The cost of your new house is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what you have to pay to move house. Factor in the cost of legal fees, professional help, taxes and transferring the utilities to find out how much that move will really cost.
By Caroline Bloor & Justine Roffey
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When you’re moving, nobody minds parting with hard-earned savings to help set up a mortgage (heck you’re just glad someone’s going to lend you the money to buy your dream home!). But coughing up thousands for stamp duty, estate agents fees and all those other ‘hidden’ moving costs can really grate.
A survey by property portal Propertyfinder.com showed that the average cost of moving house in the UK has more than tripled over the last ten years, to nearly £9,500. Add in mortgage lenders’ and surveyors’ fees, and essential household bills and the average new homeowner can expect to spend over £11,000 in the first year alone, according to GE Money Home Lending.
With everybody tightening their belts for the credit crunch, budgeting for the move has never been so important.
This is a tax on buying property and accounts for nearly half of all the moving costs on the average home. The amount charged depends on the purchase price of the property. But even with a fall in the average house price to £190,000, according to Halifax figures, most buyers pay this tax.
Up to £125,000- £0
£125,001 to £250,000- 1%
£250,001 to £500,000- 3%
£500,001 plus- 4%
(figures correct April 08).
There are some areas in which properties are exempt from stamp duty. There is also a suspension of stamp duty for some first time buyers in shared equity schemes. For further advice on these issues, ring HMRC’s Stamp Taxes Helpline (0845 603 0135).
Watchout! The loophole that allowed people to reduce their stamp duty bill by paying over the odds for fixtures and fittings has been closed. You have to fill in a detailed form and the Inland Revenue makes random checks of cases that fall just below the stamp duty thresholds to check people aren’t pulling a fast one.
Jon Henley embarks on a journey to see how the pursuit of property ownership has changed the country
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