UK Personal Finance

Not only are there huge factors of emotion and stress associated with moving house there are also the burdened costs, that makes the possibility of moving home become a reality. Not to mention the extra cash you will need for the tea and biscuits for the removal men.

Neither the extensive costs nor the sanity strain of moving homes seems to be deterring the British from house- hopping. It appears to be a compulsive quest for Homeowners to continually climb the property ladder. It has been calculated in a survey by Abbey, that Britons will move house an average of 3- 4 times in their lifetime. Excluding property prices, it has been calculated that people who move home around 3- 4 times in a lifetime could be spending up to £54,400, purely based on general moving costs. This nice little some would be enough to buy you a two bedroom apartment in the Costa del Sol, and it is also calculated to be 2.3 years worth of the annual salary based on the average wage, currently.

Homeowners have also said that an average of £16,000 had been spent, when moving last, on lawyer fees, financial advisors, estate agents, removal firms and stamp duty, this cost is additional to what was spent to get their property into a saleable situation. Based on these figures it has been estimated that £28billion alone was spent in 2006 on the general incurred costs of moving house.

There is no secret that moving house is an expensive business, it is undoubtedly the reason why a quarter of the population are loathed to do so. It is astonishing when all the sums are added together from a lifetimes worth of moving homes. Homeowners clearly need all the help they can get, when it is expected that they are likely to spend over two years of the average salary rate.

It advisable for house buyers to look out for the hidden costs when engaging in the decision to move home, it is likely that you may become so caught up in the excitement of moving home that you fail to notice some of the small but relevant costs that arise. It is essential for buyers to ensure they choose the best deal they can find so that they can get the best value. A mortgage is, in most cases, the biggest financial commitment in a person’s life. Therefore, if people are willing to bargain over the fixtures and fittings of there home it will also be a sensible idea that other options are explored to get the best deal when moving home.

It is a good idea to start looking at Early Repayment charges (ERC’s) as they play a part to most mortgages, there are different ERC’s which vary in favourable terms. For example, some mortgages only have ERC’s during the initial competitive rate whilst others can trap borrowers making them pay the ERC’s and the standard Variable rate.

There is no reason why borrowers should have to pay overhanging ERC’s with today’s competitive market giving a wide rang of deals for borrowers to choose. Embarking on a mortgage with ERC’s in the initial terms can make sense but would it not be better still to have no ERC’s at any time? However, you may be likely to pay a little more interest for the benefit, this can be the right decision for those looking for flexibility of freedom.

Exit fees tend to cost around £195- 295, they often come under a number of names including sealing fees, administration charges or deeds- release fees. The charge, however is rising as lenders try to compensate lost revenue from competing rate pricing. It may not seem to be a big sum in the total plan of things but these figures add up, and there has been a rise in the past three years, it is a clear example of the lenders making money out of the consumers. If nothing else it is advisable borrowers should at least aware of what fees are on their deal.

If a higher deposit cannot be provided by the borrower it is important to be aware of higher lending charges (HLC’s). HLC’s are applied by lenders on loans which normally exceed 90% loan value, the borrowers who may not be able to provide a large deposit are viewed as higher risk borrowers and that is why HLC’s can be applied. With today’s market being so competitive it is no longer necessary for first time buyers to pay HLC’s as there are some excellent products, even for those wanting to borrow as much as 100%.

Surveys and solicitors are both crucial in the house buying process, some buyers tend to forget this and find that they receive an inadmissible bill along with a great deal of surprise, which are both very unwelcome at the time. It is important for borrowers to incorporate at least £500 for a typical solicitor’s bill and as much as £900 for a full structural survey.

Another factor that is often erased in borrower’s minds is the re- direction of post. As shocking as it may seem, around a quarter of Britons forget to re- direct their post, putting themselves in danger of identity fraud. It is therefore, not at all surprising that around a half of all identity fraud and theft cases happen at past addresses, in the UK. As already discussed, moving home is stressful and it is therefore absolutely important to re- direct your post. Otherwise you could have a fraudster identifying who you are and your credit information, making you suffer months of misery where you will constantly be turned down for credit and will not even be able to buy something as simple as a new TV.

To solve any issues that may arise with identity theft/ fraud it is important for people moving home to keep on top of their paper work, shred documents that are no longer needed. Contact all financial companies and give a new contact address, make sure that old catalogues that have been used are informed of an address change. The best idea with your post, is to contact the Royal Mail and instruct them to re-direct your post for a year, this will give you chance to inform anyone that has not been told about the change of address and allow for cancellation to be made on things that are no longer in use. Register the new address on the Electoral Roll straight away, also consider registering with the Mailing Preference Services, this will remove your name and address from direct marketing lists that you may have previously been on.