Learn about the true cost of buying a home, from deposits and mortgage fees to survey costs and the price of using a removals company.
Valuation fees
When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will carry out a property valuation to check the home is worth roughly what you’re planning to pay for it.
The lender will usually arrange the valuation for you, but you may be expected to cover the cost. This is typically between £200 and £700 (see the table below).
| Property value | £100,000 | £250,000 | £500,000 | £700,000 | £850,000 | £1m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average valuation fee | £205 | £295 | £425 | £540 | £615 | £675 |
Based on 10 of the 15 largest mortgage lenders by outstanding balances according to UK Finance data (July 2019) that charge valuation fees as of August 2019.
House survey costs
Your lender’s valuation survey only looks at how much the property is worth – it doesn’t check for structural issues, and won’t unearth any problems with the property.
To protect yourself from buying a house with defects, you should always have an independent property survey done, too. The most common types of survey are:
- The Rics HomeBuyer Report, which examines the general condition of the property you’re going to buy.
- A building survey, also known as a structural survey, which provides a more in-depth analysis of the condition of the property and its structure.
However, if you’re confident that the building is in good nick and don’t plan to do any work to it, you could opt for the more basic Rics Home Condition Report, which is only suitable for modern homes in good condition.
The figures below give a rough idea of what you might pay depending on the price of the property you’re buying.
If you’re buying a new-build property you should have a professional snagging survey done. This should cover everything from minor issues like a door not closing properly to serious structural problems.
| Level of report | Property price | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £100,000-£249,000 | £250,000-£349,000 | £350,000-£499,000 | £500,000-£1m | |
| Rics Home Survey – Level 1 | £500 | £600 | £700 | £950 |
| Rics Home Survey – Level 2/RPSA Home Condition Survey | £500-600 | £600-700 | £700-800 | £1,000 |
| Rics Home Survey – Level 3/RPSA Building Survey | £700-750 | £800-900 | £900-£1,100 | £1,500 |
- Find out more: house survey types
Conveyancing fees
You’ll need to hire a property solicitor or licensed conveyancer to handle the legal aspects of buying a property. This process is called conveyancing.
The table below shows how much you could pay:
| Fee type | Value of property | |||
| £100,000 | £250,000 | £350,000 | £450,000 | |
| Legal fees | £372 | £395 | £422 | £422 |
| ID verification | £8 | £7 | £7 | £7 |
| Money transfer | £33 | £34 | £34 | £34 |
| Land Registry | £40 | £135 | £135 | £135 |
| Searches | £205 | £206 | £205 | £206 |
| SUBTOTAL | £658 | £777 | £803 | £804 |
| VAT at 20% | £122 | £127 | £132 | £132 |
| TOTAL | £780 | £904 | £936 | £936 |
| Plus leasehold fees (if applicable) | £92 | £92 | £92 | £92 |
Based on an average of five quotes obtained from conveyancingcalculator.co.uk on 31 July 2019 for a property purchase in England.
You can find out more about the different charges and what they mean below.
Legal fees
Your solicitor will either charge you a flat fee or a percentage of the value of the property. You can expect to pay between £500 and £1,500 depending on the type of property, its location and how complex the transaction is.
Money transfer fees
This covers transferring cash between mortgage lenders, conveyancers, buyers and sellers.
Land Registry fees
The Land Registry is a government department that keeps records of all registered properties in England and Wales.
It charges a fee for registering a property with a new owner. This fee will also vary depending on the property price, but you can expect to pay between £90 and £140.
Searches
Searches are carried out by your solicitor, and are required to identify anything that might negatively affect the home you’re buying (eg flooding).
Leasehold fees
If you’re buying a leasehold property, you’ll need to pay a fee which usually remains the same whatever the price of the property.
- Find out more: conveyancing for buyers
Stamp duty costs
What is stamp duty?
Stamp duty is a tiered tax on land and property transactions, but not everyone has to pay it.
This section offers an outline of how the system works. To find out exactly how much stamp duty you’ll pay, you can use our stamp duty calculator.
First-time buyer stamp duty (England and Northern Ireland)
First-time buyers purchasing properties costing up to £300,000 don’t need to pay any stamp duty, and those buying a property priced between £300,000 and £500,000 get a discount.
This means you could save up to £5,000. It works like this:
- Homes priced up to £300,000 – no stamp duty.
- Homes priced between £301,000 and £500,000 – no stamp duty on the first £300,000; 5% on the amount over £300,000.
- Homes priced over £500,000 – you’ll pay stamp duty at standard rates (see the ‘home movers stamp duty’ section below).
Home movers stamp duty (England and Northern Ireland)
If this isn’t the first property you’ve ever bought but it is going to be your main residence (e.g. you’re selling your old house and moving to a new one), you’ll pay standard stamp duty rates on any property that costs more than £125,000.
The amount of stamp duty you’ll pay depends on the value of the property you’re buying. Stamp duty is tiered like income tax, so you’ll pay different rates on different portions of the property price.
The graphic below shows the different rates that apply to each portion of the property price.
- Find out more: stamp duty calculator
Stamp duty in Scotland: LBTT
When buying a property in Scotland, you’ll usually have to pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). Like stamp duty, it’s a tiered system where you pay different rates of tax on different portions of the property price.
First-time buyers don’t have to pay any LBTT on the first £175,000 of the property price, while for home movers a 2% rate of LBTT kicks in from £145,001.
- Find our more: LBTT: Scottish stamp duty
Stamp duty in Wales: LTT
If you buy a property in Wales that costs more than £180,000, you’ll have to pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT). Like stamp duty, LTT is tiered, meaning you pay different rates on different portions of the property price.
First-time buyers don’t get an exemption under the Welsh LTT system.
- Find our more: LTT: Welsh stamp duty
Removals costs
Moving costs will vary depending on how much furniture and belongings you have, how far you’re moving and whether you opt for extras such as professional packing.
The table below estimates the cost of hiring a van – which you should only consider if you have a relatively small amount of stuff – or using a removals company for different sizes of house, as well as getting them to pack for you.
| Service | Number of bedrooms | |||
| One | Two | Three | Four | |
| Hiring a van | £45 | £100 | Not recommended | Not recommended |
| Removals company | £230 | £400 | £500 | £720 |
| Removals company plus professional packing | £500 | £800 | £1,020 | £1,440 |
Prices for van hire based on quotes from Hertz. Removals company quotes sourced from AnyVan.com in August 2019 for a move to an equal-sized property within nine miles.
- Find out more: how to choose the best removals company
Ongoing costs
Once you’ve moved in to your new home, there are regular costs you’ll have to cover, too.
We’ve explained this in our guide to the household bills you’ll pay as a homeowner.
Extra costs if you’re selling a property
If you’re looking to sell your current property in order to buy a new one, you’ll have extra costs to budget for such as estate agent fees.
