Other sellers' costs
This content applies to England only.
Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland
As well as estate agents fees and legal fees, you need to consider the other costs that may be involved in selling your home.
Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to set aside money to cover these additional expenses.
The cost of your lender selling your home
If your home is being sold following repossession, you will be responsible for all the costs involved. These costs will usually be added to your mortgage debt and your lender will recover the cost when your home is sold.
You will continue to be responsible for the mortgage payments until the sale is completed and may still have debts after the property is sold. If you are in this situation, contact a local advice centre as soon as you can. It may be possible to reduce your debts and/or keep your home. Use our directory to find out where help is available in your area.
Any repairs that are needed
Your buyer may want you to carry out repairs before contracts are exchanged. Minor repairs can be relatively cheap, but some problems (such as repairs to a roof or a heating system) can be very expensive. If you don't want to do the work, you may have to accept a lower price and/or find another buyer.
Mortgage redemption fees
Many mortgage lenders will charge a penalty fee if you pay off your mortgage early. This could be as much as four per cent of your outstanding mortgage. However, if you are buying another property with a mortgage from the same lender, you don't usually have to pay the penalty. Check what your mortgage agreement says about penalties for ending your mortgage early. If you think it's unreasonable, get advice. It may be possible to take action if the conditions of your mortgage agreement are unfair.
Moving expenses
Once the sale is completed, you may need to hire a van or a removal company to move your belongings into your new home. You will have to pay the final bills (such as gas, telephone, water and council tax) at your old address and may have to pay for services to be connected in your new home. You may also need furniture, appliances, household items and insurance. If you are moving into a rented place, you normally have to pay rent in advance and/or a deposit.
Repaying a 'right to buy' or 'right to acquire' discount
If you bought your ex-council or housing association home through the Right to Buy or the Right to Acquire, you will have got a discount on the value of your home. If your home is sold (or repossessed) within the first three years, you normally have to pay some or all of the discount back; how much of it you have to pay back depends on how soon after buying your home is sold (or repossessed):
- If your home is sold or repossessed within one year of buying, you have to pay all of the discount back.
- If your home is sold or repossessed within two years of buying, you have to pay two thirds of the discount back.
- If your home is sold or repossessed within three years of buying, you have to pay one third of the discount back.
If you bought your home through another type of ownership scheme (eg shared ownership, Homebuy or a keyworker scheme), you normally have to share the proceeds from the sale with the housing association that helped you buy the property. You usually get the same percentage of the value of the property that you own. For example, if you originally bought 50 per cent of the property and have since bought an additional 25 per cent, you are entitled to 75 per cent of the sale price and the association gets back the 25 per cent that it still owns.
Extending your lease (if it's a leasehold property)
If you are a leaseholder, it may be difficult to find a buyer if the lease has less than about 60 years left to run. You may need to extend it to make your property more attractive to potential buyers. Even if you find someone interested, s/he may have problems getting a mortgage if the lease is very short.
The rules on whether you can extend your lease and how this is done are different depending on whether your home is a house or a flat. How much it costs usually depends on the value of the property and how many years are left on the existing lease.
A percentage to the site owner (if you are selling a park home)
If you are selling a park home (mobile home), the site owner may be entitled to ten per cent of the sale price. Check to see what your written agreement with the site owner says. If you think it is unreasonable, get advice. The Independent Park Homes Advisory Service may be able to help.
