I dont know of any areas where there an exemption nor is there any lower limit. The maximum you should pay is 3% of the property value, this is reffered to as tapu tax locally. Also be aware if you have a contract notarised (by a noter) and the price is in the contract then there will be a tax of 0.75% both for buyer and seller, and most sellers wont be happy to pay it!!- thus you may end up paying an extra 1.5% there(this is referred to as stamp tax locally). Best to weigh that up against the cost of a solicitor- where you can put the price in and not pay the extra tax. Hope this helps