How to save money when buying a house advice, Property purchase guide, Home buy cost tips
How to Save Money When Buying a House
9 June 2022
Times are tough for families at the moment, as ongoing hikes to household costs spell financial trouble for millions of households across the UK. The rampant growth of the housing market in the last 18 months had already priced many first-time buyers out of the market, with the cost of living representing an additional challenge.
How to Save Money When Buying a House Advice
But it’s not all over for first-time buyers. The housing market is cooling, and there are many ways in which you can approach the purchase of your first home while making cost efficiency a priority. Here are some key tips for helping you save money when looking to buy a house.
Review the Total Costs
The first step in identifying any potential areas for savings is to weigh up the total value of the costs involved in buying, and moving into, your new home. With regard to the property itself, you will need to factor in stamp duty and estate agent fees on top of the asking price; you will also need to retain the services of conveyancing solicitors, which incorporates additional costs relating to local authority searches and Land Registry transfers amongst other processes.
You should also budget with the logistics of your move in mind. You may need to hire a professional removals company, at least for any furniture making the move – or, alternatively, hire a van to administer the move yourself. Depending on the specifics of your contracts, or the state of your new property, you might also need to consider temporary accommodation before you can move in properly.
With all the costs laid out in front of you, you are in a better position to make executive decisions on where to save. For example, you could cut costs by using your own vehicle and enlisting family members to help with moving belongings.
Haggle for a Better Price
Of course, nothing will influence the overall cost of your move more than the agreed price of the property you are buying. ‘Agreed’ is the operative term here, and a term which many first-time buyers accidentally overlook when it comes to navigating the purchase of their first home. List prices for homes are not necessarily fixed sums, and there may be wiggle-room on the price if you are willing to engage in a good old-fashioned haggling session.
Opt for a Fixer-Upper
Lastly, if you are struggling to find properties at the lower end of your budget scale, it may be that your bar is set a little high; by lowering your threshold, and adopting a slightly different approach to choosing a property, you could save much more money in the long term.
The chief way of achieving this is by choosing a property to renovate yourself, as opposed to one which was renovated prior to sale. In purchasing a fixer-upper, you are inheriting ongoing costs relating to bringing the house to a comfortable living standard.
Not only is renovating yourself cheaper than buying with said renovations already complete, but the renovations will add more value to your property than you spend – making you money in the long term, as well as saving you money in the short term.
Comments on this guide to How to save money when buying a house article are welcome.
Glasgow Housing Designs
Contemporary Glasgow Residential Property Designs – recent Strathclyde architectural selection below:
Ingram Street Property Development
65-97 Ingram Street Glasgow
Candleriggs Square Apartments Merchant City
Candleriggs Square Apartments Merchant City
The Foundry Cathcart housing development
The Foundry Cathcart housing development
Golfhill School Flats
Golfhill Public School Dennistoun Flats
Buildings
Key Buildings in Scotland Articles – architectural selection below:
Historic Glasgow : best Glasgow architecture of the past
Comments / photos for the How to save money when buying a house advice page welcome