Moving costs - how much??

spend_thrift

How much on average does it cost to move house? Including solicitor's fees, estate agent, movers etc?

I have my deposit saved up and am now saving the money I'll need to spend over and above that for the move. I have £3,000 so far. Any idea how much I'll need in total?

(FTB with no stamp duty on a £150-160k flat)

hazyjo

spend_thrift wrote: »

How much on average does it cost to move house? Including solicitor's fees, estate agent, movers etc?

I have my deposit saved up and am now saving the money I'll need to spend over and above that for the move. I have £3,000 so far. Any idea how much I'll need in total?

(FTB with no stamp duty on a £150-160k flat)

How long's a piece of string?

Well, solicitors obviously vary so get quotes. A simple phone call to two would give you a rough idea. I budget about a grand for moving and a grand for selling. Shouldn't be any more and will probably be far less, but I'd rather be over than under! Quotes will be way less, but there are usually extra charges for things so I'd budget higher. My hubby's selling his old flat and the managing agents are charging £100 for a 'moving pack'! There will be the odd £100 or so here and there - plus, bear in mind you'll incur costs if you've started proceedings and someone pulls out (we're incurring extra costs now after losing our buyer, and we might be incurring costs on the purchase too if we lose that house which is looking more and more likely).

Estate agents charge roughly 1% on whatever you're selling (plus VAT!). You don't pay to buy. Always barter. Most will shift on price a bit if you get quotes from other local agents. Some charge ridiculously high percentages. I'd hate to pay more than 1%, but it is common to.

Removal companies vary a great deal too. You'll have to shop around. A London one's quoted us £595 + VAT, or an extra £380 if they pack it all up for us.

Surveyor will cost you around £200-800 too depending on what survey you have.

Don't forget to add things like mortgage costs. They charge for everything... fixing the mortgage, valuation and whatever else they can (some pay for these costs in the mortgage deal).

Jx

SmlSave

If its just a purchase then there should be no estate agent fees.

Do you have lots of furniture to move? If not then you could keep removal costs down by hiring a van or if you're lucky by gettign friends to help out.

The solicitors fees - I'd put £1000-£1500 aside for this. Where I work in Swindon the costs would be this:

Sol Fees - £475
VAT - £83.13
TT Fee - £29.38
Local Land Search - £100-£150 (depend where you're buying)
Land Charges/Bankruptcy - £10.00 (more if new build)
Land Regsitry Fee - £200
Post/Admin Fee - £18

Just for your info Make sure you get at least 3 quotes from different solicitors and recomendations from friends/family

You'll also need to have at least two months mortgage saved away for your first mortgage payment

spend_thrift

Thank you for the quote SmlSave. What is TT?

SmlSave wrote: »

You'll also need to have at least two months mortgage saved away for your first mortgage payment

That's not something I've heard before! Why will I need so much for the first payment?

spend_thrift

Based on Hazyjo's estimates (plus my fudge factor) since he's in London which is where I am, it looks like this:

£1,000 solicitor (generous)
£1,000 removals (last time it was £760 for them to pack as well, so I'll allow a margin)
£1,000 for surveyor (assuming I get a full survey since I'm looking at Victorian conversions)
1% plus VAT for estate agent

I'll add morgage fees to the cost of the mortgage.

All in all this comes out at £4,860 moving costs.

Does that sound about right, very roughly speaking?

harz99

spend_thrift wrote: »

Thank you for the quote SmlSave. What is TT?



That's not something I've heard before! Why will I need so much for the first payment?

Long time since I've paid a mortgage, but I seem to remember getting a nasty surprise many years ago - it may be that you are effectively required to pay up front so first payment very soon after completion and second within a month, does that make sense?

spend_thrift

harz99 wrote: »

Long time since I've paid a mortgage, but I seem to remember getting a nasty surprise many years ago - it may be that you are effectively required to pay up front so first payment very soon after completion and second within a month, does that make sense?

Yes, that makes sense. If I pay my mortgage in advance I'll pay something on the day I complete, and then need to pay for the next full calendar month's mortgage potentially before I have had a payday in between or even lived there a full month.

westv

Mortgage payments are made in arrears not in advance. If you move mid month for example then your first payment will be made at the end of the following month (assuming the date of payment is something like the 28th) and will cover from completion until the date of payment.

spend_thrift

OK I'm confused now. If mortgage is paid in arrears, how do I end up paying two month's worth when I move in as SmlSave suggested?

hazyjo

spend_thrift wrote: »

OK I'm confused now. If mortgage is paid in arrears, how do I end up paying two month's worth when I move in as SmlSave suggested?

Maybe it seems that way sometimes! If you paid your old mortgage on 27th of the month, and had to pay the mortgage on your new property on the last day of the month and you moved in on say 28th, you'd pay your previous mortgage, then a full month on the new one, then a full month the next month. Don't remember having to pay a full month up front or anything before, but do remember being a bit stung before where I'd paid one month's mortgage where I was then moved and paid that month too so I effectively paid my old mortgage and a month on the new one cos of how the dates fell.

Hoping we don't have to find two months at once when we move. You forget these things once you've moved so I really can't remember how it all works!

Jx

westv

spend_thrift wrote: »

OK I'm confused now. If mortgage is paid in arrears, how do I end up paying two month's worth when I move in as SmlSave suggested?

You complete on, say. the 15th September. You ask for payments to start on, say, the 28th. Your first payment comes out on the 28th October so therefore your first payment includes the 15th September to the 28th October.