Moving home can be an expensive experience. From buying a house to packing and transporting furniture, your home moving cost estimate can end up being thousands and thousands of pounds. If you’re a first-time buyer, you may be wondering what moving costs need to be considered when buying a home. Here, we break down the overall cost of buying a property with our moving home costs checklist.
What is The Cost of Moving Home?
Did you know that the average cost of moving home in the UK is just under £9,000. That doesn’t include the price of the property you’ve purchased. The average cost of moving includes estate agent fees and legal fees. Clearly, moving home isn’t cheap. So, what type of costs can you expect?
A Moving Home Costs Checklist
Use our moving home costs checklist to help you navigate your finances when purchasing a property. If you’re buying a home to live in, you’ll want to consider these costs.
Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is the land tax you pay when purchasing a property. Stamp duty must be paid within 30 days of a completed contract. Normally, your solicitor will deal with this, so you don’t need to worry about who to pay the fee to. Depending on the value of your home, stamp duty can cost between 2% to 12% of your overall purchase price. Using a stamp duty calculator can provide you with the exact figure you’ll pay. In Scotland, you’ll pay land and buildings transaction tax instead of stamp duty. This fee needs to be paid on all property prices over £145,000.
Building and Valuation Surveys
When purchasing a property, you may need to pay for surveys on your potential new home. A mortgage provider may suggest a valuation survey to determine if the selling price of your desired property is realistic. A valuation survey can cost between £300-£400. A building survey is completed to indicate any potential causes of concern that may arise, such as dampness. A basic condition report is around £300, while comprehensive building surveys can cost between £500 to £2,000 depending on the size of the property. Neither survey is compulsory, but they are recommended, especially if you’re purchasing an old property.
House Deposit
Your house deposit is the amount of money you put down towards the purchase price. This is normally paid on the day you exchange contracts. Your house deposit can now be as small as 5%. However, you can put down more money, especially if you want to take advantage of a potentially lower mortgage rate. Remember, if you’re setting up a mortgage, you’ll need to pay an arrangement fee. This cost is linked to your mortgage interest rate and is a way for lenders to make some money back when offering low rates. The average cost of an arrangement fee is normally up to 3% of your overall loan.
Legal Fees
To buy a home, you’ll need to hire a licensed conveyancer or solicitor to handle your paperwork. The average cost for hiring these services is around £1,000 to £2,000. However, you’ll pay more if you buy a leasehold property due to the extensive paperwork involved. Leasehold properties mean you own the building but not the land that it was built on. In addition to sorting out paperwork, a solicitor will deal with mortgage lenders, land registry fees, search fees and any other complex matters that arise. You’ll need to pay a land registry fee of between £40 and £910 direct to your solicitor. This fee updates official records in the land registry.
Estate Agent Fees
If you’re selling a property before you move, you’ll have estate agent fees to deal with. This is either a flat fee or a percentage of the sale price. Percentages are usually between 1% and 3%. For example, if you sold a home for £150,000, you would pay £1,500 on a 1% agency fee.
Maintenance and Repairs
Your home survey will have indicated what repairs you need to make to your new home. Some maintenance may not be urgent, but you may have some immediate repairs to make so you’ll need to take into account the cost of these.
Home Insurance
Your mortgage provider usually insists that you take out home or buildings insurance to cover your property and belongings in the event of water damage, fire, or other potential risks. You can buy home insurance from any provider so you may want to shop around for the best quote. It’s important to take out enough cover to pay out for a complete rebuild if your property was completely destroyed. It’s also recommended that you take out contents insurance which covers loss or damage to your belongings. However, you may prefer to take out comprehensive home insurance to cover this.
Council Tax
Council tax fees depend on the size of your property and where it’s located.
Running Costs
When contemplating your monthly costs, you need to take into account the general running costs of your home. This includes utilities, including electricity, gas and water. The average cost of running a three-bedroom home is around £1,600 per month. But this cost will fluctuate depending on where you are moving to.
Leasehold Costs
You need to pay ground rent if you don’t own the freehold on your new home.
Removals Costs
Moving home costs money, especially if you’re hiring a removal company to transport your belongings to your new property. The average removals cost is between £250 to £1,700 depending on how many items you’re moving and the distance you’re travelling. It’s best to get removal quotes from a range of companies to determine which is the most affordable option for your needs. See our
moving home tips for further advice.
Property Clean
If you’ve been renting, you may need to pay for a deep clean of your property. You should check your tenancy agreement to determine the condition of your rental home when you leave. Normally, it should be left in the same condition as when you moved in. You can perform a deep clean by yourself but hiring a cleaning service will deliver professional results and save you time in the process.
Redirecting Mail
Redirecting your mail from your old home to your new property can cost between £30 and £65 depending on the length of time you require this service. Mail redirection fees apply to each surname so if you have two people in your home with different last names, you’ll be required to pay two fees.
We’re Here to Lend a Hand When Moving in Oxfordshire
Planning on moving home soon? Let us help you with a seamless transition to your new property. At
TSi-TSi, we’re experts in safe and secure
home removals. With 24-hour support, our team is on-hand to assist you no matter what.
Contact us now for a free, no-obligation quote.
