This pricing is for our finance company and mortgage fund lenders who have a higher volume of loans (>6 loans per month).

Approach

Each of our mortgage fund / commercial lenders have different internal processes and requirements for their loans. We aim to work closely with each lender to ensure our procedures fit smoothly with the lender’s own internal procedures and what they require or expect from us. 

We have identified that there are two main approaches by lenders:

  1. the bulk of the due diligence work is performed inhouse by the lender and they solely require Bransgroves to document and settle the loan. These lenders use the Streamline Package;
  2. they prefer to have further due diligence and scenario analysis performed by Bransgroves to monitor for unfairness / unjustness scenarios. These lenders use the Premium Package. 

Professional fees 

  Streamline  Premium
Legal fee deposit $1,000 $1,000
Advance < $10M $3,400 plus GST $4,400 plus GST
Advance > $10M $6,000 plus GST $7,000 plus GST
Variation (extension) $1,000 plus GST $1,000 plus GST
Variation (increase) $2,000 plus GST $2,500 plus GST
2nd mortgage / caveat

$0 (no confirmed priority amount)

$800 plus GST per each first (production required)

$1,000 plus GST simple intercreditor deed

$500 plus GST per each first mortgagee (no production) 

$800 plus GST per each first (production required) 

Complex intercreditor deed quoted based on deed
Builder’s tripartite agreement $500 plus GST $500 plus GST
Paper settlement  $1,000 plus GST  $1,000 plus GST 
International VOI / execution $600 plus GST $600 plus GST
Third party guarantor – independent solicitor and financial advice $800 plus GST $800 plus GST
Urgency fee same day settlement $1,500 plus GST $2,000 plus GST
Urgent fee – next day settlement $1,000 plus GST $1,500 plus GST
> 3 parties or properties, or more complex scenario Please confirm fees with your Bransgroves contact or Kate Cooper 
Additional matters for which legal fees may be increased Signification variations to the security documents required by the borrower, structure changes to the loan (eg adding securities or parties last minute), a number of rescheduled settlements requiring additional work 

Disbursements

Search disbursements are usually between $400 and $1,000 depending on how many parties and properties are involved and an estimate will be added to our fees. 

Streamline package

Lender’s role: Clear finalised agreed terms, all due diligence, Collect all necessary supporting documents inhouse (eg rates, land tax, evidence of payment of all of those, insurance, other internal requirements), for second mortgages – confirm priority amount / instruct Bransgroves they are satisfied with the priority amount and to proceed without confirming. 

Bransgroves role: Basic legal due diligence (company searches, title searches, bankruptcy, PPSR), documentation, execution and identification, settlement of the loan (with necessary priority and security obtained), for second mortgages – no contact with first until after settlement where we send tacking letter

Premium package 

Lender’s role: Clear finalised agreed terms, commercial due diligence – value of the security, financial position of the borrower 

Bransgroves role: Basic legal due diligence (company searches, title searches, bankruptcy, PPSR), additional due diligence and closer review of searches for indicators of unjustness / unfairness or corporate hijack, obtain further documentation and answers with respect to the matters identified in the additional due diligence (eg request information on purpose of drawdown or exit strategy, financial advice for third party, capacity requirements for older parties, investigate recent changes in shareholding or directorship etc), documentation, execution and identification, settlement of the loan (with necessary priority and security obtained), for second mortgages – obtain a confirmed priority amount 

This pricing is for syndicates and private lenders with lower volumes (<5 per month). There is no streamline option for this work, we apply our full due diligence. Professional fees

Legal fee deposit $1,000
Size of loan First mortgage base fee Second mortgage base fee
< $350k $3,000 plus GST $4,500 plus GST
< $500k $3,500 plus GST $5,000 plus GST
< $1M $5,000 plus GST $6,000 plus GST
< $3M $6,000 plus GST $7,000 plus GST
< $5M $8,000 plus GST $9,000 plus GST
> $5M Price on application Price on application
Additions to the above
2nd mortgage / caveat Fees quoted above are for a confirmed priority amount with one prior lender. A complicated property scenario may require additional fees. Where the first mortgage requires a complex intercreditor deed, we will quote based on the deed
Builder’s tripartite agreement $500 plus GST
Paper settlement $1,000 plus GST
International VOI / execution $600 plus GST
Third party guarantor – independent solicitor and financial advice $800 plus GST
Urgency fee same day settlement $2,000 plus GST
Urgent fee – next day settlement $1,500 plus GST
> 3 parties or properties, or more complex scenario Please confirm fees with your Bransgroves contact or Kate Cooper
Additional matters for which legal fees may be increased Signification variations to the security documents required by the borrower, structure changes to the loan (eg adding securities or parties last minute), a number of rescheduled settlements requiring additional work 

Syndicate add ons

3 members or less $500 plus GST
6 members or less $800 plus GST
10 members or less $1,200 plus GST
>10 members $1,200 plus GST for the first ten members plus $500 plus GST per ten members thereafter

Disbursements

Search disbursements are usually between $400 and $1,000 depending on how many parties and properties are involved and an estimate will be added to our fees. 

No of lots Price per lot ex GST
High Volume Low Volume and syndicates
1 $1,000 $1,250
2 lots $900 $1,100
< 5 $800 $950
< 10 $700 $800
<20 $500 $600
>20 $400 $500

Enforcement is a delicate matter, this is because it involves a lender suing their customer. This is obviously unavoidable but nevertheless can be extremely damaging to the lender’s reputation if not handled fairly. A borrower who has fallen on hard times, and is already facing financial distress, should not be harshly dealt with because they will bear the lender ill will, and so will the broker who introduced them.

At Bransgroves Lawyers we have seen many lenders come and go over the years. We have observed that after several years of gouging equity from defaulting borrowers there is an inevitable repercussion for the lender in terms of new business. Australia may be a big country but the commercial mortgage market is a small world. Brokers get new business from referrals and repeat business. If a lenders destroys their clients then the lender is destroying their future business pipeline. Therefore brokers learn to avoid lenders who gouge out equity in the event of a default through excessive legal fees and rapacious default rates. Word of mouth is passed between brokers and the lender becomes pigeonholed as oppressive and finds it difficult to get quality business in the future.

Accordingly, we advise all lenders to have moderate default rates and fees and for our own part we aim to keep our fees as low as possible. We do this by acting quickly, avoiding unnecessary work, and charging modest fees for the work that we do. We regard our enforcement department as a necessary support service for our clients, not an opportunity for plunder. Our aim is for borrowers when they see our fees to concede that they were treated fairly.

Enforcement Fees

Our most senior solicitors (Matthew Bransgrove, Kate Cooper, Lesa Bransgrove)

$600 per hour plus GST

Our partner level solicitors

$580 per hour plus GST

Our senior associate level solicitors

$485 per hour plus GST

Our associate level solicitors

$380 per hour plus GST

For a default notice

 Circa $1,500

For undefended proceedings (up to and including sale)

Circa $30,000

For defended proceedings with no trial

average $50-80k.

For defended proceedings with a trial

average $120-150k.