First time buyer fees

Noony90

Hi, 
Me and my partner are looking to buy our first house in the bear future and I would like some examples/estimates of the fees we would need to pay upfront as well as our deposit?
We're looking to buy at around £100,000-£110,000 Mark with a £12,000 deposit. Cheers

Noony90

And we will probably find our own mortgage rather than use a broker, as I imagine this would be cheaper at least upfront anyway. 

Slithery

It may be slightly cheaper upfront, but a decent broker could save you thousands over the term of your mortgage. I'd budget around £1k for solicitors fees and then of course you'll need to hold back an emergency fund of at least a few months wages.

Noony90

What would be the purpose of the emergency fund?  Thanks

Slithery

What if the boiler breaks the day after you move in and you need to spend £2k on a replacement? What if there is a freak storm that means you need to pay for substantial roofing work? What if you lose your job (benefits don't cover mortgage payments)? Etc, etc...

If you rent then none of this is your responsibility, whereas as a homeowner it's up to you to pay for it all.

Noony90

OK thanks, will the majority of solicitors fees be paid on completion or will they be paid during the process? 

ImThatGuy

This is on a new build property.

Reservation fee: £250

Solicitor fee: £1450 in total. £350 paid at point of instruction. £1100 left to pay.

Went through a broker who was free, they get their cut from mortage company.

Valuation fee: £410. Getting this refunded when moved in as an incentive apparently.

Home and contents insurance: £10 a month

Van hire to move: £40 (military discount)

Probably spent around £3000 on furniture, appliances, plates, pans and all that fun stuff the girlfriend loves buying.

Once you're in, then there's energy, water, council tax. If you went for Virgin Media like we have, then you'll have a nice chunky bill at the start (ours is £180, covers 2 months and installation) 
Bins will cost us £60 each from the council and we have to have both. (Recycling and normal waste) 

Pennies soon add up if you dont keep a good eye on it. 

If you go for new build you'll also have to pay a fee for maintenance of the site after builders have gone. Ours is set at around £150 for the year I think.

Noony90

That's great thanks! 

Sncjw

My solictor bill was £1000 and had to pay £200 for searches and land registry. 

Also have to take in account survey fees. Also any fees for mortage product. We went for a mortgage that doesn’t have one. 

Sncjw

I. Regards to when to pay it. I had to pay the search fees and land registery straight away. The remaining amount was covered via the help to buy bonus funds he is drawing down. 

MovingForwards

Scotland:
£1115 for my solicitor fees*
£300 for mortgage valuation**
£30 for mortgage funds transfer to solicitors
£1495 for mortgage arrangement fee.
£999 broker fees.
£218 buildings / contents insurance.
£135 van hire

*Solicitors firm has to be on lender panel as they act for you and the lender. If using H2B ISA / Lisa this costs extra
**Homebuyer report surveyor wasn't on lenders panel

You will want to make sure you have enough money to cover the potential higher first mortgage payment, any overlap in rent when purchase completes, plus have money in the bank in case anything goes wrong when you move in.