Buying a house at the moment is a pretty good bet over all. Interest rates are low, and prices have already fallen considerably so if you can afford to do so, chances are you’re likely to be able to get a pretty good deal.

Of course you do need to consider some of the costs of buying a property, and also the costs that you’ll incur when you’re living there too. It’s important to make sure that you’ve enough not just to make ends meet, but to keep paying if the interest rates go up again and things like that. The first thing is the cost of buying a place. Things like legal fees, stamp duty etc. Make a list and check them all before you commit – this way you’ll know what exactly you’ve got to pay out.

Here’s a check list of things you need to remember:

Stamp Duty – if your property is over £150,000 then you will have to pay stamp duty. This is based on a percentage of the purchase price of the house.

The Survey – When you buy any property it’s important to have a survey done to see what the structure is like and check everything is ok. A basic survey is usually required for the mortgage and will cost somewhere in the region of £150-300, but you can have a full structural survey done which is much more detailed and can cost a lot more – up to around £700 for a large house. If you’re buying somewhere that maybe needs some work, it’s usually a good idea to do this as it can make you aware of things that you might miss otherwise.

Legal Fees – There are various legal fees that are charged when you buy a house. It’s normally lumped together under the term conveyancing fees and done by your solicitor. There are various things that they will charge for including land registry & local authority searches and bank transfer fees. As well of course as writing up all the documentation for you and liasing with the sellers solicitor. It’s important to find a good solicitor as having one that’s not good can slow things down tremendously and make moving much more of a chore. Make sure that you get an actual fee from them for what they will charge you and that you know exactly what it includes when you hire them. You don’t want to find that the fee they mentioned at the beginning didn’t include VAT or the search fees or something. Solicitors conveyancing fees can vary hugely, but you can expect to pay somewhere between £400 and £800 for the average house.

Deposit – Bit obvious maybe, but don’t forget that you need to have this amount as well as all the other fees. Most mortgages these days are for a maximum of 95% and if you can provide a larger deposit then you will find you can get a better interest rate on the mortgage usually.

Mortgage Lender Fees – Most Mortgage lenders will charge a fee when you set up a mortgage with them. Sometimes these fees can include a basic survey on the house, and a valuation fee. This is so they know that the house is worth what you’re paying for it. Often Mortgage lender fees can be added on to the mortgage if you desire, but remember if you do add them on then you’ll pay interest on the money too! The fee is normally around £200 plus the cost of survey and valuation often.

Removal Costs – Don’t forget about these! You’ll want to move all your belongings from wherever you currently live to your new abode, and unless you’re lucky enough to either drive a van or know someone willing to help you out who does, you’ll probably have to hire a van of some sort to move everything in. Self hire is a good way to go and often works out a lot cheaper than hiring a full removal company. Self hire can cost from £35 up to a removal company who wrap everything one end and unwrap it the other who can charge you many hundreds of £’s.

Other fees – there are other odds and ends you may or may not need – postal redirection for example. Make sure you include any thing like this on your figures when you work out what you require.

It’s safe to say that for the average house buyer, you’ll need between £500 and £1500 put aside on top of your deposit to cover the cost of all the above fees.

Of course once you’ve got it all sorted and move into your new home, you may have all sorts of new things to consider that don’t always crop up when you’re renting. For example, Mortgage payment protection which is often sold to people with their mortgage. Do check VERY carefully to see what this covers before you buy it, and look at ALL the options as you don’t have to buy it from your mortgage lender – in fact you may not need it at all. Then there’s buildings insurance – this basically protects you so that if anything needs doing structurally to the house you don’t have to fork out a huge amount of money to put it right. When you have a mortgage it is normal for them to require you to have Buildings Insurance, but there is nothing to say you have to buy it from them so again look around carefully.

Check all your bills that you’ll be paying too, from council tax to utilities – some may have been included in your rent before, and now of course they’ll all be separate. Make yourself a spread sheet and find out what you can before you move. Ask what council tax band the property is, which gas and electric supplier they’re currently with – you may want to change this, in which case it’s good to know. Find out if they pay monthly bills or if they have meters for gas, electric and water. Ask about water rates and if the property is leasehold find out about enforced service charges and what they include.

It may seem a bit of a minefield, but with a bit of careful planning, you can make things go as smoothly as possible and find yourself with a really nice new home.

By Vialdana