The deposit is the biggest number but never the whole bill. Stamp duty, conveyancing, searches, the survey, lender fees and the move itself typically add thousands — money that must be in your account, not your mortgage. This step itemises the full cash requirement so nothing arrives as a surprise in the final month.
Stamp duty and first-time buyer relief
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) applies to purchases in England and Northern Ireland, charged in marginal bands. First-time buyers currently pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion to £500,000 — but a home over £500,000 loses the relief entirely, which creates a genuine cliff edge. The stamp duty calculator applies the current bands to your price and circumstances; rates change at Budgets, so check close to purchase.
The legal bill: fees plus disbursements
Conveyancing quotes come in two parts: the firm's own fee for the legal work, and disbursements — third-party costs they pay on your behalf, such as searches, Land Registry fees and bank transfer charges. A quote that looks cheap may simply be hiding disbursements. Always ask for a fully itemised, fixed-fee quote and compare like with like.
Everything else, priced
Add the survey (£400–£1,500 depending on level), any mortgage arrangement or booking fee (£0–£1,500 — sometimes worth paying for a lower rate, sometimes not), a possible valuation charge, removals, and immediate essentials like locks and cleaning. The cost-of-buying calculator totals all of it against your price and deposit.
| Item | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SDLT | £0 for most first-time buyers under £300,000 | Use the calculator — bands are marginal and circumstances matter |
| Conveyancing fee | £850–£2,000 | Get itemised fixed-fee quotes |
| Searches | £250–£450 | Usually billed as a disbursement |
| Survey | £400–£1,500 | Level 1, 2 or 3 — see Phase 4 |
| Lender arrangement fee | £0–£1,500 | Sometimes addable to the loan (with interest) |
| Removals | £400–£1,500 | More for long distance or storage |
Scenario: the real bill on a £300,000 first home
A first-time buyer purchases at £300,000 with a 10% deposit, expecting to need £30,000.
The actual cash requirement: £30,000 deposit, £0 SDLT (first-time buyer relief), roughly £1,425 conveyancing plus £350 of searches, a £750 Level 2 survey, £750 of lender fees, and £950 of removals.
Outcome: Total: about £34,225 — more than £4,000 beyond the deposit. Budgeted from the start it is a line item; discovered in the final month it is a crisis or a credit card balance at the worst possible moment.
Your action list
Official sources
Practical tips
- If a lender fee can be added to the loan, price both routes — a £999 fee financed over 30 years costs far more than £999.
- Ask any conveyancing quote to list disbursements separately and confirm the total is fixed.
What can go wrong
- Saving exactly a deposit and nothing more is the most common Phase 2 planning failure.
- SDLT rules and thresholds change at Budgets — a purchase planned across a fiscal event needs a recheck.
- PropertySquares provides education, not financial or legal advice. Verify current rules and obtain advice for your circumstances before acting.