Ten things you need to know about... cutting costs when moving ¦ Property Guides on Times Online

1. You can reduce the cost of buying and selling a house significantly. But be realistic. Some cost-saving measures could be a false economy. For example, do-it-yourself conveyancing would cut your legal bills but the cost of getting it wrong could be enormous. Even solicitors don’t do it themselves - because if something goes wrong they will have be no-one to sue!

2. Be prepared to shop around and negotiate if you want to cut your moving costs. If you are selling, the first thing you need to do is drive a hard bargain with your estate agent. Typically their fees range between 1% and 3%. Insist on a 1% fee and make sure it is a percentage of the selling cost not the valuation. Approach at least three agents. Try independent or newer agents who are likely to be more flexible. Look out for the growing number of agents who are prepared to work for a fixed fee or a lower commission of 0.5%, but they will normally expect you show prospective buyers around yourself.

3. It’s even cheaper if you sell your property yourself. To start with you will need to find out how much local houses are selling for by visiting the Land Registry (www.landreg.gov.uk), or sites such as www.upmystreet.com. You can then put an advertisement in your local property paper or sign up with one of the many internet property listing sites, such as www.thelittlehousecompany.co.uk; www.homeswithoutagents.com or www.houseladder.co.uk. Some of these sites will provide a For Sale board which you can put up outside your property. Selling in this way could cost you under £100. But it will take time and effort. For security, you should only show people around by appointment.

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4.An extra cost of selling a house nowadays is the Home Information Pack (HIP) which must contain an energy assessment, searches and legal documents and an optional home condition report. The average cost is around £300 + VAT. It is possible to organise your own pack. For details see www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk. But if you haven’t got time, shop around. Your estate agent may offer you a ‘special deal’ but don’t accept until you have compared what other providers charge. Even Tesco offer HIPs nowadays.

5. The largest cost of buying a house is the price of the property itself. So be prepared for some haggling to get the price down. Nowadays it is commonplace to offer 10% less than the asking price to start with, which means sellers tend to pitch their prices accordingly so they have room for manoeuvre. Don’t be afraid to go lower and offer 20%-30% less to start with. Only increase your offer in small increments of, say, £1,000. The worst the vendor can do is to say no. If your offer is accepted, insist the house is taken off the market immediately to avoid being gazumped.

6. You could cut the cost of buying a house by not paying for a survey. But this could end up costing you more in the long run. You may not need a full structural survey. If the property you want to buy is conventional and less than around 50 years old, a homebuyers report is probably adequate. It will point out obvious defects or other problems that may affect the property value. For older or more unusual properties, a full structural survey could save you money in the long run – especially if a structural fault is discovered. This way you will only have lost the cost of the survey and not be faced with a bill for expensive remedial work.

7. Keep your moving costs to a minimum by shopping around for a conveyancer. Ask some local solicitors how much they would charge and try online conveyancing firms. Some of these firms offer fixed fee ‘no completion, no fee’ deals. Even the AA and Tesco offer conveyancing nowadays. Your lender may also provide a service.

8. One of the biggest costs when buying a house is stamp duty, the Government tax on property deals. The amount you pay depends on the price of the property. There are three tiers: 1% between £125,001 and £250,000, 3% between £251,001 and £500,000, and 4% on properties sold for £500,000 or more. The only way you can save money is by buying a cheaper property but that option will probably not be possible. If the property price is just above a stamp duty threshold, you are not allowed to reduce your stamp duty bill by paying an inflated price for fixtures and fittings. The taxman now makes random checks to make sure this practice is not going on. However, if the property costs £125,000 or less there is no stamp duty to pay and in areas designated ‘disadvantaged’ stamp duty is waived for properties costing up to £150,000 (you can locate these areas by postcodes at www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/dar/dar-qualifying.htm).

9.To cut the cost of moving itself consider a DIY job. Hire a van and enlist the help of friends, or get a man with a van who will help you lift furniture in and out of your properties. Go to the local supermarket first and stock up with cardboard boxes for packing away your smaller items.

10. If you would prefer professional removal men to do the job, shop around for quotes. Ask if there are any discounts for pre-packing items yourself. Setting your removal date at the beginning of the week could also help you reduce your moving costs as most people like to move at the end of the week. Try to avoid Fridays, particularly last Fridays of the month and particularly last Fridays in March, June or September. Removal companies tend to charge higher rates for moving on these traditionally busy days.

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