Home mover in a hurry? Here's how to sell and buy at the right prices

Add up the cost of moving

According to the Woolwich Cost of Moving Survey 2007, it costs an average of £4,666 to sell a home. This doesn't include the cost of the Home Information Pack, which sellers pay for. It will set you back by around £400. It should include an energy assessment, searches and legal documents, such as, a copy of the lease and evidence of title.

You can either compile it yourself or get one put together by an estate agent, a solicitor or a specialist pack provider. You will then have to work out the cost of buying. The survey said that in 2007 the cost of buying was around £10,745, with stamp duty making up an average of £9,750 of this. The other fees are for property valuation and solicitors. And don't forget to budget for removals.

Get that new loan

If you are taking on another mortgage, you will also have mortgage arrangements fees to pay and possibly a higher valuation fee if you don't have a large deposit to put down. Arrangement fees have been going through the roof, far more than doubling in many cases and may now cost thousands. The average cost is now almost £1,000.

If you need a new mortgage you will need to start looking around three to six months beforehand. To make sure you get the deal you want you should tidy up your debts and check out your credit record to make sure it's as clean as it can be. Basically, the larger deposit you have and the better your credit record, the better the deal you will be likely to be offered.

Moving home? Then maybe you should be moving your mortgage too! See how much money you could be saving right now with a better mortgage.

Port the mortgage

However, you can get round arrangement fees and the worry about getting a new mortgage deal by simply porting your existing mortgage to your new home. You first need to find out if your mortgage is portable. For example, all Norwich & Peterborough Building Society's (NPBS) mortgages are portable. Nationwide says that porting a mortgage has advantages, especially if you are on a long-term fixed rate mortgage. The mortgage and the interest rate move with you to your new home but, if you need further funding, the additional mortgage is likely to cost you more.

NPBS warns that if you need a new mortgage or want to port your existing one and extend your loan, in a market that is moving quickly with interest rates constantly changing, you should act quickly to secure your mortgage.

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Karen Beavis
07 May 2008 © Moneyextra.com

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