Valuation
Typically, a lender will send a valuer to assess your prospective home before agreeing a mortgage. The cost of this is met by you.

Survey
You may also want to have either a Home Buyer Survey or a full Building Survey carried out by a specialist surveyor. This is optional and, again, the cost will be met by you.

Both depend on your property value. See The costs involved for our charges.

Product fees
May be required depending on the mortgage you choose.

Check the terms of your mortgage

Insurance
Taking out buildings Insurance will be a condition of any mortgage you have. You may also want to consider contents cover and mortgage payment protection.

Depends on value of your home and level of cover.

Conveyancing fees
You will need legal advice when buying or selling your home, and someone to do all the necessary legal work. This could be a solicitor or a licensed conveyancer.

Costs vary significantly and are often related to the value of the home you are buying. It's best to get several estimates.

Land registry
Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer should register you as the new owner of the property.

For a full list of the fees,  visit the Land Registry web site.

There is a sliding scale depending on the value of the property. For example, the cost is:
£40 for properties worth less than £50,000.
£60 for properties worth between £50,001 - £80,000.
£100 for properties worth between £80,001 - £100,000.

£150 for properties worth between £100,001 - £200,000.

Mortgage Repayment Protection
Mortgage Repayment Protection pays either a lump sum equal to the outstanding balance on a mortgage agreement or pays the monthly mortgage repayment. Most plans provide one or more of the following benefits: life cover, disability cover resulting from accident or sickness, hospitalisation cover, critical illness cover or redundancy.

The cost of Mortgage Repayment Protection depends on the amount of benefit you wish to take out, the type of cover, and the excess period.

Higher Lending Charge (HLC)
Lending a higher proportion of the purchase price of a property brings with it a higher risk to the lender. This risk is alleviated by an HLC which provides the lender with a form of insurance. If you cannot repay your mortgage, and the lender is forced to sell your property for less than your outstanding loan, the shortfall may be claimed back through this insurance.

The HLC will depend on the amount of loan compared to the value or purchase price of the property (whichever is the lower). This amount is shown as a percentage and is described as the Loan to Value (LTV). For properties up to 90% LTV, we will pay the Higher Lending Charge.

Search Fees
There are a variety of searches that are typically carried out by your solicitor or licensed conveyancer when buying a home, depending on the area the property is in. These find out, for example, about any developments which may affect your home, any known mineral deposits or coal mining in the area, etc. Any fees for these searches will be paid by you.

The costs vary depending on the type of searches carried out and where the property is situated. A local authority search, for example, could be £100 or more, whilst water authority searches are typically £30. Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer will let you know what searches are needed and how much they cost.

Stamp duty
If the house you intend to buy is over a certain price, you'll need to pay the government stamp duty. Your legal adviser will arrange this and charge you accordingly.

For more information visit HM Revenue & Customs web site

Stamp Duty is charged as a percentage of the purchase price as follows:
Properties under £125,000 - exempt
Properties over £125,000 - 1%
Properties over £250,000 - 3%
Properties over £500,000 - 4%

Home improvements
Depending on the property you are buying, you may want to keep some money in hand for essential improvements.

Remember, they always cost more than you expect!

Removals
You can either use a professional removal company or do it yourself. Whatever you do, it is wise to have insurance to cover breakages en-route.

Prices vary, depending on the company and the distance involved. Make sure you shop around. If you're using a professional removal company you need to allow several hundred pounds.