House & Garden

The Hidden Costs Of Buying A Home

Buying a home is one of those occasions which can always be at least a little stressful. There is plenty about it that is prone to stress, but if we’re honest one of the main stressful factors is the financial side of things. After all, a house is likely to be one of the biggest investments you ever make, so you want to make sure you don’t either make any big mistakes or rush into anything. It helps if you know all the possible hidden costs that there might be, as otherwise these can very suddenly blindside you before you know what’s happening. In this post, we are going to aim to prepare you for those costs by running through them. Here are the hidden costs you need to bear in mind when you are buying a home of any kind.

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Legal Fees

This is something that people often overlook, even if it is relatively obvious once you think about it. At some stage in the process, you will need a solicitor to enact the legal side of things for you, to draw up the documents and sign them, and also to advise you on the legal aspect of buying a property. Of course, such individuals do not work for free, so you will need to take their legal fees into account as part of the cost of buying a home.

Tax

All purchases of this kind are subject to tax, in some cases even more than one kind of tax. The amount of tax you pay depends, as is always the case, on the cost of the property you are buying, so you need to make sure that you have worked out how much this will be beforehand. If you do not, then you might find that you are in some serious trouble further down the line. If you are unsure about how much tax you need to pay, you can use a mortgage calculator with property tax included in the calculations, to give you a good idea. Remember, however, that tax rates can change, and you should always double check again before making the sale.

Home Survey Fees

There is no getting around the home survey as an essential part of the whole process, and there is also no getting around the fees that such a service incurs. These fees are not normally as extensive as the others – you will almost certainly be paying your solicitor much more – but still they are an important cost which you need to take on board in your calculations. The fees vary massively depending on who you go with, so make sure you ask beforehand what you are likely to pay, so as to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Removals

This last cost is not technically part of actually buying the home, but it is something you are going to have to consider soon enough. The cost of removals from one place to another can easily rack up into the hundreds, so bearing this in mind as early as possible is a good idea to avoid any disruptions to the house moving process.

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