What are the hidden costs of buying a house?

On top of your upfront property purchase price and ongoing mortgage fees, there are a few hidden costs of buying a house that you’ll need to consider and budget for when purchasing a property.

1. Government fees

Mortgage registration fee

Mortgage registration fees vary from state to state, here’s how they compare:

Transfer registration fee

A transfer registration fee is charged by the government for the services of transferring the Title of your property from the previous owner into your name.

How is the transfer registration fee calculated?

• $96.10 plus $2.34 for everyone whole $1,000 portion of the Purchase Price

• Maximum fee is $3,606

Stamp duty

Stamp duty is the tax you pay on the property you’re purchasing. This amount will change depending on which state you’re purchasing in, the property type, whether this is the first property you’re purchasing and whether it’s an investment property or not.

For example, if you’re buying a house in Victoria and you’re not a first home buyer, but it’s going to be your primary residence, you’re looking at a stamp duty fee of just under $22,000. But if it was an investment property, you’d be paying over $25,000.

Stamp duty is calculated on a sliding scale as a percentage of the property purchase price.

2. Financing fees

You’ll need to think about once-off financing fees such as mortgage registration, loan establishment, settlement attendance and lenders’ mortgage insurance. The lenders’ mortgage insurance cost will depend on the lender, how much is borrowed and the size of the deposit.

3. Property costs

Building and pest inspections

There are lots of options when it comes to the services you require for inspecting property, such as obtaining a building inspection and pest inspection. This can cost you between $400 and $600.

Conveyancing

You can also hire a conveyancer if you’d like legal advice when it comes to buying. You can expect to pay anywhere between $1,000 an 2,000 for conveyancing depending on the level of service you require.

Property valuation

If you want to get a property valuation from a professional, this will also come at a cost. Property valuations can cost you anywhere between $100 and $600, depending on whether you get a valuation from a bank or an independent valuer.

Your real estate agent will be able to give you an estimated price of the property based on the current market and properties that they’ve sold that are similar to your own.

4. Moving costs

You’ll need to remember to budget for your actual move. Here are some costs to think about:

• Connecting utilities (e.g. gas and electricity)

• Removalist costs

• Cleaning your current property

5. Ongoing property costs

Once you’ve moved, it’s easy to forget about the ongoing fees that you’ll need to pay such as:

• Contents insurance

• Any strata/body corporate fees (if applicable)

• Council rates and water bills