Check your english vocabulary for

encumbrance / endowment / engrossment / encroachment.
14.
In Britain, house buyers must pay tax on the documents that record the purchase of the house (if
the house costs more than a certain amount). What do we call this tax? Is it:
(a) excise duty (b) customs duty (c) active duty (d) double duty (e) stamp duty 

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Exercise 2:
Imagine that you want to buy a property. Below are the different stages that you will
normally (and ideally) go through. Complete the gaps with words and expressions from the
box. 
Unit 0000
53
For reference see Dictionary of Law 4th edition (A & C Black 0-7475-6636-4).
alterations appoint asking authority balance bound boundaries clauses
completion confirmation contract covenants deposit disclose disputes
fees offer ownership planning permission plans possession preservation
Registry restrictions signing stamp structural survey surveyor title deed
1. You make an __________ on the __________ price (the price that the seller is asking for the house),
which is accepted by the seller.
2. You __________ a solicitor to help you make your purchase.
3. You solicitor receives __________ of your accepted offer, and also any necessary details from the estate
agent.
4. The seller's solicitor sends your solicitor a draft __________. This is checked to make sure there are no
unusual __________. 
5. At the same time, the seller's solicitor sends your solicitor the seller's __________. This is carefully
checked for any __________ that might apply to __________ of the property. At the same time, the seller
should make your solicitor aware of any problems with the property (for example, __________ with his / her
neighbours, any approved or unapproved __________ that he / she has made to the property, relevant
information on __________ adjoining other properties and public land, __________ or __________ orders
that may restrict development of the property, whether you will need to get __________ before making
changes to the property, etc).
6. If the contract is approved, copies of it are prepared for __________ by both you and the seller. 
7. Before you do this, however, your solicitor should ask the local __________ (for example, the local town
council) to __________ any information it has on __________ for the area around the property you are
buying (for example, there may be plans to build an airport at the end of your back garden, or a motorway
across your lawn at the front).
8. At the same time, you should ask for a __________ of the property by a chartered __________. He / she
will tell you if there are any problems with the property (for example, rising damp, dry rot, unsound
__________ features, etc).
9. If you are happy with everything, you now sign the contract: you are now legally __________ to buy the
property (you cannot pull out of the agreement, unless further checks by your solicitor produce
unfavourable information that has been kept secret from you; for example, he / she may discover that the
property details the seller has provided are not accurate). 
10. Your solicitor arranges a __________ date with the seller's solicitor – this is the date when you will take
official __________ of the property – and both you and the seller exchange contracts through your
solicitors. Your title deeds are prepared.
11. You pay your solicitor his __________, the money for the property (assuming you have already paid a
__________ on the property, you will now need to pay the outstanding __________), the relevant
__________ duty and Land __________ fees.
12. You get your copy of the deeds and the key to the front door. Congratulations, and welcome to your
new home!

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54
Unit 0000
For reference see Dictionary of Law 4th edition (A & C Black 0-7475-6636-4).
Check your knowledge of punishment and penalty vocabulary with this quiz.
Punishments and penalties
1.