3 nasty housing costs

Reluctant - Very good post perhaps you could have written the article. Becky - Phone your solicitor for a conveyancing quote and they usually give you a full breakdown of costs apart from mortgage fees and estate agents fees but you should have been told what these are. In relation to Joint tenants and tenants in common the advice given by Reluctant is not quite accurate. If you want a 50% share each this is tenants in common a joint tenancy is a joint ownership of the whole. This means that if one owner dies it passes to the other irrespective of what any Will might say. Therefore if you want to leave your interest in the house by Will even if its 50% share you need to be tenants in common.

Thanks reluctant! It helps a lot, and I appreciate the detailed reply. I wasn't intending to be unreasonable at all - I am astounded that there is not better regulation or set methods in the industry, and I find it unbelievable that people are expected to do this much research on top of a full-time job! How am I supposed to know who all the people are that I need to ask? I am terrified of missing out on something important which bites me on the bum, so to speak! [N.b. - any lovemoney writers reading this: an idiots' guide to house buying would be much appreciated!] I have tried looking round for quotes, but what inevitably happens is that people note down my entire financial history - using my precious time - and then refuse to tell me a thing, using the excuse that it will all depend on the kind of house I buy and telling me to come back when I've made an offer on somewhere. I suspect they do it so that I can't go out and compare quotes. If I try to push the issue I either get snapped at, told not to worry so much, or patronised. Today, I'm resorting to some rather dastardly social engineering techniques to obtain paper copies of a mortgage quote that an advisor appears to have arranged for us :-D Seriously, they're running credit checks on us, and won't even write down the interest rate or term of the mortgage for us! I am actually pretty fluent with finances and spreadsheets. I think that's part of the problem - most of the people I'm dealing with try to use female emotional reasoning techniques on me, and I'ld actually rather deal with the numbers. I don't give a cr*p about having a dreamy family home, or what my boyfriends' feelings would be if x happened! I am getting so frustrated and used to being treated like an emotional airhead [by mortgage advisors and the like] that I appreciate I don't come across as even remotely numerate or rational! Rant over ;-p If you're able to get quotes, I wonder if the crux of the problem is that I need to learn some techniques in dealing with housing bods? Any ideas?

BeckyMarg, I understand your frustration, but the truth is you're being a bit unreasonable asking anyone to be one source of all that information for you. This might not be what you intended to ask, but the way it's written, that's how it comes acorss. Everybody has to figure it out for themselves. It is quite a lot of research. t varies because what the different suppliers charge (ie the solicitors, mortgage providers, etc) also varies. I don't just mean the amounts, but what they actually charge you for varies too - so some solicitors charge for filling in an SDLT form and some don't, for example. Some mortgage providers include a free valuation survey in their mortgage costs, and some don't. And so on. Also, the amount charged often depends on the property price anyway. You'll simply have to do the maths yourself. Shop round the companies providing the services, ask for quotes for their specific services, track it and add it up. I found an online comparison site for solicitors  [url=http://www.compareconveyancingquotes.co.uk]http://www.compareconveyancingquotes.co.uk[/url] But I think there are several others. One of the nice things about it was that if you drilled down into the details of each quote provided, it told you what they charged for and how much (though I must admit I have opted for a small soliciitor, charging slightly more but the service is very good, whereas I found numbers of complaints about many of the companies on these sites). If you're not familiar with spreadsheets right now, it would really be in your best interests to acquire some basic spreadsheet skills. It is the only way I can keep up with all the data. I have about 3 separate spreadsheets on the go related to my own pending purchase right now. It may only be an illusion of control, but at least I am confident I can find the wherewithal to buy the house, though no spreadsheet in the land will tell me if I'm paying way over the odds for it :-) You should also consider the service provided. How much is price your only driver? I realise as an FTB your finances may be very tight indeed, but it's worth thinking about. I've avoided Santander as a lender because I have read so much negative press about their customer service, even though they are offering the cheapest and most flexible loans on the market right now. I might be being a fool (with a small f) but I have been thoroughly put off by the very many stories of people trying to do quite ordinary transactions that should take days, and finding themselves tied up for months. I haven't time in my life to deal with that. I hope that helps, I'm sorry I have no magic bullet for you. Oh, I think your question about wills etc is a good one. If you're buying with someone else, you will either be joint tenants (50% ownership each) or tenants in common (percentages are customised to your situation). The latter needs a Declaration of Trust drawn up by a solicitor in the event of you selling the house to say who owns what. Re wills, ask the solicitor doing your conveyancing for a quote and shop around. Many solicitors are decent enough that they'd give you a 5 minute chat anyway to discuss your situation and tell you if you really need a will.