What are the costs of buying my home?

Survey fees 

You should always have a survey carried out of your home which will tell you of any defects. In general the more you pay for a survey the more information you will get.

We carry out a valuation of the property but this is not a survey of the condition of the property. 

Valuation fees and costs  

There is no charge for the valuation that we carry out on your property, however, if you need a mortgage your mortgage company will also carry out a valuation and usually charge for this.

They may also charge an administration fee for arranging the mortgage.  

Stamp duty 

Currently, if your home is valued at over £125,000 you will have to pay stamp duty which is worked out as a percentage of the price you pay for the property. 

What regular payments would you have as a homeowner?

When you become the owner of your home you will have to make regular payments, which are listed below: 

Mortgage repayments

Unless you are going to buy your home with cash, you will need a mortgage.

You will have to repay the mortgage, plus interest, by monthly instalments. The monthly instalments can go up or down depending on the interest rate, unless you have a fixed rate mortgage. 

If you are unable to keep up the repayments on your mortgage your lender may go to court to repossess your home.

If you lose your home this way we do not have to give you another tenancy. 

Service charges

If you buy a flat or maisonette you will usually purchase a long lease, normally 125 years.

The freehold will still be owned by the Council, who will be responsible for the upkeep of the building as a whole and any communal facilities. 

You will have to pay an annual ground rent of £10 but you will also have to pay service charges.

There are two types of service charges: 

1. Annual service charges

For things such as management fee, buildings insurance, routine repairs, lift maintenance, concierge and cleaning, door entry system maintenance.

These costs can be several hundreds of pounds each year. If you apply for the right to buy we will give you an estimate of your annual service charge.

2. Major work service charges

For large scale works to the block for things like new windows, a new roof, rendering and communal decoration.

You would have to pay your share of the council's costs which can vary considerably and in some cases can be many thousands of pounds.

If you apply for the right to buy we will tell you what major work we expect to carry out in the next five years and give you an estimate of your contribution.

If service charges are not paid we will take recovery action against you and ask the courts for judgements against you. 

Insurance costs 

When you become a homeowner you should arrange to have adequate buildings insurance and some mortgage lenders may require you to take this out as part of your mortgage.

You should also make sure that you have adequate cover in place for any contents inside your home. 

If you are buying a flat or maisonette we will arrange the buildings insurance for you and recharge the premium to you as part of the annual service charge you pay.  

Council tax and utility services

You will be responsible for paying the council tax, water, sewerage, gas, electricity and any other utility service direct to the service providers. 

Maintenance costs 

All properties deteriorate over time and require maintenance to keep them in a good state of repair which can be costly.

You will be responsible for all repairs inside your home such as replacing boilers, kitchen units, bathroom fittings, repairing the electrical wiring or plumbing which are all things that we might have done for you when you were a tenant. 

If you buy a house you will also be responsible for the maintenance of external parts of your property, such as renewing windows, brickwork repairs, roof repairs. 

If you buy a flat or maisonette we remain responsible for carrying out external works but you will be charged for a share of our cost of carrying out this work