True cost of buying a home
Almost everyone saves for the deposit and then discovers the rest. This adds up every cash cost of buying, from stamp duty down to the removal van, so the number you are saving towards is the real one.
Your purchase
Legal and searches
£0Survey and mortgage
£0Moving and settling in
£0What you actually need
Total cash on completion
£0
The costs that people often overlook
Deposits get all the attention because they are the largest single number and the one lenders talk about. But the costs around a purchase routinely add several thousand pounds, and unlike the deposit almost none of it can be borrowed. It has to be cash, and most of it is due at or before completion.
The result is a common and avoidable situation: someone saves diligently for years, reaches their deposit target, and then finds they cannot actually complete for another six months. Adding these costs to your savings goal from the start prevents that entirely.
What tends to catch people out
- Stamp duty is due within 14 days of completion in England and Northern Ireland, and cannot be added to the mortgage. Scotland and Wales have their own equivalents and deadlines.
- Searches are paid up front, often weeks before completion, and are not refunded if the purchase falls through.
- A failed purchase costs real money. If the survey reveals something serious or the chain collapses, the solicitor's work, searches and survey are usually already spent. Budgeting for one false start is not pessimistic.
- Mortgage product fees can often be added to the loan, which helps cash flow but means paying interest on them for the whole term. Our loan calculator shows what that actually costs.
- The first month in a house is expensive. Something always needs fixing, replacing or buying, and it is rarely nothing.
Where costs can be reduced
Conveyancing quotes vary considerably for identical work, and it is worth getting three. Many mortgage brokers charge no fee at all, taking commission from the lender instead, so a broker fee is often avoidable. Removals drop sharply if you can be flexible on dates or do some of the packing yourself. The survey is the one place where economising tends to be a false saving, since it is the only part of this process designed to find problems before they become yours.
What this assumes
The default figures are typical market ranges rather than quotes, and every one of them is editable because your circumstances will differ. Leasehold purchases carry additional costs not included here, including notice fees and possibly a deed of covenant. Buying in Scotland works differently in several respects, including the point at which the deal becomes binding, which affects when money is at risk.