Moving house is a major event and one that doesn't come cheaply. As well as a probable increase in your monthly bills there are other payments to factor into your budget when moving house. In this article, we detail the costs of moving house for both first-time buyers and existing homeowners.
How much does it cost to buy a house?
The costs when buying a house fall into three main categories; mortgage costs, legal costs and taxation costs. We break each of these down below.
Mortgage costs
There are a number of costs involved in obtaining a mortgage and the amount of each fee differs between lenders.
Booking fee
This fee is paid at the time of the mortgage application to secure the funds while your application is being processed. This fee is typically in the region of £200-£300 and is generally non-refundable if your application is unsuccessful.
Arrangement fee
This fee varies between lenders and products but can be as much as £2,000. In some cases, the fee can be added to the loan amount but this will increase your monthly payments. Always check the arrangement fee as some mortgages will have a lower interest rate but a higher arrangement fee which makes the low-interest rate mortgage more expensive over the mortgage term.
Mortgage admin fee
Some lenders will charge this fee for the administration involved in opening a new mortgage account. The amount charged will be in the region of £100-£300.
Mortgage broker fee
If you use the services of an independent financial adviser or mortgage broker to arrange your mortgage you may be charged a fee for the service. We have teamed up with Habito* an online mortgage broker that does not charge a fee for their service.
Survey fee
All mortgage lenders will require a survey to be carried out on the property by a qualified surveyor. This survey will confirm if the price you are paying for the property represents reasonable value compared with similar properties.
A HomeBuyer Report is the type of survey normally requested by a lender and the cost will depend on the value of the property and will typically be in the region of £400-£500. If the property you are purchasing is old or in poor condition then you may want to instruct a full structural survey which will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the property indicating any areas of poor repair or structural weakness. A full structural survey could cost £1,000 or more in addition to the cost of the Home Buyer report that the lender will require.
Legal costs
To deal with the legal aspects of your house purchase you will need to use the services of a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer. The solicitor costs will be in the region of £1,000-£2,000.
Taxation
You may be required to pay land tax, more commonly referred to as stamp duty. We have summarised the current stamp duty rates below.
Stamp Duty Land Tax is payable in the following circumstances:
- purchase of a freehold property
- purchase of a new or existing leasehold
- purchase of a property through a shared ownership scheme
The amount of Stamp Duty payable will depend on the date of completion of the property purchase and the purchase price of the property as follows:
Stamp Duty rates on main residences:
| Property Purchase Price |
Stamp Duty Rate
(percentage payable on proportion above each threshold)
|
| Up to £250,000 (£425,000 for first-time buyers) | 0% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% |
| £925,001 – £1,500,000 | 10% |
| £1,500,001 + | 12% |
Stamp Duty rates on additional properties:
| Property Purchase Price |
Stamp Duty Rate
(percentage payable on proportion above each threshold)
|
| Up to £250,000 (£425,000 for first-time buyers) | 3% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 8% |
| £925,001 – £1,500,000 | 13% |
| £1,500,001 + | 15% |
Summary of costs when buying a property
Estimated costs when purchasing a £250,000 property
| Fee category | Fee | Fee amount | Notes |
| Mortgage costs | Booking fee | £300 | varies between lenders |
| Arrangement fee | £2,000 | could be added to loan | |
| Mortgage admin fee | £200 | usually added to loan | |
| Mortgage broker fee | £0 | online mortgage broker Habito charge no fees | |
| Survey fee | £500 | based on purchase price | |
| Legal costs | Conveyancing | £1000 | for legal work involved in house purchase |
| Searches | £350 | fee for local searches | |
| Land Registry | £200 | registration of ownership | |
| Chaps | £35 | fee for transfer of funds | |
| Total cost | £4,585 |
(Costs are estimated based on a purchase price of £250,000)
How much does it cost to sell a house?
The costs when selling a house fall into three categories; estate agent fees, energy performance certificate fees and legal fees. We break each of these down below.
Estate agents fees
Around 95% of all house sellers use an estate agent to market their property. In recent years a new breed of estate agent has appeared who transact their business totally online with no high street presence. Online estate agents tend to charge a lower fee as they have lower overheads but not having a high street presence can result in a less effective service for a seller.
The fees for selling a property with a high street estate agent will be 1%-2% of the marketing price and is only payable if the property is sold. Online estate agents tend to charge an upfront fee of £500-£1,500 which often works out cheaper than a high street agent if they go on to sell the property. Obviously, if an online agent fails to sell the property and the seller decides to then go with a high street agent they could end up paying two fees for one sale.
Before deciding which estate agent to use when marketing your property I would suggest reading our article "Find the best & cheapest local estate agent in seconds"
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) contains information regarding the energy efficiency of a property together with recommendations on how to reduce energy costs. An EPC must be obtained prior to the property being marketed with costs between £50-£100; most estate agents will arrange for this certificate to be produced on behalf of the seller.
Legal costs
The conveyancing cost of selling a property will be £1,000-£2,000 depending on the property value but if you are buying and selling you should try and negotiate a discount on the total fee.
Summary of costs when selling a property
Estimated costs when selling a £250,000 property
| Fee category | Fee amount | Notes |
| Estate agent | £3,750 | 1.5% of purchase price |
| EPC | £75 | legal requirement for all house sales |
| Legal costs | £1,000 | for legal work involved in house sale |
| Total cost | £4,825 |
(Costs are estimated based on a purchase price of £250,000)
Additional costs to consider when moving house
There are other additional costs to consider when moving house such as:
Insurance
Building and contents insurance
The lender through whom you arrange your mortgage will require the property to be insured and will normally state the sum assured on the mortgage offer. The contents within the property should also be insured to protect your possessions.
Life insurance
You will probably be offered life insurance when you arrange your mortgage but you are not obliged to take them up on their offer. We recommend reading our article "Should you buy life insurance through a mortgage broker?" before deciding.
Removal costs
If you are a first-time buyer you may be able to move all your belongings yourself but if you already own property don't underestimate the amount of belongings you will have to deal with when moving house. Employing the services of a removal company will make the already stressful job of moving house a bit more bearable. Removal firms will assess their charges taking into account how much they need to move, the distance between properties together with the accessibility of each property. It is well worth getting two or three quotes before deciding who to use.
Storage
If you are downsizing or have belongings that you may not keep long-term then it may be worth renting a storage space. The rates are quite reasonable for short-term storage as most have deals for the first 8 weeks or so. Having accessible storage is especially useful while you are making your final decision on what to do.
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