The Complete Guide to Buying Your First Home in the UK: Every Cost, Explained

Buying your first home is probably the biggest financial decision you will make in your twenties or thirties — and it is also one of the most confusing. The advertised price of a house is really just the headline figure. Underneath it sits a whole ecosystem of taxes, fees, and one-off costs that can catch even careful savers off guard.

This guide walks through every stage of the process, from your first mortgage conversation to picking up the keys, using real numbers throughout so you can see exactly where your money goes.

Step 1: Working out what you can actually afford

Before you fall in love with a property, lenders will assess two things: your deposit and your income multiple.

Most mortgage lenders will lend around 4 to 4.5 times your annual income (sometimes up to 5.5x for certain professions or higher earners, though this varies by lender). If you and a partner earn a combined £60,000, you might be able to borrow roughly £240,000–£270,000, depending on your outgoings, credit history, and any existing debt.

Your deposit then gets added on top. So if you have £30,000 saved, your realistic house-hunting budget sits somewhere around £270,000–£300,000 — lenders will still stress-test your ability to pay at higher interest rates.

A quick affordability rule of thumb:

• Deposit: at least 5%, ideally 10%+ for better rates
• Monthly mortgage payment: lenders generally want this to be comfortably under 35–40% of your take-home pay
• Existing debts (car finance, credit cards, student loans) reduce how much you can borrow

Step 2: The deposit

This is the cost everyone already knows about, but it is worth being precise about how it works.

• Minimum deposit: 5% of the purchase price (some niche 100% mortgages exist but are rare and come with conditions)
• Sweet spot for good rates: 10–15%
• Best rates typically start: 25%+

Worked example — £300,000 property:

• 5% deposit (£15,000): Access to the market, but higher interest rates
• 10% deposit (£30,000): A meaningfully better rate tier
• 15% deposit (£45,000): Noticeably cheaper monthly payments
• 20%+ deposit (£60,000+): Access to the best rates lenders offer

Every jump in deposit percentage tends to unlock a cheaper interest rate band, so even scraping together an extra 5% before you apply can save you thousands over the life of the mortgage.

Step 3: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

This is the tax paid to HMRC on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and Wales uses Land Transaction Tax — both work slightly differently.

As of the rules introduced on 1 April 2025, first-time buyers get relief structured like this:

• £0–£300,000: 0%
• £300,001–£500,000: 5%
• Above £500,000: No first-time buyer relief at all — you pay standard rates on the full amount

Standard (non-first-time-buyer) rates in England and Northern Ireland are:

• £0–£125,000: 0%
• £125,001–£250,000: 2%
• £250,001–£925,000: 5%
• £925,001–£1,500,000: 10%
• Above £1,500,000: 12%

Worked examples:

• A £300,000 flat (first-time buyer): Falls exactly at the nil-rate threshold → £0 Stamp Duty
• A £350,000 house (first-time buyer): £0 on the first £300,000, then 5% on the remaining £50,000 = £2,500 total
• A £450,000 house (first-time buyer): £0 on the first £300,000, then 5% on the remaining £150,000 = £7,500 total
• A £550,000 house (first-time buyer — over the £500,000 cap, so relief is lost entirely): taxed at standard rates on the whole price = £17,500 total

That jump — from £7,500 at £450,000 to £17,500 at £550,000 — is the cliff edge worth knowing about. If you are viewing properties near £500,000, it is genuinely worth asking whether a slightly cheaper option nearby could save you over £10,000 in tax alone.

Stamp Duty is due within 14 days of completion, and your solicitor normally handles the payment and paperwork as part of their fee — but you need to have the cash ready.

Step 4: Mortgage-related fees

Beyond the deposit, mortgages come with their own set of fees that are easy to overlook when you are comparing headline interest rates.

• Product/arrangement fee: ranges from £0 to around £2,000. Some lenders offer fee-free deals with a slightly higher interest rate — whether that is cheaper depends on how long you plan to stay on the deal.
• Valuation fee: the lender needs to confirm the property is worth what you are paying. Free with some lenders, £150–£300 with others.
• Broker fee: if you use a mortgage broker, they may charge £0–£500, or be paid via commission from the lender instead.
• Booking/application fee: some lenders charge £99–£250 just to reserve a mortgage rate.

Typical total for a straightforward first-time buyer mortgage: £300–£1,000.

Step 5: Legal fees (conveyancing)

You legally need a solicitor or licensed conveyancer to handle the transfer of ownership, run property searches, and liaise with the seller's solicitor and the Land Registry.

• Solicitor/conveyancer fee: £800–£1,500 for a straightforward freehold purchase (leasehold properties often cost more due to extra checks)
• Local authority search: £100–£200 — checks planning history, road adoption, any local authority notices
• Environmental search: £30–£50 — flood risk, contaminated land, subsidence risk
• Water and drainage search: £40–£70
• Land Registry fee: scales with property price; around £150 on a £300,000 property
• Bank transfer fee: £20–£50 to move the funds securely
• ID verification and anti-money-laundering checks: often £10–£30 per person

Total for a typical purchase: £1,300–£2,200.

If you are buying a leasehold flat, budget extra — solicitors often charge £150–£300 more to review the lease and check ground rent/service charge terms, and there may be a management pack fee (£150–£400) charged by the freeholder or managing agent just to release the required information.

Step 6: Survey fees

A mortgage valuation is not a survey — it protects the lender's interest, not yours. If you want to know about the actual condition of the property, you need to pay for your own survey.

• Condition Report (Level 1): £250–£400 — a basic traffic-light overview, best for newer properties in good condition
• HomeBuyer Report (Level 2): £400–£1,000 — the most popular choice, covers structural issues, damp, and gives repair advice
• Building Survey (Level 3): £600–£1,500+ — recommended for older, listed, or unusual properties, or anything you are planning to renovate

Skipping the survey is one of the most common first-time buyer regrets. A £500 survey that flags a £5,000 roof problem either saves you the repair cost, gives you room to renegotiate the price, or lets you walk away entirely.

Step 7: Moving and setup costs

These are the costs that rarely make it into a spreadsheet until they are already due.

• Removal company or van hire: £300–£1,500 depending on distance and volume
• Buildings insurance: required from the point you exchange contracts (not just when you move in) — typically £150–£300/year
• Contents insurance: optional but sensible, £50–£150/year
• Locksmith / changing locks: £100–£200
• Initial furniture, white goods, curtains/blinds: highly variable, but even a modest starter set often runs to £1,000–£3,000
• Redirecting post, connecting utilities, council tax registration: usually free but time-consuming — worth doing in week one

Putting it all together: three worked scenarios

Scenario A — £250,000 flat, 10% deposit:

• Deposit: £25,000
• Stamp Duty: £0
• Mortgage fees: £600
• Legal fees and searches: £1,600
• Survey (HomeBuyer Report): £500
• Moving and insurance: £700
• Total cash needed: ~£28,400

Scenario B — £350,000 house, 10% deposit:

• Deposit: £35,000
• Stamp Duty: £2,500
• Mortgage fees: £700
• Legal fees and searches: £1,800
• Survey (HomeBuyer Report): £600
• Moving and insurance: £900
• Total cash needed: ~£41,500

Scenario C — £450,000 house, 15% deposit:

• Deposit: £67,500
• Stamp Duty: £7,500
• Mortgage fees: £800
• Legal fees and searches: £2,000
• Survey (Building Survey): £900
• Moving and insurance: £1,200
• Total cash needed: ~£79,900

Across all three scenarios, the pattern is the same: budget roughly an extra 1.5–3% of the property's value on top of your deposit, and more like 5%+ once Stamp Duty kicks in properly above £300,000.

Common pitfalls to avoid

• Underestimating the "completion gap." Even after your mortgage offer is confirmed, there is typically a period between exchange and completion where you need funds ready to move quickly — solicitors often want cleared funds a day or two before completion, not on the day itself.
• Forgetting Stamp Duty is not optional or negotiable. Some buyers assume they can pay it later or roll it into the mortgage — you generally cannot. It is due in cash within 14 days.
• Skipping the survey to save money. A £500 saving now can turn into a £15,000 repair bill later if you miss a structural issue.
• Not shopping around for conveyancers. Fees vary more than people expect — get at least three quotes, but do not automatically choose the cheapest; ask what is included, since some quotes exclude searches or disbursements that get added later.
• Ignoring ground rent and service charges on leasehold flats. These are ongoing monthly or annual costs that affect what you can actually afford to borrow, and lenders factor them into affordability checks.

A realistic timeline

• Weeks 1–4: Get a mortgage agreement in principle, start house hunting
• Weeks 4–8: Offer accepted, instruct a solicitor and surveyor
• Weeks 8–14: Searches, survey results, mortgage valuation, formal mortgage offer
• Weeks 14–16: Exchange of contracts (this is when you are legally committed and need buildings insurance in place)
• Weeks 16–18: Completion — you get the keys

In practice, first-time buyer purchases in England typically take 12–20 weeks from offer to completion, though chains, slow searches, or leasehold complications can extend this significantly.

Final thoughts

The single most useful thing you can do as a first-time buyer is build your budget around the total cash needed, not just the deposit. Add up Stamp Duty, legal fees, survey costs, mortgage fees, and moving costs before you start viewing properties, so you know your real ceiling — not just what the deposit alone would suggest.

Rules around Stamp Duty and lending criteria do change with government Budgets, so it is worth double-checking current thresholds with your solicitor or via the official HMRC Stamp Duty calculator before you commit to an offer.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Costs vary by lender, location, and property type — speak to a mortgage adviser and solicitor for figures specific to your own purchase.