We’ve all heard it’s stressful, but something else that you need to brace yourself for ahead of a big house move are hidden costs.
You may have negotiated a fantastic purchase price on the house of your dreams. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the iceberg and when you drill down into the process, there are a lot of other costs that enter the picture.
Through today’s guide, we will now take a look at these hidden costs so you can guard against nasty surprises.
The cost of delays
It’s not a foregone conclusion, but delays certainly aren’t uncommon when it comes to moving house. Particularly if you are dealing with a chain, this borders on a certainty.
It means that you occasionally have to account for these delays. One option might be to put your furniture in storage for a small time period (see www.safestore.co.uk/self-storage/manchester/), while other occasions you might even have to extend a tenancy. Regardless, think of all of the scenarios, and budget accordingly.
Stamp duty can make the possible, impossible
Remember how we spoke about that initial purchase price? Well, this next point is where things can suddenly become very difficult.
Stamp duty laws have turned on their head over recent years, and it means that some buyers can be paying tens of thousands more than they were expecting. Suffice to say, research where you sit with this issue, so you can again accurately forecast.
Insuring your home
In the grand scheme of things, this probably isn’t going to be a deal-breaker. Nevertheless, it is yet another one of these costs that you need to be aware of.
Generally, insurance is going to be a three figure sum, but if you are looking towards a historic home which is riskier to purchase, this might be an expense which proves tricky to fund.
The legal fees
Again, on paper, legal fees are quite small in the grand scheme of things. Still, with the costs adding up, the last thing you need is to receive an unexpected bill for a four figure sum.
Whether it is solicitor fees, or even the costs of arranging for a surveyor to put together a report based on the condition of your new home, they are all necessary and can again add unnecessary strain if they are not planned for.
The post-move fees
This final point is “optional”, so to speak. The costs in moving house don’t tend to stop as soon as you sign your completion contract. Instead, they can spiral on long after this – even for years to come.
In other words, when we move, most of us want to put a stamp on our new home. For some, it might be a simple lick of paint, while others might invest in whole new furniture, fitted wardrobes and a whole host of other extras. This is something that you can probably foresee before you make your offer, but be aware that you might become entangled in the web that sees new home movers spend huge amounts of money on perfecting their new property.
