First time buyer - query on fees

mc2705

Hi,

I have just had an offer accepted on a flat I wish to buy. Getting my offer accepted was the easy part (even though it has taken ages ) as I have no experience of buying homes and am not sure what I should do now!

I am going to call a mortgage broker to see what sort of deals I can get. What I am confused about is when it comes the fees!

I think I will have to pay a fee to the mortgage company, solicitors fees and for a survey? The property will cost less than the stamp duty limit so are there any other fees I should be aware of?

I have a 10% deposit but am unsure how much else I should budget towards the cost of buying a home. I live in a rented flat very close to the one I want to buy so removal fees will not matter.

When do I have to pay the fees? My mum seems to think that can be "added" to the mortgage itself? Is that a good idea (will leave extra cash for furniture etc!) and is that possible to do? Do I pay the solicitors etc after the sale has gone through and I have moved in, or does that have to be paid before completion? If I have to pay before and then the sale falls through, do I get my money back?

Sorry for the silly questions but am really unsure and nervous!

beecher2

No, they can't be added to the mortgage as that would mean you no longer had a 10% deposit which is the bare minimum.

Probably would have been a good idea to sort your mortgage out, and find a solicitor before putting in an offer. A mortgage broker and a solicitor will tell you how much you'll be likely to have to pay, and when.

spud211

In short..it depends which fees you are talking about, and how you go about it

There are going to be 2 main sets of fees

1) Mortgage related - so your product/booking fee, valuation and potentially credit check fees pending on the lender and your situation. You should go through a fees free broker really but if you use some brokers there will be a broker fee also (which has to be paid on completion)

2) Solicitors fees - cost of paperwork/exchange, searches, land registry, title etc.

For the mortgage fees you can usually add the product/booking fee to the loan (thereby not paying it now), and often you can get a free valuation. In my case I added my product fee to the loan, and the lender paid for my valuation, plus they have given me £250 cashback on completion which in this case goes towards fees #2

Your solicitors fees will have to be paid on completion, and they will vary depending on where you live and how complex your sale it. I would budget around £1k for these solicitors fees for a simple sale, but get some quotes from local solicitors as this will vary hugely.

Note that in the vast majority of cases, even if the sale falls through you will still have to pay your solicitors fees for any work that they have done, so keep that in mind.

skintbuthappy81

mc27051980 I'm glad you have asked this question as we are in the same position. Personally I haven't a clue when it comes to mortgages, solicitors, fees etc, fortunately my OH has more of an idea than me.

chalkie99

Realistically, you have gone about this **** backwards.

There is no point in wasting a sellers time by putting in an offer when you don't know what expense you are letting yourself in for or even if you can get a mortgage.

Go and see your bank/building society first and see what sort of offer they might be able to make you - an "offer in principal". They will also give you some guidance on other fees but do some other research as well because although the mortgage provider will require a survey, and will charge you for this, it will only be a basic one for their purposes and you may need a full structural survey independently as well depending on the age and construction of the property you are buying.