What do you need to pay when you are moving home?

House hunting can be a stressful affair, especially if you don’t have much time on your hands or you are restricted to a small budget.

It doesn’t need to be stressful though. If you follow a few simple tips, you can make the house hunting experience a smooth and even fun one!

 

 

Before you get too carried away on your new home adventure, make sure you consider all the costs involved such as:

• Mortgage arrangement fee - This is a fee you the pay the lender such as your bank or building society.  It does vary but you can expect to pay roughly *£1,000 which in some cases is non-refundable if the sale falls through.
• Valuation fee - This is the fee you pay the lender (bank, building society) to check that the property offers sufficient security for the loan. Budget for £300.
• Legal fees - Depending on the price of your property, you will pay roughly *£500 - £800 if you choose an independent solicitor. However, many lenders will contribute to legal fees although if that’s the case you will need to use a solicitor approved by them. If you are buying a new-bud house the builder may well have a list of ‘approved’ solicitors who will offer a lower fee.
• Stamp duty – If your new property is valued at more than £125,000 you will have to pay stamp duty.
• Moving expenses – depending upon how much furniture you will be bringing with you and from how far away, there can be substantial costs involved in the process of moving.

These costs are all unavoidable. There are others, however, that you may or may not need to meet, depending upon the house that you buy.
  

For example, if you purchase a previously-owned home you might love the property but hate the décor. You then need to budget for the expense of changing it to your tastes.

  

Depending upon where you’re moving from and what you’re taking with you – and depending also upon what the vendor is putting or leaving in the property – you may need to pay for new kitchen appliances, furniture, curtains, carpets and a host of other things. You need to budget for all of these as well, not just the cost of buying the house.

  

So work out what you can really afford to pay for your new home and set a realistic budget before you begin house-hunting.