Costs of buying a house

There are a number of costs to budget for when buying a house and it's important to be prepared. The following are the most important costs and expenses to plan for when buying your home.

Mortgage costs

The Mortgage itself usually has an arrangement fee, lenders valuation fee, mortgage deposit and monthly mortgage

Mortgage protection insurance, MIG

Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee, (Insurance charged by some lenders where your loan amount is more than 75% of the price of the property. It protects the lender in case you default on the mortgage and the lender cannot recover its money.

Conveyancing costs

Conveyancing solicitor basic fees - these should cover all time related costs (such as dealing with your lender and completing the stamp duty tax return) and all business overheads (such as postage, photocopying and Professional Indemnity charges.

The Conveyaning quote should include a breakdown for the Conveyancer's basic fees and the Disbursements or payments that they make to others on your behalf.

Disbursements - Land Registry office copies, Local authority searches, Drainage search, Environmental search, Location specific searches (not usually included in an inital quote)

Stamp Duty Land Tax, Land Registration fee. Be wary of cheap online quotations which do not show all costs and a full breakdown until after you have signed up.

What to look out for with Conveyancing quotes. 

Some Conveyancing companies use unfair methods to present a cheap quote for their "services" and then include additional fees within disbursements which are related to their own costs such as postage and time spent liaising with your lender.

Survey costs

Surveys - It's prudent in most cases to pay for a private survey of the house. This is the largest purchase you are ever likely to make, after all. Check which type of house survey is best for you and your circumstances.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

Stamp duty is a tax on the property and land transactions in the UK.  There are different percentage rates of tax to be paid to HMRC depending on the value of the property being purchased and different rates for residential property, commercial property, freehold and leasehold.  Stamp Duty Land Tax Rates  >

Costs for self-build

According to Home Building and renovating The Results for a Typical Self Build Home in 2018 were: The median build spend was £270,000. the median plot cost was £190,000. The median market value of home £500,000. There is huge variation in build cost range from £300/m² to over £5,000/m².

Self-build is the practice of creating an individual home for yourself through a variety of different build methods. Building a house varies from doing the actual building work to contracting out all the work to an architect or building package company. Seldom build entirely themselves, there will be various experts and professionals required along the process from architects to bricklayers. The term 'self build' is specifically used in the UK and Ireland when an individual obtains a building plot. Self-build is defined as the act of 'commissioning' a bespoke home.

At some point the project management of the build will be a core function and cloud-based construction project management software online will aid the process. The application will provide streamlined oversight and functions from tendering to closeout, collaborate in real time with all your teams, applications, and devices in one centralised hub.

Removal costs

Don't forget to budget for your removals cost and any self storage which you may need for temporary arrangements required. There are many companies to chose from for house removals such as National company Pickfords and Britania Movers, but there are also many local removal companies or man and a van or self hire to reduce costs. Check that they hold suitable insurance for damages on route as well as public liability insurance. Packaging and wardrobe boxes are often available additional services which can save you time. More on removal costs

Moving in costs

Moving in and costs of the new house include Building insurance premiums, Contents insurance premiums, Disconnection of services, Reconnection of services ( water, gas, electricity, telephone), Installation of new equipment (e.g. sky dish), carpet laying, mail redirection, change of address notice.

Plus there will be other fees if you are also selling a house so see costs of selling a house

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