Updated 03 December 2020
3min read
If you're hoping to buy your own home, you'll need this comprehensive guide to the costs involved in buying a house or flat and moving home. Always remember when you’re saving money for a deposit, you might need to stash away more than you think. There are lots of extra expenses involved in the home-buying and conveyancing process, from solicitor fees to removal costs.
Here you can find out about these various costs, including:
On top of your deposit, you’ll need some extra cash ready for the following:
Adding it all up, you can see that for a property costing just over £200,000 the average total of these fees would be around £3,000.
These costs will vary depending on the home you’re buying and other circumstances. Luck plays a role too, especially with surveys - if a major issue is discovered, you may have to start all over again.
Most people moving home use a removals company, which will cost between £500 and £1,000. If you’re a first-time buyer and don’t yet own much furniture it’s possible to do it yourself – but then of course you’ll want to buy some furniture! You can expect to spend around £2,000 on furnishings and an extra £1,000 on white goods such as fridge, washing machine and cooker – as a minimum. But you can save by buying second hand, looking at sites like Freecycle, and seeing if friends and family have items they no longer need.
Depending on the state of the property you’re buying, you may also need to factor in costs such as redecoration and/or home improvements too.
If you’re not a first-time buyer, you’ll also have to factor in the cost of selling your current home. The main one here is the estate agent’s fee, which comes directly out of the money your home fetches (usually between 0.5 per cent and 3 per cent).
You’ll need to shell out for your home’s EPC rating certificate upfront, which costs between £60 and £120. If you’re selling a second property (i.e. not your main residence) then you may also have to pay capital gains tax if its value has risen.
The short answer to this is yes, you can add many of the costs of moving to your mortgage. However, in most cases you should resist the temptation to do so, as you’ll pay much more over time – and you can usually get better value finance deals elsewhere. Talk to your mortgage adviser to find out more about this.
Need help saving up a lump sum for buying a home? Then see our page on deposits.
Let us match you to your
perfect mortgage adviser