After Your House Deposit, What Else Do You Need to Save?

Legal fees are your solicitor’s fees or conveyancing fees. When you move, you’ll need to get lots of checks done, including money laundering and bankruptcy.

Plus, they’ll find out if there are any planning concerns you need to be aware of. They’ll also handle the transfer of title deeds.

A licensed conveyancer may be a more affordable option than a solicitor, but make sure they provide all the necessary services you need.

You may have to pay an electronic transfer fee of £30 or so to cover the cost of the money being moved from your mortgage lender.

From October 1^st 2021, stamp duty land tax will return to its usual rate. That means zero up to a property value of £125,000 and will increase in levels. You can work out exactly how much you may need to pay using the Stamp Duty Calculator on the government website.

This is one cos that especially comes out of the blue for new buyers. A mortgage fee takes into account the booking fee, the arrangement fee and the valuation.

The booking fee can be as little as £99 and as much as £250.

The arrangement fee can be as much as £2000. You may get lucky and not have to pay anything, but on average it’s £1000.

The mortgage provider requests a valuation before they’ll agree to lend you any money. The valuation may cost you as little as £150 or can set you back £1,500.

If you’ve used a mortgage broker to recommend mortgage products, then you may have to pay them a fee of up to £750. This isn’t always the case, and some will provide free advice as they get a commission from the mortgage provider.

Be sure to use someone who is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. Some mortgage brokers can only recommend certain providers, so you’ll want to be aware of this before hiring them.

When you move house, you need to update the land registry so it shows you as the current homeowner. This can cost £50-1000.

We’ve already mentioned the valuation as part of your mortgage fees, but you may need up to £1,500 ready in your bank account if you’re hoping to buy a large property. However, you may get away with as little as £150.

Even though your mortgage valuation will give a basic report for the lender, it’s a good idea to get your own survey done. Surveys vary in price and scope. It’s wise to commission a RICS surveyor and ask for a full structural survey that will let you know about any ticking timebombs in your new property or something that needs fixing right away.

You can have a basic condition report from £300, a non-intrusive Homebuyer Report and valuation from £350 or a full building report from £500.

Building insurance is an unavoidable cost. It protects you in the event of structural damage and needs to cover you for rebuilding costs if your house were to fall down. Your Homebuyer Report can give you an insurance reinstatement value so you know what policy you need.

You also need to insure your house contents and it’s also recommended that you have a life insurance policy to protect your mortgage in the event of your death or a serious illness.

You don’t have to worry about estate agent fees if you’re a first time buyer. For existing homeowners looking to move, you need to set aside a minimum of £2,000 for your estate agents who’ve done all the hard work of selling your house. For this, they ask for between 1-3% of the amount you sell your house for, or a fixed fee.

The survey can bring up a lot of costs in terms of repairs. It costs the average new homeowner £5,700 to fix any issues once they’ve moved into their new home. If costly repairs have been picked up in the survey before you make a firm commitment, you can use this to lower the asking price or the current owners may agree to pay for the work themselves.

A property is either described as leasehold or a freehold. A freeholder owns the actual land as well as the house, and the leaseholder just owns the building. Once the lease runs out, the landowner may decide to do something else with the land.

Flats can often be leasehold or residents can share the freehold. A leasehold incurs a ground rent of £50-100 a year.

If you’re in a shared building, you may have to pay service costs to your building management company for upkeep and maintenance of the communal areas.

The actual costs of moving are another expense to bear in mind. If you’ve got a few boxes to take from your room at Mum and Dad’s then a man with a van may be satisfactory – or even a few trips in a car. But if you have large items of furniture and fragile pieces, a removals firm will make it a lot simpler. Here at Spring Box we provide packing materials to protect your belongings and we’re fully insured to transport your valuable items to your new home. We can even offer a premium packing service and storage depending on your unique situation. We can also arrange a parking permit with the local council so you don’t have to take care of that.

For more advice on removals costs, read this helpful blog.

Living without Broadband is no longer a luxury for most of us, especially if you rely on your home connection to do your job. An initial setup fee can cost around £60. Start organising this as early as possible so you’re not left waiting too long without internet.