How much to put by for fees & costs?

Tan_ya

Hi,

My partner and I are hoping to buy our first property together by the end of this year.

Deposit aside, I've been trying to work out a realistic figure to reserve for fees and other initial set up costs.

I thought £4,000 would probably cover most things.

Using information gained from various websites, I came up with a very rough estimate of £2,330 of the total £4,000 to include: the arrangement fees for the mortgage (to save it being added onto the mortgage), lenders valuation, independant survey, solicitors, land registry fee, local authority search, other search fees....

The remaining money (£1,670) we would use to set up insurance, household utilities etc.

Is this realistic?

Would anyone be able to breakdown what they've had to pay out in the run up, and first few months, of buying a property?

I would be so grateful!!

Cissi

Depending on the cost of the property you're buying, don't forget stamp duty!

NickDurham

Or extra surveys: electrical (150 quid-ish), damp specialists, etc.

suisidevw

On a property of £197,500, we are budgeting inc mortgage arrangement feee £5k. We think we'll get well inside this

Tan_ya

Sorry, I meant to say we are aiming to buy before the end of the year in order to miss the Stamp Duty, which is why I haven't accounted for that.

We're looking at property up to about £155,000.

suisidevw

and what mortgage fees? Could be the difference between £199 and £2500?!?!

Tan_ya

That was with an arrangement fee of £599.

I know this is all just rough estimates. I'm trying to take into account the fees differ so much, for a lot of things!!

So long as I don't underestimate what we need to save, I'll be happy with that :-)

suisidevw

In my opinion £4k will more than cover it...... just some random examples.

Homebuyers Survey £475
Mortgage Arrangement Fee £599
Solicitors Fees £650
Removal Van to hire for yourself for a couple of days £150

Other surveys if you're concerned after your 'homebuyers'....

Just a few to think of

Ditto

isn't it better to add the arrangement fee onto the mortgage?

superfran_uk

Ditto wrote: »

isn't it better to add the arrangement fee onto the mortgage?

And end up paying £2 for every £1 it cost?
Yes, if you're mathmatically illiterate!

We have spent about £3k not including stamp duty which took it up to £5k, so far. There may well be more costs (due to complete in 10 days) but the biggies (surveys, solicitors, searches) are paid up.

Ditto

superfran_uk wrote: »

And end up paying £2 for every £1 it cost?
Yes, if you're mathmatically illiterate!

We have spent about £3k not including stamp duty which took it up to £5k, so far. There may well be more costs (due to complete in 10 days) but the biggies (surveys, solicitors, searches) are paid up.

Looking at the thread below a few people (ones a I am a Mortgage adviser and another is aI am an Independent Financial Adviser) think adding the fee onto the mortgage is a good idea if you think the mortgage wont proceed or you can make overpayments

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1686133&highlight=