Associated costs of buying a house

spiritus

First time buyer here and was hoping someone could advice on possible costs such as legal fees, surveys etc.

I'm buying a house for £ 131 k so have estimated the following approximate costs:-

Homebuyers survey £ 400 (basic survey is approx £ 200 I think)
Conveyancing £ 400
Stamp Duty £ 1310
Land Registry search £ 100
Mortgage Valuation Fee £ 170
Mortgage arrangement fee £ 175 (mortgage advisor reckons he can get a mortgage arrangement FREE fee).

I've got a feeling I may have overlapped some of the costs as I'm a little confused by some of the terms-please can someone correct me if that is the case and also let me know if I've missed anything out.

Thanks

chriz1000

Well heres my list:
Valuation approx £400
Mortgage arrangement fee £350
Solicitor Fees £520 + £91 (vat)
All Searches £135
Bankruptcy Search £4
HMLR (final search) £4
Stamp Duty Fee £2150
Land Regestry Fee £220
Chaps Transfer (Me to solicitor) £20
Chaps Transfer (solicitor to vender) £23.50

Are you sure your broker doesn’t mean he is fee free? (earns commission) The mortgage arrangement fee is a fee that the mortgage company will charge

epz_2

what you mean is you are buying a house for 124999 and paying 6k for carpets, fixtures, fittings and the garden gnome.

there you go, your costs just droped by 1300 quid

gordonstights

epz wrote: »

what you mean is you are buying a house for 124999 and paying 6k for carpets, fixtures, fittings and the garden gnome.

there you go, your costs just droped by 1300 quid

I couldn't have put it better myself

spiritus

Thanks Chriz-I will question my advisor about his "free fee".

In your list there is no mention of a survey-is this included in the "valuation" fee ?

Epz,

Sorry but I don't know what you mean

pamaris

spiritus wrote: »

Thanks Chriz-I will question my advisor about his "free fee".

In your list there is no mention of a survey-is this included in the "valuation" fee ?

Epz,

Sorry but I don't know what you mean

Stamp duty kicks in at 125k. If you can get the sale price to 124999, and pay a separate amount for the fittings, you don't have to pay stamp duty- check with your solicitor.

chriz1000

Spiritus the mortgage lenders will need to carry out there own valuation on the property. This is a very basic survey (if it can even be called that) where they come out, have a quick look around, and value the house. They will make a note of anything like damp on the ceiling/walls etc.. However you won’t see this report. Basically there just there to make sure that the house is worth at least as much as what you are borrowing, so if you default they can sell your house for the outstanding debt.

It’s a good idea to also get an independent survey done. This can cost from £400 to £1000+ depending on how detailed you want it to be. I didn’t bother with an independent survey, yes I’m taking a risk, however the house is in very good condition, the boiler has just been serviced and I would be very surprised if it brought up anything that cost more than the survey to get fixed.

Epz is saying instruct your solicitor to only pay £124,999 (well you can actually pay £125,000) and offer the additional £6,000 for the other fittings and fixtures. This is a loophole so you are paying less than the Stamp Duty threshold for the property saving you £1310. I know they have been cracking down on this though, and it may be difficult to prove that the white goods, carpets etc.. are worth £6000.

sarah_elton

chriz1000 wrote: »

Spiritus the mortgage lenders will need to carry out there own valuation on the property. This is a very basic survey (if it can even be called that) where they come out, have a quick look around, and value the house. They will make a note of anything like damp on the ceiling/walls etc.. However you won’t see this report. Basically there just there to make sure that the house is worth at least as much as what you are borrowing, so if you default they can sell your house for the outstanding debt.

It’s a good idea to also get an independent survey done. This can cost from £400 to £1000+ depending on how detailed you want it to be. I didn’t bother with an independent survey, yes I’m taking a risk, however the house is in very good condition, the boiler has just been serviced and I would be very surprised if it brought up anything that cost more than the survey to get fixed.

With most lenders, you can upgrade the survey from basic valuation to Homebuyers/full. This way, you don't pay twice (mortgage company for valuation then independent for surveyor).

There are three types of survey - valuation (I've been told that in some cases this can just be a drive-past!), Homebuyers, and what used to be called full structural (I think it changed name?).

The full one is only really needed if you're buying a house >100 years old, or a renovation project.

With a valuation, you don't receive a copy. Homebuyers gives you a basic to report to read highlighting any major causes for concern.