How much to buy a house in NI?

gibbyni

Hi, were thinking about getting onto the property ladder in the next year or so and are just trying to work out all the hidden costs.



Were planning on a house approx £150,000 with a 10-15% deposit so that’s £15,000 – £22,500, however what other costs should we be budgeting into the calculation? I know there’s legal fees etc but have no idea on how much they are.

Bigcammy

Stamp Duty for a start, will be 1% of the purchase price at that level. Legal fees will be aroun £1000- £1200 I reckon, speak to a few solicitors and get quotes up front. Mortgage fees will also be £500 - £1000 depending who you get it from and the deal you take. Then you need removals too.

That enough for a start? :-)

gibbyni

Bigcammy wrote: »

Stamp Duty for a start, will be 1% of the purchase price at that level. Legal fees will be aroun £1000- £1200 I reckon, speak to a few solicitors and get quotes up front. Mortgage fees will also be £500 - £1000 depending who you get it from and the deal you take. Then you need removals too.

That enough for a start? :-)

Should be able to get away with the stamp due to being a FTB fingers crossed they keep it in place for the thet 1-2 years

Bigcammy

Are you a genuine FTB? I had a mortgage 10 years ago so wasn't classed as an FTB, ah well.

gibbyni

Bigcammy wrote: »

Are you a genuine FTB? I had a mortgage 10 years ago so wasn't classed as an FTB, ah well.

Yip rented all my life

steveymp

Depends on where you want to buy and what type of house obviously, greater Belfast is still more expensive than any other area in Norn Iron, but remember you are in a great position of strength being a first time cash buyer with no chain involved.

Legal fees should be under £1000, I paid £822 in April to sell my house, you are exempt from stamp as you say and the Mortgage fee should be negotiable with your bank or building society. I am Abbey (Santander) customer all my life and all mortgage fees are waived for me, your bank may do something similar for you, if not shop around:T

Good luck with your hunt and remember Estate Agents are worse than Tax Collector and they tell more lies, never take what they say at face value and always haggle:)

revpeachy

A valuation survey will be required by your mortgage lender so it can find out how much the property on which they are lending money is worth. Survey will typically cost the homebuyer £100-£200; and some mortgage deals will come with free valuation surveys.

A valuation survey does not go into detail about the structural condition of the property, or its state so make sure you get a detailed survey (probably additional £150) this may save you big time in the future. Structural problems may go completely unnoticed, and a mortgage valuation alone, although relied on by many borrowers, is often insufficient to establish the state of a property.

Don't be afraid to poke about; it may seem "nosey" or rude but you are investing in your future. Good luck

A.L.D.A

Solicitors around £800
Arrangement fee with Bank or building society.
Moving furniture and belongings.
The dreaded survey that you pay for and which now tends to place a value lower than the agree price. In which case you may have problems. Perhaps you want a full structural survey?
You may also be required to make good any defects.
Decorating, painting.
Curtains.

GlynD

You haven't said what area you're searching in OP but if you use this site http://www.propertypal.com/ you'll get an idea of what your money will buy you in Norn Irn at the moment, which is quite a lot. We used this site to buy our current home and we're very pleased with the property and the price we paid for it.

The figures you've been quoted for solicitors fees etc by other posters are quite accurate but don't forget rates and ground rent will have to be paid too. Always ask the Rateable Value of any property you're going to buy. Most times it's actually on the schedule. Ground rent is generally around £40-£120 pa.

A.L.D.A

If you are looking at house prices look also at this site http://www.nestoria.co.uk/. You can check the prices at which houses sold and there are graphs showing trends over the last 6 months for 1, 2, 3, & 4 bed houses. Be a bit weary as there is not much volume and if you pick a relatively small area the trend can be thrown out either way by one or two properties. A 4 bed Victorian ruin is worth less than a 4 bed modern house with sea views so a couple of either selling in a small town can produce some odd graph lines.

You can also chose the rent option and see the trends in rentals. Even though you are buying keep an eye on rental trends as it will give an indication of possible future housing demand.

saverbuyer

As A.L.D.A says it’s a good idea to look at the trend to give you an idea of what’s happening with prices and what you’re prepared to pay. It’s worth noting the trend for NI house prices has been DOWN for the past few years, with no end in sight. Most indexes show the level of price drops to be increasing.

As for rental “trend” I wouldn’t really concern myself with this unless you are looking at it really long term confined to the Belfast city area. Rents have pretty much stayed inline with inflation with rents outside Belfast being at the same level (adjusting for inflation) for many years. The cost of renting is usually much lower that the cost of buying. Just look at the cost of renting a country mansion compared to buying. It could also be argues that with the housing benefit cuts renting will inevitable get cheaper as housing benefit provides a prop to the private rental sector.

Look at rateable value as a good indication of price. This was carried out in Jan 2005. Nearly every commentator put NI prices at 2004/2005 levels and falling. I would not be prepared to pay anything close to RV for a house in this environment.

Look at the insight tab on propertypal for the RV of any house you’re looking at.