The costs nobody mentions
Lesson 7 of 12 in our free Buying a Home guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.
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Questions you'll answer
Mo budgets: legal fees £1,500, survey £500, mortgage fee £1,000, removals £400, essentials £1,600. Total extra costs?
Quick facts
- Conveyancing (legal) fees → Buying cost. A solicitor or conveyancer handles the legal side.
- A survey → Buying cost. Checks the property for problems.
- Mortgage arrangement fee → Buying cost. Some deals charge one — compare the total cost, not just the rate.
- A tenancy holding deposit → Not a buying cost. That's renting, not buying.
- Removals and basic furniture → Buying cost. Empty flats are very echoey.
- Myth: “Property purchase tax works the same in all four UK nations.” — England & NI: Stamp Duty Land Tax. Scotland: LBTT. Wales: LTT. Different rates and reliefs.
- Fact: “First-time buyers can get relief on purchase tax in some nations.” — England, NI and Scotland have first-time buyer relief. Wales uses a higher starting threshold for everyone instead.
- Fact: “A survey can help you spot expensive problems before you buy.” — Better to find the damp before you own it.