Staircasing...little help please with the charges

steve9999

Hi,
A friend is buying the last 25% share in his Bungalow
The max he can own is 75%

Anyway he is a little concerned with the charges the solicitor has quoted him for the transaction. Which i agree seem high and we both wonder if a few of them are infact needed...

He was quoted the following costs

Solicitor fee £350.00 plus VAT £70
SDLT FEE £50 plus VAT £10
BANK CHARGES £11 plus VAT £2.20
ADMIN FEE FOR BANK CHARGES £19.30 plus VAT £3.80
LAND REGISTERY SEARCH £10
OFFICE COPIES £10
LAND REGISTERY FEE £190.00
SEARCHES £126.00

So near £850 in total just buy an extra 25% share

Now straight away i noticed he should not be getting charged any fee for stamp duty as the property is under the threshold
And i am wondering does he need to pay the Land Registery and Searches fees as well?

Can anyone shed any light on all these fees and if they are needed just to buy an extra 25% share ?

Many thanks

martinsurrey

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sdlt/intro/basics.htm

Any transaction valued over £40,000 needs to be notified to HMRC for stamp duty purposes.

is the house though an HA, what is the ownership structure and mortgage structure? house value and payment amounts?

steve9999

Thanks for the reply

It's private house with no mortgage

He bought a 50% share back in 2004 for about £44,000
And now wants to buy the final 25% for about £28,000 so he doesn't have to pay any rent on the property

The Bungalow current value is £115,000 so under the stamp duty threshold

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sdlt/calculate/shared-ownership.htm#6

As i say what about all the other charges?

richardw

Is it the 20% VAT then?