What is stamp duty and land transaction tax?
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a proportion of the final sale price of a property payable to HMRC by the buyer. The current trigger threshold is for any property priced at £125,000 or over (unless you’re a first-time buyer, in which case you pay less or no tax for properties priced at less than £500,000). Your solicitor will handle the transfer of the tax as part of the final tasks on your conveyancing.
In Scotland, buyers have to pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and, in Wales, the Land Transaction Tax is triggered at properties priced over £180,000.
In all cases, the amount payable is based on a sliding scale as the price goes up as a proportion of that range added together than an overall flat tax amount or percentage. So, the higher the price goes up, the greater the amount of tax you have to pay.
We are buying on a Southend On Sea brownfield site. Is the topsoil potentially contaminated?
Southend On Sea's local area has a history of contamination from industrial or agricultural, like much of the UK. Also considering issues such as water contaminants such as petrol and trichloroethylene, contaminants affecting Southend On Sea property will be factored into an environmental search.
The owner has fitted out of place stone cladding on the home in Southend On Sea which we think might possibly break nearby conservation area criteria
A solicitor will always determine if your proposed purchase is located within a conservation area and whether any alterations have required permission from the local planning authority.
Do we need a chancel search? We are buying a flat in Southend On Sea.
Potentially amounting to over £100,000 in repair cost obligations, chancel liability should be considered by buyers of Southend On Sea property likely to be affected. A chancel search will confirm whether liability for Southend On Sea properties is likely to exist. Your conveyancing solicitor will suggest an appropriate indemnity policy to address chancel liability.
Does a Southend On Sea solicitor apply for any property conveyancing searches on the Essex thirties mid terrace house I am buying?
Standard legal procedure will be to obtain Local Authority (personal or official), Drainage and Water Search (CON29DW or personal) and Environment Search and, depending on certain criteria, specific searches for example HS2 Search.
Should we get a chancel search if we are purchasing in the parish of Coggeshall, near Southend On Sea?
Your solicitor instructed to handle the transaction might recommend that a chancel search is ordered. Although some Parochial Church Councils (PCCs) have determined to charge chancel repairs on the current owners of affected property, there is no way to be certain that a parish which has not been subject to chancel liability in the past will continue to be free from liability, so the solicitor will be unable to make any guarantees, and will recommend insurance.