Affordability
How much can you afford?
The first thing you need to do is to decide how much you can afford. You will need to look at how much money you have available and how much you can borrow. If you contact online estate agents turtlehomes.co.uk we will put you in touch with a whole market broker.
Before finally deciding how much to spend on buying a property, you will need to be sure you will have enough money to pay for all the additional costs. These include:-
- Survey fees,
- valuation fees,
- Stamp Duty Land Tax, this is payable on properties costing more than £175,000 and is at least 1% of the purchase price,
- Home Information Pack,
- The buyers solicitors cost,
- VAT,
- removal expenses
- any final bills, for example, gas and electricity, from your present home which will have to be paid when you move.
You should be aware that if you start the process of buying a property and the sale then falls through you may have already paid for a valuation and/or survey. If the solicitor has started any legal work you may also have to pay for the work done.
You should also take into account the running expenses of the property you wish to buy. These may include:-
- Community charge/council tax,
- water rates,
- ground rent, if the property is leasehold
- service charges if the property is a leasehold flat,
- insurance costs, including life insurance, buildings insurance and contents insurance,
- heating bills.
You will have to pay a deposit on exchange of contracts a few weeks before the purchase is completed and the money is received from the mortgage lender. The deposit is often 10% of the purchase price of the property but it can vary.
