On 20th June Sarah Modlock wrote about “The true cost of moving home” in Money Weekly. Sarah says that the average Briton moves home between three or four times in a lifetime, latest research from Abbey Mortgages shows. According to calculation an Briton spends £54,400 in today’s money moving home during their lifetime that’s about 2.3 years worth of annual salary. Looking at the fees charged by lawyers, estate agents, financial advisers, removal firms and stamp duty,
added to the money spent to get their property in a ’saleable condition’, homeowners said they’d forked out £16,000 on average at their last move. Based on these figures Abbey estimates that in 2006 alone Britons spent a combined £28 billion to up sticks.
Drew Wotherspoon of John Charcol, urges anyone moving or buying their first home to look out for hidden costs: “Buyers tend to get caught up in the excitement of choosing a new home and run the risk of paying the price financially by not ensuring they get the best value from their mortgage. He urges that at the very least you should make sure you are aware of what the fees are on your deal. Also some forget to add the cost of solicitor and surveys to there list of piling bills which could come as an unwelcome surprise when they can least afford it. The average homeowner needs to factor in £500 in solicitor’s fees and as much as £900 in surveys costs if you want a full structural survey.
Incredible though it may seem, nearly a quarter of home movers don’t have their post re-directed and are at risk of identity theft and fraud.
“It’s no surprise almost half of all cases of ID theft in the UK happen at a previous address – people are handing fraudsters everything they need on a plate,” says MyCallcredit director Alison Nicholson. “Moving is stressful enough already without having to deal with the impact a fraudster can have on your life. If you don’t sort out your post, documents which can identify you, and your credit file, you could be in for months of misery where you are turned down for credit and can’t even sign up for a new mobile phone,” she warns.