House buying - are my finances too tight?

hamcaster

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice around buying a new house. I've only bought once before, and since I was a first time buyer I avoided all of the selling fees and some of the buying ones, so I'm concerned that I may have underestimated how much it will cost me to buy and sell at the same time.

At the moment I'm just generally looking at what I can afford, so I haven't had a home report done or anything - I know I'll obviously need to get that done before I go any further.

In case it matters for fees etc, I'm in Scotland.

I estimate that my current property will sell for approx £140k based on the sale prices of neighbouring (identical) houses. I have £80k left of my mortgage, so that should mean that I have £60k to put down as a deposit - right?

The bank have quoted me £190k mortgage (joint with my wife), and have said that I can take out additional lending without paying any fees to get out of my existing mortgage. I've checked the repayments, and we can afford those.

I have approx £7k in savings. Mortgage info websites have said that fees can be £5k-6k, so I'm hoping my savings will cover the fees etc.

So that means in my head I can afford a £250k house - the £190k mortgage plus £60k deposit. I'm looking at a house for £245k, which would allow me a little leeway in case my house sells for less than the £140k estimate.

Am I missing anything which would stop me being able to afford a £245k house?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Flutterbat17

So I guess Solicitors fees about £1500-2000 + stamp duty £2500, search fees £250, removals £100-1200, surveys £200-£1000, estate agent fees £400-£2000 but they are all dependant on your area/situation.

Plus other costs like paying off utility bills and connection costs for the new house, redirection of mail.

Mickygg

Just £7k in savings sounds very tight. No room for error or issue such as extra reports/surveys. Unless you move into a new build some unexpected expense will crop up in the new place.

SuboJvR

Mickygg wrote: »

Just £7k in savings sounds very tight. No room for error or issue such as extra reports/surveys. Unless you move into a new build some unexpected expense will crop up in the new place.

And sometimes even in the new build. Hubby has decided with a blank canvas, he is going to paint (with damp sealing paint) the inside of our garage, the floor to help keep dust at bay and lay some flooring :rotfl:

ThePants999

I'd be somewhat trepidacious if I were buying a house and didn't expect to have at least £5K or so left over by the end of the process. Partly because there'll inevitably be things you realise you want to fix/change/do as soon as you move in, partly because it's always sensible for a homeowner to have a fund for when the boiler breaks or whatever, and partly because I'd want to have a safety net in case I lost my job.

You might just about be able to cover all the predictable costs with £7K, but you'd be left with nothing.