Legal Charges

Most of the legal charges will be paid by the purchaser to his

solicitor in the first instance, although some will be disbursed to other people. Legal charges will include the following:

Solicitor's services. The charge made by your solicitor for his own services in examining title to the property, advising you, and preparing the conveyance. There is no set fee but a fair average would be 1% of the value of the property.

Land registry fee. If the land on which the property stands is what is called 'registered land', a land registry fee will be payable. If it is not registered land it is likely that the solicitor's own charge will be higher by about the amount of the fee, as his work in checking the deeds is more onerous. Land registry fees are:

Value Fee

Not exceeding £20,000 £2.50 for every £1,000 or part.

£20,000 to £100,000 £50 for the first £20,000 and

£2.40 for every £1,000 or part in excess.

Over £100,000 £242 for the first £100,000 and

50p per £1,000 or part in excess, with a maximum of £567

Stamp duty. A government tax is payable by the purchaser of a property exceeding £20,000. For a property priced at just over £20,000 the tax is payable on the whole amount, not just on the excess. Rates are as follows:

Not over £20,000 Free

£20,000 to £25,000 25p per £50 or part thereof

£25,000 to £300,000 50p per £50 or part thereof

£300,000 to £305,000 75p per £50 or part thereof

Over £305,000 £1 per £50 or part thereof

Duty is calculated on the whole value at the rate indicated, not at different rates on successive slices.

Mortgage deed. The charge for the preparation of the mortgage deed, which will be made by the building society's solicitor, will, where the same solicitor acts for both society and purchaser, be on the following scale, based on the amount of the mortgage, not the value of the property. The buyer must reimburse the society for this.

• Initial Costs of House Buying
• Balance Sheet Test Questions