Top 5 costs that buyers often overlook.

Getting on to the property ladder has never been harder and the average age of today’s first-time-buyer currently stands at 37 years old. The biggest obstacle that buyers face is putting together a large enough deposit in order to qualify for the more affordable mortgage products available. With average prices in London now in excess of £500,000, a deposit of £50k or more is often required by mortgage lenders in order to access their best rates. But the costs don’t start and end with a hefty deposit, so we’ve summarised the top 5 costs that are easily overlooked.

Mortgage Fees – Often lenders will charge a booking fee, a valuation fee and a product fee. The largest of these is the product fee which can normally be added to the mortgage so that you do not have to find the funds up-front, however you may have to pay out the booking fee and valuation fee upon completion of your purchase and these can range between £99 and £500.

Survey Costs – In addition to the standard mortgage valuation it is often advisable to instruct a private survey of the property which will include a structural assessment and report of the property. The basic report, known as a ‘homebuyers survey’ is often between £300-£500, with the more in-depth ‘full structural survey’ costing between £800-£1200.

Stamp Duty – The main tax that buyers face can add thousands to the capital required for a first-time purchase.  Buying at £250,000 will incur a £2500 levy, but this jumps to £6250 at £325,000, or £10,000 at a £400,000 purchase price.

Moving Costs – Depending on how much ‘stuff’ you have accumulated during years of renting, you may need to enlist the help of a removal company to shift your furniture and boxes to your new home. We suggest budgeting between £200-£400.

Solicitors Fees & Legal Costs – Solicitors fees can range between £500-£800, with an extra couple of hundred if you are buying a leasehold property. You also need to add around £350 for the legal searches (local authority searches, chancel search, water & drainage searches etc), and a further £200 for other disbursements (land registry fees, bank transfer fees etc).

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Newcastle and Edinburgh commuter belts beat London

The latest research from The Property DriveBuy has found that Newcastle and Edinburgh rank as the best commuter belts in Britain, with all surrounding local authorities offering a more affordable average house price than the cities themselves, whilst Liverpool ranks as the worst. The Property DriveBuy analysed current house prices across 12 major British cities,…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 16/10/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Tlyfe and Eleos Life partnership brings embedded insurance protection to UK Renters In a first for the UK rental sector, Tlyfe (powered by OpenBrix) has partnered with digital insurer Eleos Life by adding embed life and income protection directly into its tenant app. Instead of…
Read More
Breaking News

Sellers of larger homes make £122.5k average capital gains, crushing the gains from flats

Sellers of detached homes made £122,500 in capital gains when selling their home over the last 18 months while flats yielded an average gain of £27,000 Sellers in England and Wales made an average gain of £72,000, a 38 per cent increase in value from when they bought the property The average seller in London…
Read More
Breaking News

London’s second homeowners face £16,446 CGT bill

London’s second homeowners face £16,446 capital gains tax bill, but prime London sellers escaping unscathed The latest research from Enness Global has found that whilst the London property market remains subdued, the city’s second homeowners could still be hit with significant costs when exiting their investments, with the average seller now facing a capital gains…
Read More
Love or Hate Rightmove
Estate Agent Talk

Rightmove launches new webinar to equip agents with market leading insights and business-boosting strategies

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, is launching a new webinar to equip agents with the latest market intelligence and profit-boosting strategies to accelerate sales and improve conversion rates. The webinar titled, ‘From pitch to profit: Competing on more than just fee’, will take place live on Friday 17th October at 1pm, exclusively for Rightmove…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

60% of homeowners admit to stress & sleepless nights

Managing your mortgage and mental health as 60% of homeowners admit to stress and sleepless nights The latest insight from award-winning mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, has shown that for the majority of homeowners, their mortgage is their single largest financial worry, with 60% stating that their mortgage worries have impacted their mental health at one…
Read More