How much does it actually cost to buy a house?

The seller pays the estate agents.

You have to pay stamp duty (1% = £950 in your case unless you are in one of the deprived areas which are exempt) and solicitors' fees and disbursements which are probably around £600.

The solicitors fees are the biggest pitfall, last year I obtained 4 quotes for a sale and purchase which ranged from £699 to £1,228 ignoring disbursements. I went with the cheapest which comprised fees of £250 for the sale and £350 for the purchase PLUS VAT. I could have had various problems with my solicitor but made sure all dealings were confirmed in writing so my backside was well and truly covered.

I found from the various quotes there were several variances with the total cost of disbursements which I clarified before asking them to proceed as follows:

Enviro Search incl. NLIS Search Fees on purchase - not req'd (two had requested £40)
Land Registry and Land Charges Search fee on purchase - £4
Land Registry fee on purchase - £150
Land Transaction Return Fee on purchase (Stamp duty form) - Nil (other three wanted £50)
Local Search NLIS Search fee on purchase - not req'd (One wanted £6)
Local Search - £115
Mining Search Fee - £19
Office Copy Entries on sale - £8
Stamp Duty Land Tax on purchase - In your case 1% of £95K (£950)
Telegraphic Transfer Fee on purchase - £29.38
Telegraphic Transfer Fee on sale - £29.38
VAT on Search Fees for purchase - No VAT (although 1 did charge VAT)
Water Board Search incl. NLIS search fee on purchase - not req'd (although 1 company wanted £36)
Bankruptcy Search @ £2 per name (say 2 names) - £4
Other unspecified disbursements - none (although 1 company wanted £41)

If you are purchasing a leasehold property it is necessary to notify the landowners and they charge a fee for changing their records, in my case it was 1% of the purchase price (a complete rip off).

I hope the above is of use to you, I shouldn't be needing it again for some time. The fees for the sale will obviously not apply in your instance.

In addition to the above I also paid a fixed fee of £900 + VAT to the estate agents and £300 for removals but these will not apply to you as a first time buyer.

You may also have to pay mortgage fees although I went with the Alliance & Leicester on a feesaver so this did not apply and the survey was also free (this would probably cost you £195 for a basic valuation).

Life Assurance - I recommend you visit cavendish online for a quote, you will probably get decreasing term for about £10 per month or less.

Insurance take your pick - I have used both Sainsbury and Tesco in the last two years who offer reasonable rates but more importantly I took 1000 points off each of them.

Builderswork would only apply if your house needs remedial work and if so you can usually knock down the sellers asking price by the same cost.

As a first time buyer you should certainly consider the cost of furnishings and decorations as I would guess you have none or little of your own at the moment. Tip - paint don't paper.