Work Out The True Cost Of Buying Property

No doubt, buying property requires some money. Whether it is a huge house, or a tiny apartment – it is still a serious investment and before you can start looking for a new home, you should better work out the true cost of buying. Purchasing property is associated with an entire range of different expenses, which include:

Mortgage fees

First if all, you will have to find out if you can be pre-approved for the mortgage. Normally, there won’t be a problem with that – especially if your income is stable and predictable. The consultation with your bank representative is free, but reserving the mortgage may require a booking fee, varying somewhere between £100 and £250. Also, apart from the first deposit (that should be covered by your current savings), you might have to pay mortgage fees. Some creditors do not charge them, but some of them do. If your property cost exceeds £125 000, your initial mortgage fees can reach up to £2000.

Solicitor’s fees

Then, there are the solicitor’s fees that vary between £500 and £1500 plus 20% VAT. In most circumstances, you will be asked to pay 10% of the fee upfront. One of your solicitor’s tasks presupposes providing property evaluation reports (upon your request). The task will cost you extra £250-300 – that is only the solicitor’s fee for working on these reports.

Home evaluation reports

The reports will not be free either. Apart from the solicitor’s fees, you should be prepared to pay for each report separately. The most expensive (and, unfortunately, the most important one) is structural, or building, survey. Minimal cost of the survey is £600 – sometimes more.

The cheapest and most basic survey is a home condition report, which starts at £250. However, the survey will not give you any details apart from those you can actually see with your own eyes. A more detailed report would be homebuyer’s valuation report – this one can actually give a better insight of the property condition, and its cost starts at £400.

After the purchase

Even after the purchase, your expenses are not over yet. Even if your newly bought property is in an excellent condition, you will still need to invest some money into it. Most new homeowners start by painting the walls afresh; others go deeper and replace old electric wiring and other engineering communications. Some start redesigning the interior completely; others simply order new furniture . Whatever your case may be is up to you to figure out. Yet, whether it is an additional window or a new bedroom collection , you have to be ready that more money is to be spent. And, of course, if you have plenty of stuff to move into your home, do not forget to consider moving company services in your calculations – normally, their fees vary from £300 to £600.

The take away – you have to be really careful with your finances. To work out the true cost of buying, you will have to take all of the mentioned above expenses into the account, and store some money in the reserve – for the emergencies, unexpected expenses, etc.