What are the costs involved with moving to a new house or flat?
If you’ve recently sold your house, or are in the process of selling, and preparing to move to a new property you need to have a comprehensive understanding of all the costs involved. Having an upfront general idea of the money that you will have to spend on the various expenses of home moving will help you more accurately budget to cover these costs.
Fees for surveyors – If you’re interested in a property you should hire a surveyor who can assess the house or flat and help to uncover any hidden problems about the condition of the property. This can be incredibly useful to not only warn you of potential issues, but also help you save money from having to pay for repairs in the future. Fees will vary depending on the scope of the survey, but expect to at least £250 and up to £600 or possibly more.
Fees for solicitors – It’s strongly recommended that you hire a solicitor to help with all the time-consuming and complex paperwork associated with selling your home and moving to a new property. The fees will vary depending on the amount of time and work involved, but the typical charges that homeowners end up having to pay solicitors range between £850 to £1,500, and you’ll also have to pay 20 percent value added tax on top of that fee.
Fees for selling – If you decide to sell your home through an estate agent, you’ll owe them fees that will vary depending on the professional that you hire. They will charge you for the work involved in listing, promoting, and holding viewings for your property. Similarly, if you sell through an auctioneer they will charge you fees for the cost of handling the sale, although you might be able to pass those on to the winning bidder.
Removal costs – These are among the most obvious costs that you might think about when trying to add up how much money you’ll have to pay for moving. Although some people like to take care of moving all their furniture and other belongings from their old home to their new property, many people rely on removal companies that will do this hard work for them. It’s a common upfront cost and if you have a lot of items to transfer to the new house then you can expect the overall rate for the removal to be quite high.
Stamp duty – If your new house or flat costs more than £125,000 then you will have to pay the government a tax known as stamp duty. If it’s your first time buying a house and it costs up to and including £500,000 then you won’t have to buy any stamp duty for the first £300,000 of the purchase price. This applies for properties through England and Northern Ireland, with different taxes applying in Scotland and Wales. Be sure to check the Government SDLT website for any updates to this legislation.
Deposit – When buying a house you will need to put down a deposit, which is a portion of the cost of the home. Most buyers typically have to provide anywhere between 5 and 20 percent of the property’s overall value. The more money that you can put down upfront as a deposit, the greater the odds are that you will be able to secure a mortgage. That’s because the higher the deposit, the lower the amount the lender will have to provide, so they will look more favourably on smaller mortgages that can repaid quicker.
Three top questions about the actual costs involved with moving home
It can sometimes feel overwhelming starting the process of moving home, and that’s why we’ve compiled these three typical questions and answers about the costs of getting a new place:
Because there are many costs associated with every step of the process, ranging from the fees you might have to pay an estate agent for helping to sell your home through to the costs of removal. You’ll also need to spend money on removal companies for your belongings, and secure a deposit and mortgage, among other charges.
Yes. Instead of paying an estate agent or an auctioneer fees to sell your property, you could try selling to a property buying company such as LDN Properties. These businesses offer fast cash for your home without charging any fees.
It’s strongly recommended that you use a solicitor to help you with the large amount of complicated paperwork involved in moving home. Although you could save money in the short term by not hiring a solicitor, you risk being liable for much larger costs in the future should there be any problems with the paperwork.
