When you’re buying a house there’s the obvious selling price you have to cover, but there’s also a host of hidden costs that are added to the equation.
To be informed and prepared it’s a good idea to be aware of the top ten hidden costs of buying property.
Government fees
Governments around Australia are dishing out plenty of handouts and incentives right now to stimulate things during COVID, but with the other hand they will take back the mortgage registration fee which is a charge put on the registering of a home loan. In Victoria that charge is currently $116.80.
While the government has their hand in your pocket grabbing that little fee, they’ll also snatch the transfer registration fee, which covers the service of transferring the title into your name. The amount here is based on the cost of your property and in Victoria is capped at $3,606.
Stamp duty
Loathed by many, another tax that most people are aware of is the big hit you’ll cop paying stamp duty. Stamp duty is paid whenever you purchase a property and the amount varies in each state based on the property type and can vary depending on if it’s your first home or if it’s an investment property.
There are ongoing calls for stamp duty to be reformed but until that happens, it’s a substantial added cost to your purchase.
Financing fees
There are fees associated with applying for a loan which are generally one-off payments. They include lender’s mortgage insurance, mortgage registration, settlement attendance, loan establishment fee and interest rates.
Property inspection costs
Unless you want to roll the dice on a property you are about to sign for, you’ll be undertaking a property inspection to make sure everything is safe and sound.
Depending on what is necessary, you’ll likely need one or all of a building inspection, pest inspection, conveyancing or property valuation.
Moving and ongoings
The cost of moving is another fee to add to your purchase and then there’s the ongoing fees now that you’re in, things like insurance, strata or body corporate, council rates and the emergency services levy.
Insurance
To protect your home and personal belongings you’ll need building and contents insurance and if it’s an investment property you’ll need landlords insurance.
Information costs
A well-researched buyer is a wise buyer but those suburb property reports that give you the intel you need obviously come at a cost. They usually go for around $150 per report.
Professional advice
Similarly, if you’ve got some professional advice on board such as a licensed accountant or financial planner, then they’ll be into you for their hourly rate.
Travel costs
The time and money it will cost you to physically go and view properties.
Bank cheque fee
If you use a bank cheque to buy your property, and the days of bank cheques are surely numbered given today’s technology, then you can tack on a cheeky $10-15 fee to your total cost that the bank will charge you for that.
