With property acquisitions, a prospective purchaser will normally incur “acquisition” or “purchase costs” in addition to the actual purchase price. These costs are essentially legal and surveyor’s fees, VAT and stamp duty. The level of these costs will vary depending on each particular property, the nature of the client/surveyor relationship and any changes in the rate of Stamp Duty imposed by the Exchequer.At present the purchaser of a property sold with a purchase price in excess of £500,000 could expect to have a combined acquisition cost equivalent to about 5.75% of the purchase price.A prospective purchaser may have additional costs of acquisition arising from a building survey or environmental survey.