How much do we need to look at saving for the costs associated with buying a house?

carebear95

We're looking to buy our first home in the later half of 2018 as my fiance will definitely have his deposit saved by that point if everything goes to plan. However currently we aren't saving towards the solicitor costs and any other costs that come with buying a house so am looking for rough estimates as to what we would need to save?
We're hoping to buy a house in the range of 100-115k and live up north.

glasgowdan

£2k plus stamp duty plus repairs/immediate upgrades I'd say as a ballpark.

carebear95

thank you for your reply, looks like we might need to tweak our budget a little to find an extra £100 a month for those costs. As we have probably couldnt get a mortgage approved for over 120k, we shouldnt have to pay stamp duty unless the change the law when we're ready to buy?

marksoton

carebear95 wrote: »

thank you for your reply, looks like we might need to tweak our budget a little to find an extra £100 a month for those costs. As we have probably couldnt get a mortgage approved for over 120k, we shouldnt have to pay stamp duty unless the change the law when we're ready to buy?

I agree on about 2K.

Make sure you choose a decent solicitor. And speak to a few brokers.

And DO NOT accept any EA in house services.

carebear95

Thank you for your reply:) I will certainly do plenty of research before choosing our solicitor and broker.

D_M_E

As a rough guide, I have always allowed 5% of the purchase price to cover stamp duty, solicitor, moving costs and any other thing that may crop up and - so far have always had change out of that.

As you say, at a purchase price of £120k there will be no stamp duty so in your case I would allow 4% as a rough guide.

Shakin_Steve

glasgowdan wrote: »

£2k plus stamp duty plus repairs/immediate upgrades I'd say as a ballpark.

No stamp duty on 100-115K.

Shakin_Steve

We moved in in May, oop north and £105K house. We paid £800 solicitors fees, £400 removals. We did not get a survey done but budget up to £500 for a comprehensive one. Once we moved in, we have spent about £4K on things like new doors front and back, curtains, carpets, decorating etc. There will be a few much smaller things I have forgotten about, but as long as you can pay your solicitor and your removals you can do it. Just take everything else as it comes once you move.
Good luck.

carebear95

Thank you for your reply. If it was near 4-5k we might have to put off buying for a good six months (if not more ) so sincerely hope it ll be lower.

carebear95

We have just moved into a different rental and we managed to get removals for the morning for under £100 and fortunately own most of the furniture we need already so would just be looking to save for all the other costs really. I presume solicitors and surveyors are on the cheaper side up north,if we lived down south I don't think we d be able to afford a house ever

michelle2008

The answer really depends on what you will need. Are you only thinking about solicitors fees, removals and surveys - or the wider necessities than come with your first house.

I was really taken aback by how much I spent during the first week - carpets, curtains, washing machine, fridge, paint, new locks, oven, basic furniture, and on and on!!! I could have found my way round B&Q blinfolded!!

I was really depressed to have to spend money on a lawn mower!!