YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTAGE.
The mortgage will be secured by a charge on the property of the customer.
Marriage VS Mortgage
Did Carole really feed Don to the tigers? Should Daphne have married the Prince and left the Duke to forever promenade alone? Will Emily be an adopted Parisian or forever known as La Plouc? Netflix certainly brought up some great questions for us to ponder over during our days spent in lockdown, however, its most recent can't-take-my-eyes-off-it series makes us question our own life choices... Marriage VS Mortgage.
The show follows couples as they make one of the most important decisions in their life, to spend their savings on a dream wedding or use it to purchase their dream home. Just a few decades ago, our parents and grandparents were seemingly able to marry, buy a house, have several children, a dog or two, and still be able to afford a holiday. Our generation is not so lucky. According to our social survey, 95% of people would, if they had the money, choose to spend it on a house deposit rather than a wedding.
Armed with our stats, we thought that we would take a little look into the costs of a wedding VS a house so you can see exactly what your money will get you…
What is the True Cost of Buying a House?
The Deposit
Let's start with the deposit, in the North West, the average house price is £211,690 and for that, you'd be looking at a minimum deposit of around £21,169. How long does it take to save for a deposit in the UK? Typically, it takes around 8 years, meaning future homeowners are saving £2,646 a year towards their house deposit; that’s £220.00 a month going straight into the savings pot.
Let's say that you've got your deposit and you're ready to purchase your first home, you've saved for all the fees as well, right? Yes, if the 10% deposit wasn't hard enough, you'll be paying out quite a lot of fees before you even get the keys to the property. This is the part they don't tell you...
Mortgage Broker Fee
The first place you should visit when you want to buy a house is a Mortgage Broker, it's up to you which company you choose from but we would advise you not to visit your bank, for reasons you can find out in THIS BLOG HERE. Mortgage Brokers, like ourselves, will often take a percentage of the loan amount as their fee and on average, it’s between 0.3% and 1%.
If we take the average house price of £211,690 and remove the deposit of £21,169 then the total mortgage amount would be £190,521. A Broker fee on this loan could range from £571 to £905.
Information from: https://www.unbiased.co.uk/life/homes-property/mortgage-broker-fees
Product Fee
When taking out a mortgage, you will have to pay a product fee and this can be anything from £0 to around £2,000. Again, it’s totally dependent on the price of the property and the mortgage deal that you pick. You can add this onto the actual mortgage but this will increase the amount you owe and therefore, the monthly repayments.
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/mortgage-related-fees-and-costs-at-a-glance
Valuation Fees
A Mortgage Lender will want to know that the house you are buying is truly worth the money they are lending you and they do this through a valuation. The price varies based on the cost of the property but on average, it’s around £250.
Information from: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-fees-stamp-duty/
Surveyor Fees
Purchasing a property is a massive commitment and the second that you officially own that property, you are responsible for everything: and we mean everything. If your property collapses within a minute of signing the contract, that’s your problem to fix. Legally, you don’t need a property survey but it’s worthwhile having as the saying “never judge a book by its cover” is never truer when it comes to buying a house.
A Surveyor will visit the property to undertake one of three surveys when your offer has been accepted by the Seller. The cost of the survey is dictated by the price of the house and the type of survey you select. If the Surveyor finds any issues, you can use this information to carry out further investigations and negotiate the price if necessary.
Level 1 - Condition Report
The property's condition, including any risks, potential legal issues and urgent defects.
Costs between £400-£950
Level 2 - Homebuyer Report
Includes all the features of a Condition Report, plus defects that might affect the property, and advice on repairs and maintenance. It can also include a market valuation and how much it would cost to rebuild the property.
Costs between £450-£1,000
Level 3 - Building Survey
An in-depth look at the property's condition, with advice on defects, repairs and how to maintain the property.
£600-£1,500
Legal Fees
Buying a house means that you have to legally transfer the ownership from the current owner to yourself and that involves legal work. For this, you’re going to want to hire a Solicitor or Conveyancer but what is the difference? A Conveyancer is a specialist type of Solicitor that solely deals with the legalities of buying and selling property. You can choose either but the way we like to describe it is that a Solicitor is like a GP and a Conveyancer is a Specialist Doctor, you’re going to want to choose the one that is the expert in the subject.
We all know that legal professionals can command a hefty fee for their services and you can expect to spend around £1,000 - £1,500 for a Conveyancer’s service, however, the price can be higher.
For that fee, you can expect to become the legal owner of a property and for searches to be completed. There are three main types of searches Local Authority Searches, Environmental Searches and Water and Drainage Searches and most properties need these as standard. There are other searches but your Conveyancer will be able to advise you on what is needed. This can take quite a long time but remember, it’s all for your benefit.
Information from: https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/conveyancing/conveyancing-fees-and-quotes/
https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/conveyancing/conveyancing-searches/#anchor-1
Insurance Fees
Most Mortgage Lenders require their clients to have Buildings Insurance in place on exchange of contracts, although many clients opt for combined cover of Buildings and Contents Insurance to ensure that all of their possessions are covered.
According to the Money Advice Service, Buildings Insurance costs on average £111.83 a year, Contents Insurance costs on average £59.22 and combined cover is £161.75 per annum.
Information from: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/blog/how-much-is-the-average-cost-of-home-and-contents-insurance
What is the Cost of a Wedding in the UK?
On average in the UK, weddings set loved-up couples back a few thousand more than the average annual wage at a whopping £30,000. Yes, that’s £30,000 for one day of celebrations and doesn’t include the cost of engagement rings or honeymoons. For this, you’re looking at spending £1,895 for the diamond and £4,000 for the holiday of a lifetime.
According to Nimble Fins, the venue costs the most at around £5,500 followed by catering at £4,000, and the dress at £1,300. Let’s hope that this is you’re one and only wedding…
https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/average-cost-wedding-uk
https://www.bridemagazine.co.uk/articles/uk-couples-spend-double-on-their-honeymoon
So, What Are You Choosing?
We'd love to know whether our blog has influenced to marry or get a mortgage! Let us know
