Arrangement Fee

This is a fee charged by lenders and brokers to cover the cost of the administration involved in setting up the mortgage. Some lenders may waive this fee as an incentive to attract new customers.

The Lender's fee is usually between £100 and up to 3% of the mortgage loan and can normally be added on to the mortgage.

In addition to this Brokers may charge you arrangement fees of up to 3% of any mortgage advanced. The amount charged depends on the type of mortgage arranged.

We charge a fee of up to 1% of the amount borrowed, wich you will find is well worth paying considering the substancial savings we will make you by arranging your mortgage. The precise fee will depend on your circumstances but will typically be £995 as an average.

Booking Fee

This is sometimes applied when you apply for a fixed rate mortgage, and is charged because in order for you to be offered that amount of money at that fixed interest rate, the lender needs to borrow a chunk of money from the money market, on whose rates fixed rates are set around.

The lender has to "book" this chunk of money, and the cost for doing that is passed onto the borrower.

This fee is usually between £100 and £500.

Lender's Valuation Fee

In order to check that the price of the property is fair and worth the price paid for it, a lender will commission a surveyor to carry out a valuation. The price of this depends on the property's value.

So if the property is worth £50,000 you'll typically need to pay about £175 and for £250,000 the fee is typically £315.

Look out for lenders who do not waive this fee, as an incentive for you to go with them.

Survey

This is for your benefit, and you are strongly advised to commission one to see if they can spot any defects that you'll have to pay to fix when you move in.

A homebuyer's report will cost between £275 and £750 and a full structural survey will cost up to £1000 plus VAT. Again it depends on the property's value.

Legal/Conveyancing Fees

Although you could do this work yourself with a DIY conveyancing kit, it is strongly recommended that you hire an expert solicitor or licensed conveyancer to carry out the legal aspects of the purchase.

You should shop around as there is no standard fee for this. Some solicitors charge a percentage of the property's value and some charge a flat fee. They will give you an estimate depending on the amount of work needed, which depends on the complication of the transaction.

You will also need to pay for the lender's solicitor to do their work. Sometimes you can use that solicitor yourself and cut down the cost. But get an estimate and compare with other firms.

Stamp Duty

A government tax that is charged for properties bought for more than £175,000.

You will pay 1% of the total purchase price if the price is from £175,001 up to £250,000.

You will pay 3% of the total purchase price if the price is between £250,001 and £500,000, and 4% for anything above £500,000.

So a £300,000 property will cost you £9000 in stamp duty. Literally, you are paying for a local authority to put a stamp on your title deeds.

The tax originated when William of Orange asked his courtiers to come up with a way of getting him more money through taxes. We kid you not!

Land Registry Fee

This is a government department looking after a registry of all the registered properties in England and Wales.

They will charge a fee for transferring the registration for the property to the new owner. The fee will depend on the price of the property.

Up to £40000 = £40.

£40,001 - £70,001 = £60.

£70,011 - £100,000 = £100.

£100,001 - £200,000 = £200.

£200,001 - £500,000 = £300.

£500,001 - £1,000,000 = £500

and for £1,000,001 and above = £800.

Debt Consolidation

By repaying your debt over a long term you should be aware that your overall interest charges will increase. You should also consider the implications of consolidating unsecured debts by taking out secured borrowings as YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED AGAINST IT.