toal cost of house buy

[jon griffin]

Hi

can anyone tell me the true cost involved in buying a property around the £50,000  mark and who pays what and when.

Thanks Jon.

[Will]

Assuming the house is over 5 years old, the buyer normally pays agency fees (4-10%) and legal fees (about 7% but see the various online calculators). If buying through an agency the agency fees are normally (but not always) included in the quoted price - look for abbreviations like 'FAI' or 'FAC' which indicate this. If buying through a notaire you do not pay agency fees, but do pay an extra fee to the notaire of 2.5% to 5%, which is subject to 19.6% TVA. New houses have a different fee structure, involving paying TVA. Some sellers quote all-inclusive prices, which include legal fees (and often a bit extra for the agency if a British agency is involved).

It is customary to pay a 10% deposit to the notaire after the compromis de vente (the initial contract) has been signed by all parties. Once this is done the sale is final, and the 10% will be forfeited if you default - if the seller defaults a similar penalty is payable. The rest of the money should be in the notaire's account by the signing of the final acte de vente.

[Sunday Driver]

I suspect you won't get much of a house for £50K, so you'll need to factor in the potentially substantial cost of renovations/updating.

[powerdesal]

As a quick example, we paid an additional 12.1% total over the price accepted by the vendor. Through a notaire, no agency fees.