Very dull - can someone tell me about stamp duty?!

[melrose]

Thinking of moving, just looked round a house on market for £284k, what is the stamp duty threshold and how much owould it be? Also what would a rough estimate of solicitirs fees, estate agents and moving be? (I know I could google all this but hoping MN can help!)

you'll pay 3% stamp duty I think.
solicitors fees maybe around £500, no idea about estrate agents though my friend paid around £1000 I think (for selling theirs)

Stamp duty is nothing up to £120K nd then 1% of the total price beween £120 and £250K and then 3% between 250 and 500K and then 4% over £500K. Thats of the total price

estete agent fees dont apply if you are buying the house. For the vendor they are 0.5 - 3% of the total but that is not your worry. soicitors fees vary - about £1000. you could go to a conveyencing agency which charge quite a lot less. Moving costs depends how far you are going /if you pack yourself etcetc. we paid abour £850 moving 1/2 a mile 3 years ago but the removals guys did all the packing.....

hope that helps
good luck

For propoerties between £250k and £500k stamp duty is 3%. If you are a buyer then you won't have to pay the estate agent, but in London 1.5% is normally paid by the vendor. You have to pay for a survey - say £400-700, solicitor ~ if you're buying and not selling then £500-1,000 should cover fee plus searches etc. You may have to pay a mortgage arrangement fee. Removals depends on how much stuff you're moving and how far.

lemonstartree thansk you are a star, agents fees for selling ours. Interested in moving fees as thought it would be more than that having them packi for you. I am 10 weeks pregnant and already thinking I may be slightly bonkers tpo be contemplating moving so the idea of someone packing for me is quite appealing!

Stamp duty threshold is 250k, so around £8500 on 284k (3%). Our solicitors fees are around £550(iirc) plus costs to buy(searches etc), EA fees vary from 1-2.5% of achieved price depending on agreement and whether sole agent or not. Don't forget mortgage valuation survey and arrangement fees.

"Please note that the applicable rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax must be applied to the whole of the consideration paid to acquire the land / buildings" - www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/current_sdlt_rates.htm
It's therefore in this case 3% of 284,000 which is £8,520. I don't think you work it out chunk by chunk which is made clear by my quote above. So if it's £122,000 you pay the tax on the whole lot. If it's 119,000 not tax at all is paid.

Labour has massive increased these taxes. God knows why people like many mumnsetters voted them in.

It used to be 1% and then only for very few properties and hasn't kept properly with house price inflation.

Don't start the searches until you have the survey done - typically if you then pull out you've only lost the survey fee rather than wasting legal costs as well.