A leading UK consumer group is advising property buyers to shop around and save money when moving except on the areas where their interests need protecting by professionals – residential conveyancing through a house purchase solicitor and requesting a qualified surveyor to make a pre-purchase condition report.

The research report by Which? says that for a property selling for £200,000, typical bills for fees and charges on top of that can total £7,400 and that "the cost of moving has never been more difficult".

However, it suggests home buyers could trim their costs, such as that for estate agents, by using online services rather than a traditional high street business. Estate agents' fees vary from 1% to more than 2% of the selling price and this constitutes the largest of the charges.

It says that using a website could cut that amount from nearly £5,000 to less than £500.

Sellers could also save by surfing the net to find the cheapest provider of an energy performance certificate, which is essential before putting a home on the market. The charges to provide this range from £35 to £120.

A compulsory charge for buyers is the Government's stamp duty land tax, which currently is 1% for homes selling for less than £250,000 and graduated thereafter, depending on the price.

The Which? report adds that other services involved with buying and selling property will be more expensive in 2011 because of the rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% at the beginning of the year.

However, while the organisation urges home owners to save as much money as possible where they can, Which? says it is a false economy to scrimp on the cost of employing a surveyor to inspect the property and legal fees for a property lawyer to act on behalf of buyer or seller because their knowledge and experience could save the new home owner a lot of money and heartache if there is an unforeseen problem with the building.