Smart savings on the cost of moving house for an expensive time of life.
Alongside divorce and the death of a loved one, moving house is said to be one of life’s biggest upheavals. Uprooting yourself – and your family, pets and possessions – to another location presents some pretty steep logistical challenges and costs can soon spiral out of control. However, if you’ve got to move house to a strict budget then there are ways to help cut the costs.
Estate agent fees
The new generation of online estate agents has caused buyers, sellers and renters to re-examine whether it’s even necessary to pay agent’s fees anymore. Many online sites offer fee free sales – “no commission” – and there’s no doubt that this can considerably cut the cost of your move. Estate agents usually charge 0.75% – 3.5% of the price of the property, which can end up being a substantial sum. The key is to work out whether a full service estate agent is likely to be worth their weight in gold if you don’t have time to manage any of the process yourself. Or whether cutting them out of the loop will provide a bigger saving.
Removals
If you want to absolutely slash the cost of your removals the cheapest ways to do it is to hire a van and manage the entire operation yourself, perhaps with the help of friends and family. Depending on your possessions and where you’re moving to this may not be possible. If you’re bringing in the professionals then shop around before agreeing to anything. The range of quotes you’ll receive is likely to be vast so it’s worth the effort to find the cheapest. Remember if your belongings need to be stored becasue you are moving a long distance or you can’t move into your new home straight away then use a cheap self-storage unit or if you are in the capital then some London self storage rather than other more expensive options from removals companies, Don’t be afraid to negotiate and if you find a cheaper quote elsewhere then ask other companies to match it.
The cost of your mortgage
According to Lloyds, mortgage fees have more than trebled over the last decade. This extra expense can add substantially to your moving costs and rarely feels like value for money. If you want to reduce your mortgage fee – or remove it altogether – you can opt for a fee free mortgage. The trade off is that your interest rate rises slightly. However, if you’d rather bear the cost of the mortgage via the monthly payments, rather than in a lump sum on moving day, it can be a more attractive choice.
Reduce stamp duty
Stamp duty is one of the most significant moving costs but things have changed in recent years with a system better designed to be less expensive. Although you can’t haggle stamp duty, you can haggle the price of the property down so that it sits within a cheaper stamp duty threshold. Some new build homes also offer stamp duty paid as part of the deal – and it’s a feature of negotiations that you can always request.
Buy the freehold
Although buying the freehold will add to your initial moving costs it’s something that could save you thousands further down the line. If you’re not the freeholder then you’ll have to pay ground rent and service charges each year to whoever is for as long as you own the property. If you’re the freeholder then there’s nothing to pay.