Brits spend over £3,500 on hidden 'extra' costs of moving home
Brits spend over £3,500 ($4,544) on extra “hidden costs” of moving home over the course of a lifetime, research suggests.
Homeowners spend an additional £696 on top of agency fees, legal fees and stamp duty every time they move house, research by MoneySuperMarket found.
With the average Brit moving 5.3 times in their life, this comes to a total of £3,688 — up 8% on last year’s figure of £3,417.
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What’s more, a fifth (19%) of Brits move at least at least nine times, spending an extra £6,264.
Coventry is the most expensive location for additional moving costs, with residents paying £841 on top of standard fees. This is £481 more expensive than the cheapest city in the country, Gloucester, at £360.
The most expensive UK cities by additional moving cost
Coventry (£841)
Swansea (£803)
Brighton and Hove (£766)
London (£759)
Oxford (£738)
The cheapest UK cities by additional moving cost
Gloucester (£360)
Worcester (£456)
Edinburgh (£523)
Portsmouth (£523)
Liverpool (£563)
The most common additional costs include buying new household items, such as bedding and kitchen utensils (53%), purchasing new furniture (53%), getting post re-directed (39%), having wi-fi installed (36%), and changing bill providers (34%), the research found.
Meanwhile, nearly a quarter (24%) of Brits have paid for a van and driver to help them move.
In addition, Brits lose an average of £324 on the deposit of their previous home when moving. One in 10 lose up to £801, the research found.
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“With the housing market boosted by the chancellor’s stamp duty holiday, many of us are considering moving home. Whether you’re buying or renting, make sure you’ve factored in all the potential costs you expect to incur,” advised Kate Devine at MoneySuperMarket.
“If you’re buying a home, it’s not just stamp duty, legal and estate agency fees that should be on your check list, but also things like cleaning, new household products, temporary storage space and professional movers to make sure your treasured possessions get from A to B safely.
“To protect you in case things go wrong when you move, we would recommend you have contents insurance before transporting your items to their new home. But make sure you use a professional removals firm — many of which have their own insurance — to guarantee you benefit from this protection.”
