costs of moving?

hotcookie101

We are currently debating moving house vs going ahead with planned renovations. We think our house is worth 280-300k, and would likely be looking at properties around 330-350k. Outstanding mortgage is currently 60K, so we have a decent amount of equity.

The mortgage is a lifetime tracker, at 0.49% above BR. If we renovate, I think we can borrow additional money at a different rate, but obviously if we move then we will need a whole new mortgage.

Can anyone give me a list of all the costs involved when selling & rebuying a house? It's ages since I bought this one, and I was a FTB, so have never sold, and am sure I will forget something!

Currently I have on my list:
solicitor, surveys, estate agents fees (OH wants to use purple bricks if we sell) stamp duty, mortgage fees & removal costs. Can anyone give me rough costs for these things (we are in north essex if that makes any difference) and let me know of anything I have forgotten?

Thanks in advance

aneary

I would not use purple bricks. I viewed one property with them and the whole process was a nightmare from start to finish, I won't view another with them.

DumbMuscle

You will also need to consider any renovations/work/redecorating needed on the new house. Plus, if you're considering renovating your current house, then your buyers will be as well - so you need to factor that in to the price you expect from it.

Stamp duty on £350k is £7,500 (assuming you own no other properties).

Mortgage fees can be anything from £0 to £1,500+ (though the higher ones often come with better rates, so may be a good deal overall).

The others are a little more local, and since I'm in a different area I'll let someone else give an opinion. I'm sure many people are about to weigh in on Purple Bricks as well :P

hotcookie101

Thanks-the renovations are actually an extension rather than just renovating existing rooms, which are in pretty good condition

Are purple bricks really bad? DH work colleagues all said they wouldn't use an EA again, but not sure if they have actually SOLD using them...

3mph

Purple Bricks - as mentioned as buyers we looked at two flats they were Agents for and it was a real pain. I would expect a good local EA to sell quicker, provide better knowledge and most likely get a better price.

Moving v Extending - we faced this 7 years ago and finally decided to stay and extend and do everything we wanted done in the house. Depending upon what you do it usually adds value but maybe only half of what you spend but you are not wasting money on Stamp Duty, Fees etc.
Glad we did it, but now moved to a flat for health reasons. We were lucky in that what we did to the house exactly matched what the first person who viewed it was looking for when we put it on the market so sold it within 2 days.

Liz1966

Based on selling my house and buying another for approx £390K, I had the following costings from the solicitor:

Legal Costs on sale £975.00
VAT on costs £195.00
Land Registry Title Entries (approx.) £12.00
Bank Transfer fee incl. VAT £39.60

Legal Costs on purchase £995.00
VAT on costs £199.00
Land Registry Search fee £3.00
Bankruptcy Search fee (each)£2.00
Local Authority Search fee (approx.) £300.00
Drainage Search fee (approx.) £60.00
Land Registry registration fee £135.00
Stamp Duty Land Tax £9,400.00
Bank Transfer fee incl. VAT £39.60

Cost of taking out a new mortgage and I was told the same charge would apply if I transferred my existing mortgage £750.

Estate agents fees, maybe 1% of sale price so you could be looking at £3,000. If using Purple Bricks maybe £800 but will have to pay that after a certain period regardless of whether the house sells.

Then there is the cost of removals. If doing the move yourself you will still need boxes, bubble wrap, van hire.

Other costs such as having a new landline number - standard charge is £130.
Redirection of post for 12 months £63

Also allow a few hundred pounds for things that fitted/worked in your old house but will need to be replaced for the new one - appliances, light fittings, furniture etc.

Good luck,whatever you decide.

hotcookie101

I REALLY want to stay in the house, I love it, the area is great, but the architect/planning etc has taken FOREVER for us to get to this point and the 1st quote was ridiculously high (like mentally, 6.5k +vat for one part which basically involves turning a bathroom to utility room, with stud wall to separate a loo off , bricking up a doorway and making a doorway in a different wall, the total cost was 115k+ VAT) so my DH has been put off...
We'll see...
Thank you all for your help

[Deleted User]

hotcookie101 wrote: »

I REALLY want to stay in the house, I love it, the area is great, but the architect/planning etc has taken FOREVER for us to get to this point and the 1st quote was ridiculously high (like mentally, 6.5k +vat for one part which basically involves turning a bathroom to utility room, with stud wall to separate a loo off , bricking up a doorway and making a doorway in a different wall, the total cost was 115k+ VAT) so my DH has been put off...
We'll see...
Thank you all for your help

Don't forget to factor in the cost of decorating/renovating your new house - it's unlikely to be to your taste, and those costs can really mount up.

Reading between the lines (hope I'm right) it sounds as though you really want to stay and do the extension, but your DH doesn't? Wonder if you could get some advice about how much your house would be worth if you do the extension? Increase in its value might help to persuade him?

Good luck.

hotcookie101

Thanks,
We had an EA round the other day, and he valued house as is at about 280-290K, and about 360/365K with the work. So I think it comes down to cost of building really, we are just struggling to get quotes.
EA also estimated about £15k costs for moving, not counting removals etc.

SuboJvR

hotcookie101 wrote: »

Thanks,
We had an EA round the other day, and he valued house as is at about 280-290K, and about 360/365K with the work. So I think it comes down to cost of building really, we are just struggling to get quotes.
EA also estimated about £15k costs for moving, not counting removals etc.

Would the renovations you're planning bring your house more in line with what you want in a new potential house? Are there other reasons you're thinking of moving such as location or anything like that?

This may be a case of "better the devil you know" if you are happy with your house but just want those extra things done. IMO not much point in moving if you could get the stuff you want for cheaper!