When thinking of buying a new property, the deposit is the biggest expenditure you are likely to have. You may have been saving for quite a while, putting savings away each month and have reached that all important target – congratulations!

When you are working out your ‘buying a house’ budget there are also other fees including moving fees and mortgage fees for example that need to be included. It all adds up and can easily plunge you into debt if an unexpected bill hasn’t been taken into consideration. Currently with the increase in Household Bills and heating bills, it is even more important to consider all outlays.

Here’s what you need to know about and budget for

• Mortgage Fees. On top of your deposit you need to take account of the charges that your mortgage provider will require as part of the application process. These can vary from a few hundred pounds to several thousands. If you shop around though, you can find a variety of deals, we recommend speaking to the Mortgage Advice Bureau. In the current market there are currently some fixed rate mortgages that can be arranged over a number of years which has its advantages
• An electronic transfer fee is often applicable when the mortgage is paid out – this is in the region of £50
• Surveyors fees. This may be viewed as a necessary evil in order to comply with your mortgage, but having a professional survey undertaken, could save you thousands of pounds in the long run. A basic survey could be as little as £200 to £300. You can pay extra for a homebuyers report or even a full structural survey – this may expose issues with the property that going forward may have caused you headaches in the future and even warrant a renegotiation on price.
• Legal fees. You will require a solicitor to carry out the legal searches on your property – this covers local, environmental and water and could unearth flooding, planning permission, neighbour dispute etc – Fees for these are typically less than £200
• The solicitors purchase fee could cost around £1000 plus, depending on your purchase eg buying a leasehold property would cost more than a freehold. The solicitors fee may also include additional costs such as ‘help to buy ISA’, where a gift has been provided etc
• Stamp Duty. Depending on the purchase price of your property you will need to pay stamp duty to the Government – the current savings as a result of the government Covid-19 initiative are due to end at the end of September. If you are a first time buyer you won’t pay stamp duty on the first £300,000. You are only exempt from paying stamp duty on the first £125,000 if you are not a first time buyer. To find out how much stamp duty you are likely to be paying please take a look at the Government stamp duty calculator on line.
• Estate Agent fees. You only pay Estate agents fees if you are selling a property, so if you are a first time buyer you don’t need to budget for this. The fees are typically around 1%, however at David Phillip Estate Agents we operate a fixed fees model, which not only gives you choice but means that you are aware of what the fees are right from the outset. VAT is charged on top of this and is not payable until the completion of the sale – fixed fees at times when the economy is a challenge certainly enable you to budget your property purchase more efficiently
• Moving costs. Unless you are prepared to rent a van and move yourself then you will need to budget for a professional removal company, you may also need storage costs too if there is a gap between moving from your current house and moving into your next property.
• Decoration and refurbishment costs. It is worth being clear exactly what is included within the sale this is part of the fixtures and fittings form and anything noted in the property advert is included. If you need to buy carpets, curtains, curtain rails and more – these can quickly eat into your budget. Where possible always get quotes up front.

You have now saved your deposit and accounted for all the costs, so now it is time to find the perfect place to live, and if you have a house to sell in the process  and require a free market   appraisal call David Phillip Estate Agents on 01134 676 400 w:davidphillip.co.uk a: 86, Leeds Road, Bramhope, Leeds

Covering Bramhope, Adel, Cookridge, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Otley, North Leeds