The Costs of Buying a House – What to Include When you are Saving up to Buy a Property
Buying a house is a big deal, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for the younger generation to get onto the housing ladder. As well as having to save up enough for a deposit to buy a house, people often forget or are unaware that this is just one of the costs of buying a house and it is important to ensure there is enough in the piggy bank to cover the additional costs.
The deposit is the big one and is the obvious thing that needs to be saved for the purchase of a first house. The bigger the deposit you have the more choice of mortgages you have, and also it is highly likely that you will get a better deal. The deposit is a percentage of the cost of the house.
Stamp duty land tax is something else that you may need to take into consideration. Currently there is a stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland, however even when it comes back in, there are many reasons that you might not have to pay stamp duty, so it is worth looking into this.
Once you have decided that you are going to buy a property there are lots of other things to factor in. The valuation fee is the first thing that you will come across and this is something that the mortgage lender will charge you to check the value of the property you are buying. Not all lenders charge this and when they do the costs can vary and are usually based on the value of the property you are buying.
Legal fees are something else to factor in as buying a house involves a complicated legal process so you will need a solicitor to handle it for you. Find a conveyancing solicitor as well as a local conveyancing company to do the survey, like this building survey Birmingham based company Sam Con. A survey is an essential part of the property buying process as it will bring up any potential issues that the house may have. There are different levels of survey available, it is best to go for a more detailed survey if you are buying an older property as this is more likely to have issues.
As well as this side of it, you will also have costs to pay once moving day arrives. Removal services certainly make moving in a lot easier, but it is worth getting quotes for this and working out whether your budget will allow for it. You may also need to purchase furniture to go in your new house, or things to improve it like paints, carpets or wood flooring. If the house needs a lot of improvement work doing, it may be worth working out what you can afford to do straight away and what isn’t as important and can be left for a while.
