TotallyMoney reveal the true costs of buying your first home
- TotallyMoneystudy uncovers the true costs upfront involved with buying a property
- The efforts of homebuyers to save money by doing their own conveyancing are likely to fork out more money
- The UK average upfront cost is £38,777 – over a quarter of the average property price
With house prices continuing to rise, buyers are increasingly looking for ways to minimise the financial outlay, including through so-called ‘DIY’ conveyancing.
This insight comes from a new study by finance experts TotallyMoney into the real costs of buying a home. Which reveals the average ‘upfront cost’ of purchasing a home in the UK exceeds £38,000 — this refers to the fees that a purchaser must pay for the sale to go through. Costs include stamp duty, deposit and valuation fee. The interactive tool allows the user to list their house price, desired location, and the number of bedrooms, and select potential costs involved in moving, before seeing how much the whole buying and moving process will cost them.
However, while the DIY route may help to save £300 to £600 — a fraction of overall purchase costs — it also opens buyers up to huge risks.
Unforeseen Circumstances
Some costs, though unexpected, won’t put too much of a strain on your wallet. Others, on the other hand, can be a nasty surprise. Have you considered:
- Stamp duty land tax– Stamp duty isn’t a problem for everyone as homes under £125,000 won’t incur it, and prices up to £500,000 for first-time buyers will be reduced or negated. But if you’re buying a more expensive home, or not your first, it can cost tens of thousands of pounds.
- Fixing leaks, cracks, and rewiring electrics –Small faults with a property are easy to overlook when you’re buying it. But once you’re in, it’s natural to want to bring the place up to scratch – but with average costs of £120 and £60 for leaks and cracks, and as much as £2,750 for rewiring electrics, it can be a real shock to your bank balance.
- Homebuyer’s report – Even if you don’t want a full building survey, a homebuyer’s report can identify a lot of potential issues with a property – but it’ll still put you out a massive £786 on average.
- Solicitor costs– When buying your home with the aid of a solicitor, their costs can reach between £850 and £1,500 – a sizeable fee to pay as you enter your new property.
Where To Buy Cheap
You might not be able to save much on the costs of the property itself, but you can always make sure you’re buying in the cheapest locations available.
- Bradford– Bradford boasts the cheapest average property prices across the country at an average of £135,489, and the upfront costs come in at only £24,895 – a real bargain when compared to other areas of the UK.
- Sunderland – Sunderland is a small price step up from Bradford and an average property will set you back £146,202 before you start looking at additional costs. In 2017, prices were lowest in March, when they were only £109,082. The total upfront cost is £26,556.
- Stoke-on-Trent – Potential buyers in Stoke-on-Trent can look forward to house prices of £152,795 on average – as well as upfront costs of only £27,578.
London, at the other end of the scale, offers a huge average property cost of £693,143 and £125,195 of upfront costs.
Joe Gardiner, TotallyMoney’s Head of Brand and Communications, comments:
“Buying your first home is an exciting step in your life, but it’s also an expensive one – and often more expensive than you initially estimate. We conducted this research to help first-time buyers make sure they are aware of all potential costs before they have to pay them.”
For more information on the hidden costs involved in buying your first home, and to keep a checklist of how much your dream property will set you back, check out the full research on the TotallyMoney website here.
