When buying a house for the first time, there is an awful lot that needs to be considered.
One of the most important factors is making sure that you have budgeted correctly. What a lot of prospective property owners do not realise is that there are numerous other costs aside from saving up for a mortgage deposit, including survey fees and solicitors fees for buying a house. We are going to take you through all of the potential costs.
Firstly, you have the deposit, which is typically anything from five to 20 per cent for first time buyers. You may also have to pay mortgage set-up fees, which are typically between £100 and £250. Some mortgage products have an arrangement fee, which can be separate to the booking fee and can cost around £2,000. These costs are variable and will depend on your lender. The mortgage lender will also charge you for a valuation survey, whereby they will determine the value of the property you are buying, this can cost anything from £150 to £1,500.
You can also incur fees for searches to the local council to determine whether there are any local or planning issues – such searches cost roughly £250. You also have the solicitors conveyancing fee. The best thing to do here is compare conveyancing quotes, as these fees can differ considerably. There is also stamp duty, as well as a home survey, which could be a building or structural survey, homebuyer’s report, or a home condition survey. There is then the building insurance fee, telegraphic transfer fee, moving costs and registration of title if you are buying in Scotland.
It is important to point out that you may not have to pay all of the above costs. Only some lenders charge building insurance fees, for example, when customers decide to take out such an insurance plan with another company. However, some costs, i.e. solicitors fees for buying a house cannot be avoided.