A GUIDE TO THE FEES YOU WILL PAY
when buying a house in England and Wales

The house purchase price is not the only cost involved in buying and selling a house. There are various other fees and taxes involved. 
These may include:

• A Valuation or thorough Survey of the property
• Mortgage arrangement or booking fees
• Solicitor’s fees
• Stamp Duty
• Estate Agent fees

Valuation and Survey

Before a lender will agree to lend to you they require a Valuation for mortgage purposes to be carried out. The price of this depends on the value of the house and the lender.
​It can be anything from £250 upwards. (Some lenders offer a free valuation).
You can upgrade from the Valuation to a Homebuyers Survey and Valuation at an increased cost. More about surveys here.

Mortgage company arrangement/booking fees

This is a product-related fee and no actual service is provided for it. It forms part of the pricing of the product being selected. You tend to find that the lower the rate the higher the fee can be.
Lenders usually give you the option to add this fee onto the mortgage, be aware that you will pay interest on it for the duration of the loan.
Lenders use both, ‘arrangement fee’ and ‘booking fee’, but they amount to the same thing. The fee can range from £299 up to 2% of the loan, or in some cases higher.

Solicitors, Conveyancing fees and Disbursements

You will need a solicitor when buying your new home. A solicitor will charge you a fee for the work they carry out plus disbursements. The fee is usually a fixed price and the disbursements are enquiries made to third parties, such as the local authority search, Mining Search, Environmental Search. Note Not all searches are required by the lender and it is your decision whether you opt for them. Ask the solicitor for clarification.
The cost of conveyancing usually depends on the price of the house being sold or bought. We can help you obtain a quote for this.

Stamp Duty

This is a tax payable on the purchase property only. The current scale is based on a percentage of the whole purchase price and is payable by the buyer.
Please contact us for the current rates of stamp duty.

Estate Agents

If you are selling a house via an estate agent, then you will need to pay their commission.
Most are no sale no fee. It may be worth obtaining a couple of valuations before making your final decision of who you will use. Some offer a fixed price for selling, some express their commission as a percentage of the sale price. You will have to pay the VAT on the fee.

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