THE number of people moving to a new property is higher than at any time since 2016.
If you are one of them, we have cash hacks that can save you £10,000 on fees for agents, brokers, solicitors and banks.
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The home-buying stampede has led to around two million people across 600,000 households moving in the first six months of this year.
Last week Sun Money told you how the extended stamp duty holiday and other government initiatives are helping buyers.
Now follow our guide and give less of your cash to middlemen, leaving more money to spend on your new pad.
Make low offers
DO not get your heart set on one property. Make low offers on several homes.
Owners often accept less if they must sell urgently, for example if they are moving for work, or are divorcing.
Get an “in principle” mortgage offer and take it to viewings. It could help to persuade the agent and seller to sell to you.
SAVE: Thousands
Cut out estate agents
IF you want to buy in a certain street, or hear on the grapevine that a property you like will be sold, pop a letter in their postbox offering to buy direct.
This saves sellers paying estate agent fees of between one and three per cent – up to £7,500 for the UK average house price of £250,000.
Tell the vendor you can split the saving, reducing the sale by half the fee – for example £3,750 of a £7,500 fee.
Private sale middlemen Knock For Sale say: “Sellers won’t pay thousands to agents, so may pass savings to buyers.”
SAVE: £3,750 or more
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Free mortgage broker
USE a “whole of market” broker – don’t just ask your bank for a mortgage.
Some brokers charge fees of up to £1,000. Some charge no fee at all. All are paid a separate fee by the lender you choose.
Check free brokers’ reviews and decide if you are confident the mortgage they recommend is the cheapest.
But remember, it may be worth paying a fee if the broker can access a cheaper mortgage which a free broker cannot offer.
SAVE: £500 to 1,000
Check loan’s true cost
NEVER choose a mortgage based on the lowest interest rate.
Add up all costs, including set-up fees which can be £1,000 or £2,000, to find the true cheapest price over the duration of your deal.
MoneySavingExpert says: “Cunning lenders use high fees so interest rates rise up best-buy tables.”
SAVE: Hundreds
Slash removal costs
A FEW men and a big van can set you back £2,000.
Pack your house yourself – it will knock many hundreds of pounds off the bill.
Or save even more by asking a removal firm from your new area to move you on a day they move someone the other way, saving them a trip.
SAVE: £1,000
Do you need a survey?
GET a proper survey, costing between £600 and £1,000, if buying a house.
It is seriously worth it, to spot any potentially expensive defects.
But new builds are often guaranteed, so a survey may not be needed.
Flats in purpose-built blocks may also not require a survey, as freeholders often maintain external walls and even windows.
But flats in converted houses should be surveyed.
If in doubt, pay for a survey.
SAVE: £600 to 1,000
Cheap solicitor
SOME solicitors will deduct a fair whack for purchases if your broker sends a referral.
An insider at a major firm said: “Clients save over £200 by getting quoted by their broker.”
Other solicitors give discounts to returning customers.
For conveyancing on a £250,000 property, £600 is cheap.
SAVE: £200+
Bargains
IF you need white goods and furniture for your new home, maybe try asking the seller to include a fridge, washing machine and sofa in the sale of the property.
Or offer to buy these off them at a knock-down price.
SAVE: £1,000
Watch out for…
MORTGAGE CASHBACK: This is when lenders tempt you to take their deal. Add all your fees and check the overall mortgage price.
ESTATE AGENT HYPE: Do not let them talk you into paying more.
DODGY PROPERTIES: “Cash sale only” often means a property has a short lease, of fewer than 85 years, shady paperwork, or is next to a shop or pub. These factors can make it difficult to get a mortgage.
‘We paid £8k less on home’
NEWLYWEDS James and Romy Wombwell saved £5,000 on their home’s advertised price, plus £2,000 on removals and effectively got a free survey worth up to £1,000.
The couple, both property investors, bagged their two-bedroom newbuild detached house in Par, Cornwall, for £190,000 in 2016, six months after marrying.
Romy, 44, said: “We offered low and were pleased to buy it £5,000 under the asking price. A previous offer had pulled out, so that helped our cause.
“We didn’t need a survey, as it’s a new build property and came with a seven-year guarantee after being checked by an architect.”
James, 45, negotiated with removal companies to save further.
He said: “We were moving from London but removal firms there quoted us up to £3,000 to move us down to Cornwall.
“So I called a Cornish company and they gave us a good price if they moved us as the return leg of their journey after moving someone else to London. We paid £1,000.”
The couple, who buy and develop properties, advise homebuyers to set limits on their offers.
James said: “Start with low offers and negotiate in small amounts upwards.”
Romy said: “Do your research so you know what the property is worth. If your budget is a certain price, stick to it.”
Goss Loss
MILLIONS of workers are looking forward to going back to the office in June – but mainly because seven in ten miss the gossip, a study shows.
Almost two thirds expect to be back before July, though not all the time.
Most want the traditional nine-to-five to be replaced with flexible hours and home working for part of the week.
The survey by office phone booth firm Meavo shows more than a third of employers and employees agree that working two or three days a week in the office will be the new norm.
A third would prefer four days in the office.
Cash hack
THERE’S a week of offers only on the MyMcDonald’s app. Today, get three Chicken Selects for £1.49, down from £3.79. T
omorrow get £5 off when you spend £15 or more. On Monday it’s Chicken McNuggets for 99p.
In Tuesday’s final deal, valid for a fortnight, get 30 per cent off one single order of any food and drink.
Beware fakers using WhatsApp
WHATSAPP is the latest battleground for scams.
Crooks are targeting customers using the ever-popular app, with messages that purport to be from the Money Advice Service, as well as other trusted bodies like Citizens Advice.
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They tend to focus on debt write-off, promising to have some of your credit card or loan balances cancelled because of bank errors.
To take advantage, victims are being asked to send their bank statements and ID as a reply to the message.
This is a scam. The Money Advice Service does not send unsolicited messages like this, and if you send your documents you’re handing your personal information to a criminal – who will use it to take over your accounts and get credit in your name. If you think you’ve had your identity stolen like this, get advice from the Cifas website.
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Another group of fraudsters is focussing on Just Eat. These scam emails offer a £50 gift card or credit in exchange for answering a survey or just entering your details. These messages can look convincing, but they’re fake.
Clicking on the link and entering your details just lets the fraudsters know they can target you.
Always be cautious about clicking on links. If you’re interested in an offer, type the company’s address directly into your browser and go from there – that way you know you’re on a legitimate website. If you think you’ve fallen for a trick, report it to Action Fraud and call your bank if you’ve given out any account information.
Cash hack
TO mark the lockdown anniversary on Tuesday, takeaway delivery service Foodhub is offering customers ten per cent off on all orders placed via its app or website.
Use code LD21 at checkout. It works for existing customers as well as new ones. To find out more about the offer, see foodhub.co.uk.
Someone just bought a VIRTUAL house for $500,000 – and they can never live in it
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