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Moving to a new home can be as stressful as it is exciting. Organising packing, booking removals and working through your change of address list is fairly time consuming. Finding new schools and/or new jobs can also be a challenge. The last thing you need is surprise extra costs when buying a house.

Because it’s not something that we do every day, many of us don’t realise all the costs there are to consider when buying a new home. However, according to Which? the average cost of moving home is around £12,000. These can include stamp duty, legal fees, mortgage arrangements fees and land registry fees, not forgetting that if you’re selling your existing home, you’ll also have to factor in estate agent fees.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of moving fees and hidden costs when buying a home so, to make sure you don’t have any nasty shocks, at phs Teacrate we’ve put together this guide to unexpected moving costs so you can make sure they are factored in to your budget.

Additional costs when buying a house 

Stamp Duty – if you pay over a set amount for property, you will be liable to pay a form of property tax. In England and Northern Ireland, this is known asStamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)and the rate is based on a percentage rate of the value of the transaction. The equivalent in Scotland is Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), while in Wales, you must pay Land Transaction Tax (LLT). Homes up to a certain value are exempt and the rate rises the greater the property is worth. 

 England and Northern Ireland: 

Scotland: 

Wales:  

Buildings insurance – this is often a pre-requisite of getting a mortgage and is also a good idea if you’re paying cash for your property as it covers the cost of rebuilding/fixing any damage to the structure. If you’re a tenant, your landlord will usually have buildings insurancecovered, leaving you to deal with the building contents insurance. If the provider hasn’t been specified by the leaseholder, you should shop around for your buildings insurance to get the best quote and coverage.

Land Registry fees - when you buy a property from someone else, the Land Registry charges a fee to change the details to your name on their register. The amount of Land Registry fees you paydepends on the value of the property. For homes bought for £100,001-£200,000, the fee is around £200, rising to £300 for properties worth up to £500,000 and is paid via your solicitor on completion.

Legal fees – conveyancing costs will be due to pay for your solicitor’s legal work involved in buying your home and will also cover various searches and administrative costs. Some of these costs will need to be paid along the process with the final fee on completion. These can be anywhere between £500 to £1,500 (including VAT) with the exact cost depending on the value of your property as well as any unforeseen problems along the way. Legal fees for buying or selling a propertycannot be added to your mortgage so you’ll need to have funds to cover them.

Estate agent fees – if you sell your property through a third party, you’ll be liable for estate agent fees which are usually based on commission and agreed in advance. This will be between 1% and 3.5% of the selling price (according to Which?)plus VAT. Estate agent fees are due to the seller only so you won’t have to pay any fees to the estate agent responsible for the home you’re purchasing.

Valuation fee – your lender will need to value your property to ensure it is worth what you are paying for it which determines how much they will lend you. Most will charge a fee for a valuation which ranges between around £150 to £1,500 depending on the value of the property. 

Survey – In addition to having your home valued, it’s essential you also conduct a survey to identify any potential issues. There are a choice of surveys starting from a basic home condition survey through to a full structural survey. Accordingly, fees can vary between £500-£1,100 or more depending on your requirements and property value. 

Mortgage arrangement fee– a fee is often charged by a bank, building society or other lender for setting up your mortgage, and is charged at either a set fee or percentage of your mortgage value. As a rough guide, this could range between a couple of hundred pounds to one per cent of the mortgage. Mortgage arrangement fees can be added to your mortgage total. Some lenders or brokers may also charge an additional booking fee – although some brokers won’t charge you and instead make their money via commission from the lender. Always check in advance what you’ll be liable to pay.

Electronic transfer fees – when buying a house, you need to move money quickly from your lender to your solicitor and seller. Electronic payments such as CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) are the fastest of these, allowing large amounts of money to be transferred in a matter of hours. The fee for this can range between £25-£50.Whilerelatively small, it should be factored into your budget nonetheless.

Removal costs – how much you pay for removals depends on the size of your property, how much stuff you have and how far you are moving. If you can move yourself, you may just need to fund boxes, packaging supplies and possibly a van hire. Otherwise, you could pay from a few hundred to several thousand pounds. Professional costs vary between companies so always shop around and get several quotes. This is the only way you’ll get accurate costs and find the best deal. 

VAT – don’t forget that most of these costs of moving house will incur VAT. Often this is added onto the quote but may be tagged on later so just check with all your providers so you can budget for the full cost.

phs Teacrate can help with the extra costs when buying a house by providingall the packagingand boxes or cratesthat you need to keep your possessions safe when in transit – because broken belongings are probably the most unwanted hidden costs when buying a house.

Contact phs Teacrate todayto get your packing boxes and accessories ticked off your moving list.