Moving Home
While buying a house can be exciting, it is also important to be smart with your investment and understand the real cost of buying. It is rarely as simple as finding a house, getting a mortgage and moving in — a property purchase is guaranteed to cost more than you expect, so here are the things to consider before you commit.
The short version
Beyond the price
The figure on the listing is the part everyone plans for. It is the tax, the professional fees and the moving costs stacked around it that push a purchase past the budget most buyers set.
Timing catches people out
Most of these costs land before completion, not after it. Searches, lender fees, conveyancing and the deposit itself all need funding while you are still weeks away from the keys.
Then the house asks for more
Decorating, repairs and higher running costs start the week you move in. Setting aside a contingency is the difference between managing them and borrowing for them.
Costs to plan for
Varies by nation and property value
Property transaction tax is charged separately in each UK nation, with its own thresholds and rates in each. Work out what applies to your price bracket and your buyer status at the very start, because on a mid-market purchase it is often the single largest cost after the deposit.
Usually a percentage of the sale price
This only applies if you are selling as well as buying, so first-time buyers can skip it. The fee is normally quoted as a percentage of the agreed sale price plus VAT, which means it rises with the value of the home you are leaving rather than the one you are moving into.
Varies by lender
Your lender commissions a valuation to satisfy itself that the property is adequate security for the money it is lending. It answers one question — what is this worth — and reports to the lender, not to you. It is not a survey and will not tell you what condition the building is in.
Often non-refundable
Arrangement and booking fees vary widely between products, and are frequently non-refundable if the purchase falls through. Adding the fee to the loan spreads it but means paying interest on it for the term. Smaller deposits can also attract a higher lending charge.
Potentially expensive
Buying before you have sold usually means borrowing against the equity in your existing home. Bridging arrangements are quick but carry high rates and fees, and they leave you exposed if the sale takes longer than planned. Completing the sale first is almost always the cheaper route.
Around £800 to £1,500
A property solicitor or licensed conveyancer handles the legal transfer. Some quote a flat fee, others a percentage of the price, and most add disbursements on top. Leasehold purchases sit at the higher end because there is considerably more paperwork to review.
Around £20 to £30
Completion money has to move between accounts on the day, by same-day electronic transfer. The charge is small enough to be forgotten in the budget and appears on the completion statement as a line item, so it is worth knowing it is coming.
Stamp Duty charges differ across the UK and are therefore dependent on where you are purchasing your property. Check the rates that apply in the relevant nation before you fix your budget.
Your conveyancer runs a set of searches before the transaction can proceed, covering everything from environmental risk and water authority records to searches specific to the area you are buying in. Two of them account for most of the cost.
Land Registry
Around £90 to £140
Registering you as the new owner of the title is a statutory step, and HM Land Registry charges a scaled fee to do it. The band your purchase falls into is set by the price paid, so the fee is predictable once you have agreed a figure.
Local authority searches
Around £70 to £400
This is the search that most often changes a buyer's mind. It pulls what the council holds on the property and its surroundings — planning history, enforcement notices, road schemes and nearby development proposals. Fees differ sharply between authorities, and so do turnaround times.
Moving day
The move itself is a separate budget line, and the quote from the removal firm is rarely the whole of it:
Post keeps arriving at the old address for months, and anything financial reaching the new owners is a problem worth spending a little to avoid. Royal Mail Redirection is the usual answer:
After completion
Very little spending stops at completion. Redecorating, flooring, curtains and white goods come first, then the larger items the survey flagged — a kitchen, a boiler, rewiring. Carrying a contingency into the move means these can be sequenced by priority rather than by what is left in the account.
A larger or older property costs more to run than the one you left. Council tax band, buildings insurance premium, and heating and lighting bills all move with floor area, construction and condition — which is why the EPC and the survey are worth reading together.
Buying leasehold for the first time brings obligations that freehold owners never see: a service charge, a contribution to the reserve fund and, on many leases, ground rent. Where major works are planned to the roof, structure or communal areas, the demand can run to thousands of pounds.
Money well spent
The valuation your lender commissions exists to protect the lender's money. It measures the property against the loan, reports to the lender and says nothing useful about what the building needs.
An independent survey is commissioned by you and written for you. It sets out what is defective, how serious each item is and what attention it needs — the information you are actually making the decision on.
A survey is the one cost in the purchase that tells you the size of the others. Knowing the condition before exchange means budgeting on evidence, sequencing repairs sensibly and negotiating with something concrete in hand.
Common questions
Property transaction tax, estate agency fees if you are also selling, the lender's valuation and arrangement fee, conveyancing, searches, the electronic transfer fee, removals and post redirection. Once you are in, decorating, repairs and higher running costs follow, which is why a contingency belongs in the budget from the start.
Budget somewhere between £800 and £1,500 in most cases. Some firms quote a flat fee and others a percentage of the price, with disbursements added on top. Leasehold purchases sit at the higher end because there is considerably more paperwork to review.
HM Land Registry charges a scaled registration fee, typically between £90 and £140 depending on the price paid. Local authority searches vary by council and commonly range from around £70 to £400, with turnaround times that vary just as much.
That depends on the price and on where in the UK you are buying, because each nation charges its own transaction tax with its own thresholds and rates. Your buyer status matters too. Establish the figure before you make an offer rather than after.
Frequently not, and that can include cases where the purchase falls through. Adding the fee to the loan avoids paying it up front, but you then pay interest on it across the mortgage term.
It is quick, but it is expensive, and it leaves you exposed if your own sale drags. Unless the timing genuinely cannot be reordered, completing the sale first and buying with the proceeds is the cheaper and lower-risk route.
Royal Mail prices redirection by the length of the term and the distance between addresses, and charges per surname — so a household with more than one name pays more than once. Check current pricing directly with Royal Mail, and redirect for longer than you think you need.
No. A valuation answers one question — is this property adequate security for the loan — and it reports to the lender. It does not assess condition or flag defects. Only an independent survey, commissioned by you, tells you what the building actually needs.
Any questions?
Our surveys are carried out by Professionally qualified surveyors and give buyers a clear picture of a property's condition. Findings help you budget realistically, prioritise the repairs that matter, and negotiate with the facts in front of you.
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