Legal News
Cost of Relocating Increases By 70 Per Cent (31 January 2012)
Date: 31/01/2012
The cost of relocating has increased by 70 per cent over the past decade, now standing at £9,000. The rising financial burden has surpassed the increase in property prices over the same decade, according to a recent report. It means that the cost of moving house is now equivalent to 27 per cent of the average worker’s gross full-time income, an increase from 22 per cent ten years ago, increasing pressure on the finances of cash-strapped families. For families forced to pay three per cent in stamp duty, the cost of relocating is even greater, with those purchasing a property of a value of over £250,000 being instantly faced with a minimum tax bill of £7,500.
The Lloyds TSB report looked into the cost of relocating, in terms of removal costs, stamp duty, estate agency fees, mortgage arrangement fees and surveyors and solicitors’ fees. It claimed that for the average individual choosing to relocate, estate agents’ commission made up the greatest proportion of their relocation costs, standing at 38 per cent (£3,400). Stamp duty closely followed this at 21 per cent (£1,876).
Suren Thiru, Lloyds TSB’s housing economist, stated that the costs associated with relocating in the UK have increased significantly over the last ten years, rendering the relocation process more challenging for most. Experts have warned that the significant increase in home moving fees is of particular concern at a time when the housing market in the UK is weak.
The conveyancing solicitors at Duncan Lewis provide an extensive relocation service at an affordable cost.