Costing out moving home can be quite complex and differs for each individual but here’s a summary of what might be required:
- Agent Fees – the fees payable to your Estate Agent for selling your home.
- Solicitors Fees – the fees payable for your Solicitor to handle the legal details.
- Mortgage Fees – mortgage arrangement fees and broker fees could be payable
- Valuation Fees – a structural survey may be required on the home you want to buy
- Removal Fees – the cost of relocating all your belongings to the new house
- Stamp Duty Costs – tax imposed by the government on buying a home
Putting your house on the market:
The first thing to do when moving house is to get your existing home valued and subsequently sold, most people turn to an Estate Agent for help selling. Estate Agents will normally value your home free of charge and their selling fees range from 1-2% dependant on firm and support required. These fees are typically payable on completion.
When selling your home there used to only be a limited number of ways; namely using or not using an Estate Agent. Now there are a few other alternative options, with some sellers taking on the sale on their own and with the help of online home selling platforms. This way you can cut the cost of selling your existing home.
Picking your next home
Each individual will have a “wish list” for their new home, it could be the number of bedrooms a property has or even the school catchment the property sits in. Either way you’ll need to have done some homework. Right Move is a good way of surveying the possibilities without leaving the house. Once you have an idea of the costs it’s key to start working on arranging a mortgage next.
When looking at properties be careful with properties that have marketed for a considerable amount of time, this could mean they have a structural defect at worst and at best have been over priced by the selling agent. Resale is an important factor to consider – the last thing you want is to buy something you can’t sell on in the future.
Property title is an area many people struggle with, despite your solicitor being on hand to advise you and make take care of the paperwork. Property title will have implication on Mortgage Lender and property costs. For example a roof on a freehold house will need to be maintained by the owner, but leasehold flat will be maintained by the managing agents.
Freehold flats can be problematic to secure lending floor due to the complexity of the title. But share of freehold is totally acceptable as long as a lease is still in place.
Mortgage
Next step is to look into arranging your next mortgage. Many will use a broker or adviser to ensure everything is handled correctly and without problems. If you do decide to handle the mortgage yourself it’s important to have something arranged prior to any offers being made. Often banks can give you an agreement in principle, this usually summaries the maximum they will lend you and if they are likely to lend. Estate Agents will require proof that purchase can be made and with funds ready from your bank. If you have a broker or adviser, don’t panic – they look after all this on your behalf!
Instructing a Solicitor
Now for the legal bits – you’ll need a solicitor to handle the transaction in order to make sure it’s completely sound. Instructing one early on in the transaction can help keep things moving quickly as you progress through the sale. If you are unsure who to use either look for a recommendation from the Estate Agent or Mortgage Adviser/Broker working with you.
Offering a price
Negotiating a price can be a daunting task, no one wants to pay over the odds, but equally wants a good deal. Try checking previously sold prices in that area – it’ll give you an idea of what others sell for. The rest comes down to your ability to negotiate, hopefully your offer is accepted with minimal fuss and you can get on with the Conveyancing.
Conveyancing is the process used to buy a house; it’s undertaken by your Solicitor and deals with all the legal requirements of buying a house.
Exchange & Completion:
These are the final stages of buying your property; the exchange of contracts and the completion of the sale. Exchange of contracts is the point where both sides agree to sell at a price on a said day and becomes legally binding. This is the point of no return, once exchanged if you pull out you’ll lose your deposit and be liable for everyone else’s costs. Finally your completion day will be set and they keys are collected from the vendors Estate Agent!
