Costs of buying your first home

Are you a first-time buyer looking for your ideal first home, but are not sure on the costs involved when purchasing a home? 

It’s important to know as a first-time buyer that you don’t have to pay stamp duty (on properties costing less than £425,000), so that’s one less expense to pay! 

Below is a breakdown of some of the costs involved in buying a new build home, and how we can help you with some of them!

Deposit

To buy a home, you’ll need to have a deposit. The deposit is a percentage of the property’s price, a minimum deposit of 5% is normally required. However, if you can afford to, the greater your deposit, the more favourable mortgage rates will be available to you. 

If you know your purchase price budget, why not put it into our mortgage calculator to give you an idea of how much deposit you will need and your average monthly mortgage payment cost.  

Occasionally on our homes we will offer deposit contributions to make this part of purchasing more affordable!

Valuation fees

Your mortgage lender will require a valuation survey to assess the property’s value. This is to make sure it’s worth the amount they are going to lend you. The fee is usually paid in advance of the valuation taking place and can be between £100 - £800 depending on your property’s value, size and location.

Survey fees

Before you buy a house, it’s recommended to get it checked by a surveyor. Having a survey will outline if there any problems or issues with the property before you buy. Depending on how detailed the survey is, the cost could be anywhere up to £1,000. It’s important to remember that paying for a survey could save you thousands of pounds on home repairs in the long run. 

When having a survey done on your new build home, you must choose a RICS surveyor, which means they are a charted surveyor and have professional, industry leading qualifications. 

Legal fees

When buying your first home, you will need a solicitor to carry out all the legal work. This is one of the bigger costs of home buying as it includes the drawing up of contracts between you and the seller (or us as the housebuilder), handling the deeds and the payment transfer for your new property. Legal fees can vary depending on your solicitor but can vary from £1,000-£2,000. 

Occasionally, on selected plots, we will offer to help pay your legal fees! We can also recommend solicitors to you. The benefit of using one of our recommended solicitors is that they are familiar with Avant and our products, which can make things move quicker. 

Removal fees

If you’re moving far away from your current home or doing it all yourself, you might consider removal van hire for a day or two. Even though moving all your stuff yourself might save you some money, it can be very stressful and time consuming. Van hire prices can vary but most charge by the hour or by the day. But if you have friends and family on hand, you can save on this cost. 

Council tax

As a homeowner you will have to pay council tax. This is a fee that your local authority charges for the services it provides like your bin collection, leisure services, public transport and public services like healthcare. 

The amount of council tax you pay depends on the value of your home and the area that you live in. It’s important to note that you might be eligible for a reduction on your council tax if you’re a student or are the only adult in your home. 

Home insurance 

Your mortgage lender will require you to take out a buildings insurance to cover your new home against damage from floods, fire, subsidence and anything else. The cost of this will depend on your type of property, location and other key factors. 

It's also worth getting contents insurance to cover all your possessions inside your home. This covers against loss, theft or damage.

Bills 

Don’t forget about your monthly running costs, it’s not just your mortgage you’ll have to pay once you’ve moved in. Your water, gas and electric can be expensive, but when you buy a new build home you can save on average £2,195* a year, as they are jam-packed with energy efficient features. There’s also your TV, broadband and landline to pay for, but for the best deals head to one of the online comparison sites to find a bargain! 

As you can see buying a house involves more than just a mortgage. It’s important if you’re a first-time buyer to understand the costs involved, to plan your finances. 

At Avant, we are experts at helping first time buyers onto the property ladder and can offer schemes and offers to help make buying more affordable, just ask your Sales Advisor what’s available on your development!

If you’re ready to find your dream home – click here

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