E is for Expenses (A-Z Challenge 2020)

In January of this year my hubby and I decided that it was time to move on to the next stage of our lives and move house.  I deliberated long and hard about whether it was a good move to take part in the A-Z Challenge this year (pun intended) given that we could be very busy, but decided on balance that having something to focus on might not be a bad idea.  Of course the decision on a theme was much easier to make – Moving House!  

Then Covid-19 put a stop to any ideas of moving so I’ve had to regroup and rethink my posts.  Which means I’m not as prepared as I’d liked to have been but here goes:

E is for Expenses

Moving house is expensive!

Here in the UK there are many things to take into consideration when looking at the actual price of a property that would be affordable such as:

·  Estate agents fees – this varied between 0.5 % and 2.5% when we got quotes – quite a difference when your house is valued at nearly £900K

·  Solicitor’s fees – these tend to be based around the average hours they spend on doing the conveyancing plus additional costs they will pass on to you:

o  Search fees – to check there is nothing likely to impact on the property

o  Land registry fees

o  Incidentals (photocopying/postage etc)

o  Bank transfer fees

·  Surveyors Fees (to check the property is going to fall down etc!)

·  Removal Fees

·  Stamp duty (tax payable to the Government)

Of course there will be many more such as mail redirection, internet connection and so on.

Our aim is to cover the cost of our new property and all the expenses from the sale proceeds of our current property.  Having some extra cash to bank would be a nice bonus.

Now we are in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis who knows what will happen.  We may lose our buyer.  Prices may have to be adjusted.   A family member remarked that the fact they are building a temporary mortuary near us may reduce the value of the house.  I don't share that view.  We live beside a huge open space that is owned by the Corporation of London.  It forms part of Epping Forest and is protected.

During the Olympics they built a temporary site for the police to use, particularly for mounted police but once the event was over the land was reinstated and one of the large ponds was cleaned and improved as compensation.  Now you'd never know the land had been used.  I expect the same will be the case for the mortuary area.  That's actually about a mile from us so I don't expect it to affect our house price.  It's a logical place to erect it.  It's next to a huge cemetery and not far from the huge temporary hospital that is being built at the Excel Centre (Nightingale hospital.)

Thinking about house expenses is rather irrelevant at the moment.  Getting through day by day is the most important issue.