Moving house is an exciting and frantic time. Most of you will have a budget but are you aware of all the little costs associated with moving house? Let’s use the median house price in Perth at the moment of $500,000 as the example.
Imagine you have just sold your house for $500,000 and you are eyeing a house in another suburb at the same price. Now the question is, is that new house really going to cost you $500,000? Let’s take a closer look and break down the fees that can be associated.
Selling your home (Approx. Costs)
$12,500 Real estate commission of 2.5% (Industry Average) on $500,000
$1,000 Marketing and real estate administration costs (Industry Average)
$1,066 Settlement Agent Fees
$250 RCDs each (new legislation)
$180 Smoke Alarms each (hard wired - new legislation)
$14,996 Total + other costs prepping your house for sale
Buying your new home (Approx. Costs)
$1,635 Settlement Agent Fees
$19,665 Stamp Duty
$195 Registration Fees
$21,495 Total + other costs i.e. removal, cleaning
Well now, that may come as a bit of a surprise - as you can see it’s going to cost at least an extra $36,500 + to really buy this $500,000 home. That’s a lot of money you might not have budgeted for.
The Government fees you can’t avoid, but some of the others you can. The ones to shop around for and sometimes get a better rate are Real Estate Commissions, Settlement Agent Fees, RCD & Smoke Alarm Installation, and Removal Fees.
It pays to plan very carefully when buying and selling. You can still save money in certain areas while still getting first class service. Shop around and compare.
