Careful and Compassionate Blogs About the Law: A Legal Blog

Do you want to buy a new home? Well, it may look like a straightforward business transaction, but the truth is that this process requires a lot of legal work. This is why you need a conveyancing lawyer. He or she ensures that you are doing things as required and that the transfer of the property is done in a manner that will not lead to any other legal issues in the future. Certainly, the conveyancing lawyer will charge a fee for the services they are offering you. Besides this service fee, there are additional costs that might arise in the course of the transaction. You need to discuss them with your conveyancing lawyer to know if you are to shoulder these costs or if the lawyer's quotation is inclusive of these additional costs. Here they are:

Search Fee

Search fee refers to money paid to a third party to check if there are any local and planning issues on the property that you want to buy. Such issues can affect the value of the house and its ability to be transferred to you from the seller. At the same time, the third party may have to carry out other related searches such as a drains search. A drains search evaluates the drainage system of the property you are buying and its compliance with building codes. A drains search will help you to avoid trespass issues in case the drainage develops a problem and leaks into the surrounding areas.

Land Registry Fee

Land registry fee is a charge made by state authorities as an acknowledgement that the property belongs to a certain person. It is also an indication that the authorities approve of the developments on the property. The fee is levied by the government for the record it keeps regarding the property. Land registry fee is an additional cost when you are acquiring property because the records have to be altered and registered under your name.

Stamp Duty

Stamp duty is property rates paid to the government after a certain period. Land rates are levied because the local authorities need to raise revenue for various purposes related to property in the area. A good example is setting up and maintaining infrastructure such as roads. The stamp duty varies according to the value of the property and the particular purpose that you are using that property for. For example, a residential property will attract different rates from those charged on a residential property used for additional purposes such as farming.