Summary Of Moving Costs

February 26, 2018 by Stacy Wells

Summary of typical purchase costs

Have you wondered how much it would cost to buy a house or flat? There are a number of upfront costs as well as the mortgage and ongoing costs like maintenance/upkeep of the property, insurances, council tax, etc. See below a list of the main fees/costs to bear in mind when looking at purchasing a property:

Deposit:

One of the largest costs you will have to think about is the deposit you are going to put towards the purchase. Most lenders will need at least 5-10% of the purchase price, however you may find more choice of lenders, products and competitive rates with 15% or more. Why not try our deposit calculator to see some examples of deposit sizes for different purchase prices?

Stamp Duty:

Another large fee is the stamp duty. This is a government tax paid on homes costing £125,001 or more. If this is not your only property, there is also now an additional 3% to be paid on top of the standard rates. Take a look at our calculator to find out what the stamp duty cost will be for the purchase price you are looking at.

Solicitor Fees:

You will need to instruct a solicitor/conveyancer to carry out all the legal work involved in purchasing a property. They will usually charge around £400-£1000 including VAT depending on the company you choose, and there will also be all the search and disbursement costs on top of this – expect total fees to be around £850-£1500. Some of these costs include things like local authority searches, land registry fees, bankruptcy searches, environmental searches and fund transfer fees.

Valuation / survey fees:

The mortgage lender will want to undertake a valuation on the property to assess the market value and security of the property to ensure they are happy to lend against it. Some lenders may offer this for free but others may charge anything from £150 upwards depending on the value of the property. This will be a very basic report carried out for the lenders purposes so may not identify any/all repairs or maintenance that might be needed. Because of this, you may want to arrange a more in-depth report like a homebuyers or structural report depending on the type and age of the property. This would cost around £250+ depending on the value of the property for a basic homebuyer report or £600+ for a structural report. Buying a property is most people’s largest transaction so it would be wise to ensure the property you are buying is in good order!

Mortgage Fees:

Some lenders may charge an application fee (around £100-£150) when you submit an application to them, though this is becoming less common.

Depending on the product you choose, there may be a product fee attached to it, usually £999 – £1999. Lenders quite often give you the option of adding this fee to the loan, but this would mean paying interest on that over the course of the mortgage term which could add quite a lot more to the initial cost!

As mentioned earlier, some lenders may charge a valuation fee and some mortgage advisors may charge a fee for arranging the mortgage for you.

Removal Costs:

Unless you know a man with a van and have some strong friends, or are starting out with very little furniture, you may need to pay for a removal company when you move into your new home. This could cost around £300-£600, though renting a van and calling on some good friends or family will reduce this!

Building Insurance:

If you are buying a freehold property (most houses will be on a freehold basis) then you are responsible for insuring the property, and lenders will insist on there being suitable insurance in place when the mortgage completes. You will need to bear in mind that you are responsible for the property on exchange of contracts even though you may not set the completion date for a week, even months, after so this is when you will need the insurance to start.

It may also be prudent to arrange contents insurance to cover your possessions and also to look into life, critical illness and income protection. These are certainly areas to discuss with your mortgage advisor.

These cover the upfront costs to consider when buying a property. You will also have ongoing costs when you have bought the property, for example council tax, utilities and any repairs needed. Also, if you are purchasing a leasehold property (most flats, and some houses, are on a leasehold basis) you will likely have an annual ground rent to pay as well as monthly service charge costs. If you are looking to purchase a leasehold property, it is definitely worth checking with the estate agent/seller about what these costs are so you can factor this in to your ongoing costs and affordability. You will also need to know what these figures are for the mortgage application as the lender will factor these costs into your affordability assessment.