1 and 2 months to obtain any clearance from HMRC but there have been substantial delays for up to 6 months caused by delays at the Probate Registry.

Phase 3 will depend on the assets in the estate and timescales will depend on what those assets are and what steps are needed to deal with them.  This step can take between 3 and 6 months but there are circumstances which can stretch this period.

Some work we do not take on

For risk management and other reasons, we do not deal with:

·       Right to buy purchases

·       Cases where the amount being borrowed from mortgage lender or other sources exceeds our risk management criteria (currently 80%)

·       Cases where funds are being borrowed from sub-prime lenders.

·       Cases where funds are being borrowed from bridging loan lenders.

·       Equity release

·       Shared ownership purchases (as opposed to sales).

·       Help to Buy transactions.

·       “Off plan” new property purchases

·       Sales of property where there is a divorce element, unless there is a court order for the sale of the property

·       Any contentious work or litigation or matters which we think will lead to litigation.

 

Who does the work?

 

Legal firms have moved on in the last half century.  The modern way is to have semi-qualified or even unqualified staff doing the nuts and bolts of transactions, uncomprehending of the underlying law or practice and engrained with the ethos of “computer says no”.  Then what they have done is passed up to a supervisor who checks it and then deals with the stuff that hasn’t been done before passing the file to someone else.   This, we are told, is efficiency – it does cut costs of course.

 

Well, stuff that. All the legal work in our firm is done by the three Solicitors listed below.  We work together of course, and cover for holidays, but when you speak to or write to the person handling the case, it’s us.  We don’t employ assistant lawyers or paralegals.

 

Complaints

Sometimes things don’t work out and this section of our website sets out how we deal with this.

 

Informal step

If you are not happy with what we have done, we want to hear about it.  So the first step is to contact us and let us know what your complaint is about and to suggest how we might put things right.   We have two partners, Laurence Mann and Frances Holton, and you may choose to raise your concerns with either of them.

 

Formal step

If you would like to make a formal complaint, then this is also straightforward.  Please write or email to the firm’s main address (mail@alhughes.co.uk) or 340 Streatham High Road, London SW16 6HH.

 

We ask that you set out:

·       What you feel we should have done or not done.

·       What we did or did not do.

·       How you think we can put it right.

 

We follow the Legal Ombudsman’s process for resolving complaints, so we will:

·       Acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days of receiving it.

·       Investigate your complaint fairly and objectively.  The investigation will be carried out or monitored by a partner who was not involved in the subject matter of the complaint so far as this is possible.

·       Let you have updates into the investigation at intervals of no more than 10 working days until the investigation is complete.

·       Ask you for more information to help us investigate the complaint.

·       Do our best to find a resolution to your complaint.

·       Respond fully to your complaint in a timely fashion.

 

 

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

 

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

 

Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint

and

 

·       No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or

·       No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

 

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

 

Contact details

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

 

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

 

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

 

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

 

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

 

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

 

The address is: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/

The telephone contact number: 0370 606 2555

Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN

 

People

 

Norman Mann (Consultant)

Has been at the firm since 1968 and was admitted as a Solicitor in 1969 at a time when people used quill pens, and sacrificed goats to ensure successful house moves.  He is a consultant now and will not take on new cases. He’s probably having a nap.

Laurence Mann, LLB, FRSA (Partner)

First worked at the firm in 1977 before going to University. Qualified as a Solicitor in 1984. Deals with Commercial and Residential Conveyancing, and Leasehold Enfranchisement.  Is a Governor of a Community Comprehensive Secondary School in Twickenham and is involved in a Community Choir, but will not sing at you without giving notice.

Frances Holton (Partner)

Trained at the firm from 1980 and was admitted as a Solicitor in 1983. Specialises in Residential Conveyancing, Wills and Probates, Powers of Attorney and applications to the Public Guardianship Office (which is the newish name for the Court of Protection).  In her spare time, her two Schnauzer Dogs keep her very busy.

 

Contact Information

We aim to be accessible.  If you are calling or faxing from outside of the UK, please use (+44) 20 instead of 020 as our telephone and fax prefix.

Telephone

020 8769 7100

FAX

020 8677 6644

Postal address

340 Streatham High Road, London, SW16 6HH

Document Exchange

WE HAVE DISCONTINUED OUR ACCOUNT WITH THE DX. Please do not use it.

Electronic mail

General Information: mail@alhughes.co.uk
Webmaster: laurence@alhughes.co.uk

 

  • By all means email one of our Partners with your enquiry, unless you are trying to sell something, in which case please read this.
  • Our firm is regulated by the Solicitors' Regulation Authority and our ID is 51553

 

 

We also have a Blog with information and articles written in spare moments.  We have not written anything for ages, as reality appears to be more unlikely than anything we can come up with.

 

www.alhughes.blogspot.com

 

 

Information

You can download pdf versions of our Information Sheets from these links.


Information Sheets

Auction Information Sheet
Whose fence is it?  A guide to boundary issues
Searches: what are they are for?
Making a Will Guide
How you can help

Avoiding Frauds Leaflet

Unregistered Conveyancing Consultancy

 

 

Local Links: 


Interesting and possibly useful links

 

 

Important Notes:

  • We are regulated by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority and above here there is its new badge, which if you click it will give you information about the SRA. Can you please note that we are not responsible for any data tracking or other misuse of your information resulting from clicking on the badge above..
  • A list of partners can be inspected at our offices (see above for address).
  • Cookies. We don't think there are any cookies on this website, apart from those attached to the badge above, and we prefer custard tarts anyway, but if there are, then your use of this website may involve their getting into your computer.  
  • Privacy.  We do not track users of this site. Who knows who has been here?
  • We don’t accept service of documents by fax or email without prior arrangement.
  • It is important for you to note that any information in our Information Sheets is not to be treated as formal advice.
  • We have only one office, in Streatham. We are aware that Solicitors' firms are targeted by fraudsters who claim to be operating from another office. We do not have such an office and so if you get any such fraudulent emails or letters, please refer them to the police and send us a copy too. All of them offer things which are too good to be true.  Our advice is that if something appears to be too good to be true, then it is very likely not to be true, and not likely to be good either. Obvious, eh?
  • Our Bank details were last changed in 2010. If you get an email saying they have changed, then it’s going to be a fraud.
  • If you are trying to sell us something, we beg to inform you that we never ever buy anything or commission any services whatsoever from people who write to, email or telephone us offering such things. You are wasting your time if you think you will be the one exception to this rule.  You won't be.  No, really. That means:
    • We are not interested in photocopiers. Is anyone?  We no longer have one. We didn’t cry when it was taken away to be crushed.
    • We are happy with our stationery supplier.
    • Our office furniture is servicable.
    • Telephones.  We don’t want any more.  We like the comforting feel of legacy equipment.
    • We do not need a franking machine. Who sends letters?
    • If you sent us a letter or flyer about your services or products, thanks. it's been recycled.  If you sent an email, well, it’s been deleted.
    • We don't want to speak to people pretending to be from BT.
    • We organise our own training.
    • We do not want to borrow any money.
    • We are allergic to recruitment agencies. 
    • We see no need to outsource our work to far off places. We like our staff.
    • We do not pay referral fees. Not now, not then, not never.
    • We love our current electricity supply arrangements.
    • We never advertise. Our Google ranking bores us. If you found our website at all, then surely that proves just how easy it was to find.
    • If you say you are calling on behalf of local hospitals, police forces, schools, etc., about adverts in brochures or plasma TV screens, we know what sort of scam you are seeking to perpetrate, so forget it.
    • Our website is the best in the universe, and no, you cannot improve on that.  We even changed the colour a few years ago.   That’s sophistication for you.
    • We do need people to meddle with our computer equipment and charge us for it. Like a hole in the head.
  • Please note that the content of this website is out of date just as soon as it is posted.  We are always happy to supply the latest versions of any of our materials.  The last revision was in the bleak midwinter of 2021-2022.
  • The reason this website does not have floating frames, CSS, RSS, ISS, drop-down interactive and context sensitive menus, and other bells and whistles is that we are more interested in getting on with legal stuff than playing with these things. And who really wants them? Do you?