The legal fees and stamp duty for purchasing of property in Malaysia.

Below is the list of The legal fees and stamp duty for purchasing of property in Malaysia. Apparently these alone can caused a hole in your pocket let alone the high hyped property price.

Legal Fees for Sale and Purchase Agreement Legal fees for drawing up the Sale and Purchase to completion of transfer depends on the property value as set out in the Sales and Purchase Agreement or the market value as determined by Valuation Department.

Purchase from individual / public action / developer etc

Value of Property (RM) Legal Fees (%) 1st RM 150,000 1.0 of property value* Next RM 850,000 0.7 of property value* Next RM 2,000,000 0.6 of property value* Next RM 2,000,000 0.5 of property value* Next RM 2,500,000 0.4 of property value* RM 7,500,000

In excess of RM 7,500,000, the fee is negotiable on the excess but not exceeding 0.4% of the excess

* subject to a minimum of RM 300

Purchase from developer with a standard S&P Agreement

Value of Property (RM) Legal Fees (%) RM 45,000 and below RM 250 Above RM 45,000 up to RM 100,000 Scale Fee less 25% Above RM 100,000 up to RM 500,000 Scale Fee less 30% Above RM 500,000 Scale Fee less 35%

Legal fees for Loan Documentation

Purchase from individual / public action / developer etc

Principal Instruments (Loan Agreements):

Loan Sum Legal Fees 1st RM 100,000 1% of loan sum Next RM 4.9 million 0.5% of loan sum Thereafter 0.25% of property value

For subsidiary Instruments (Collateral Documents):

Within section 4(3) of the Stamp Act 1949 10% of full scale for each principal instrument

Purchase from developer with a standard S&P Agreement

Loan Sum Legal Fees Below RM 30,000 RM 120 RM 30,001 - RM 100,000 1% of loan sum less 25%

All legal fees are subject to 5% service tax

Stamp Duty for S&P Agreement

Value of Property Stamp Duty 1st RM100,000 subsequent 1% RM 100,001 - RM 500,000 subsequent 2% RM 500,001 - RM 2 million 3% Above RM 2 million 4%

Stamp Duty for Loan Agreement Stamp duty for the Loan Document is RM2.50 for each RM500 or part thereof of the loan amount.

Stamp Duty for transfer of house title

Property Value Stamp Duty 1st RM100,000 1% Next RM400,000 2% Next RM 1.5 million 3% Thereafter 4%

**All legal fees are subject to 6% service tax.

Besides the official fees listed here, the purchaser will need to pay for disbursement fees range from RM1000-1500. As for disbursements, the main portion is towards assessment of adjudication fees which are calculated as follows :-

Item 32 Stamp Duty Act 1949

" On sale of any property For every RM100 or fractional part of RM100 of the amount
of the money value of the consideration or the market value
of the property, whichever is greater -

(i) RM1 on the first RM100,000;
(ii) RM2 on any amount in excess of RM100,000 but not exceeding
RM500,000;
(iii) RM3 on any amount in excess of RM500,000 but not exceeding
RM2,000,000;
(iv) RM4 on any amount in excess of RM2,000,000."

The other items for disbursements are :-

bankruptcy search
private land search
entry and withdrawal of private caveat ( property with title )
telephone, fax, postage,printing
travelling
miscellaeous

This is a sample list which is expected in a usual sub-sale transaction.

If the title is out, the charges for presentation of registration of transfer the memorandum of transfer (MOT) will also be incurred.

As for property without title, instead of the MOT, the Deed of Assignment, Deed of Receipt & Reassignment and Power of Attorney will be applied instead.

Since the vendor is expected to obtain good title and property free from encumbrances from the developer, where the property is stil non-title yet, the fees on Deed of Asssignment will be borne by the vendor also.

Worst of all, the calculation and charges for Legal Fee & Stamp Duty are fixed as they are governed by law and are not negotiable.

Confuse? Is ok, just open your cheque book and pay.