moving house costs - how much for surveys conveyancing etc

[imtheirmum]

Just toying with idea of a house move in London. Anyone moved recently and have an idea of how much it costs? Stamp duty (ouch) I can work out, and I know things like local searches etc are fairly standard, estate agent fees/mortgage application fees I can work out. But just can not remember /not sure about survey costs, conveyancing (selling and buying) and removal costs. We would be moving from 3 bed house in London.
Your advice appreciated!

Reckon ours (Feb this year) in total was about 20k . Stamp Duty and Estate Agent the main costs plus surveys about £500 plus follow-up £200 (discounted as done by friend), legal about £1500 inc searches etc, removals £1200. South East so not London.

Our survery was about 450 and our packing was again about 1200 but they did pack everything up (well worth the money).

Just doing this myself (am in London, moving fairly locally)...

Solicitor is charging close to £1000 for the sale and £1000 for the purchase.

Survey - we are doing Homebuyers Report, cost is £900.

Removals - just got a quote from Pickfords who I'd expect to be the most expensive... full packing for 3 bedroom house is over £2000.

Bloomin' expensive all round I say.
BTW I found a huge spread in estate agent fees... but then if the more expensive one gets you lots more £££ for your house, maybe it's worth it.

HTH

sharp intake of breath - I wish I hadn't asked!!! I suppose I knew it wasn't going to be cheap... very helpful though, thanks!

Weirdly, solicitors seem to work out their costs based on the selling/purchase price of your house, which seems a bit odd given that the work for them should be the same whether they're selling a 2-bed or a 5-bed house.

There is an element of getting what you pay for with solicitors, so get a recommendation if possible, rather than going for the cheapest. If your chain hits the buffers, the last thing you want is an incompetent solicitor holding everything up -- our sellers' solicitor was a strong contender for Crap Solicitor of the Year award, and it was a nightmare. Ours on the other hand was expensive (slightly more than Catilla mentions) but v. efficient and proactive.

We paid £1700 (including VAT) for full packing for a 5-bed house, so Pickfords sounds expensive, and not necessarily that great from what I've heard. We used Ward Thomas Removals who were very good.

Our costs were very similar to Catillas.

Thanks for the recommendation frogs.

You can visit this page to get online quotes for a house removal by providing the complete details of your move.

www.theremoval.com