The cash a purchase needs that is not the deposit

This works through purchase costs in the order the parts actually depend on each other.

Transfer taxes dominate and vary wildly

Most countries levy some duty on transferring property, and the rate, structure and exemptions differ enormously. Some are flat, some banded, some vary by region, and many have thresholds where a small price increase produces a large tax increase. Reliefs for first-time buyers, primary residences or particular property types exist in many places and are easy to miss.

This is the one number never to take from an article written about another country, including this one.

Professional fees

Conveyancing or notary fees, search fees, land registration fees and any bank transfer charges make up the legal side. Survey fees sit on top and vary with the survey level and the size of the property. Lender arrangement fees, valuation fees and broker fees form the finance side, and some can be added to the loan at the cost of interest on them for the full term.

Ask for a written estimate that separates the fee from the disbursements, since the headline quote often excludes the latter.

Money spent before you know you are buying

Survey, searches and much of the legal work are incurred during the process rather than at the end. If the transaction collapses, that money is gone and does not transfer to the next property. This makes a failed purchase a real cash event, and budgeting for the possibility of one is prudent rather than pessimistic.

Where it helps most, it is also an argument for spending on the survey, since the cheapest way to lose that money is to complete on the wrong house.

Moving and the first week

Removals, storage, cleaning, changing locks, and connecting utilities and communications all fall in the same fortnight. Buyers routinely find that the property needs immediate items — a mattress that fits, curtains, a working appliance — that were not part of any plan. A property standing empty before completion may need the heating recommissioned or the water system flushed.

None of it is large individually and together it is a noticeable sum arriving at the worst possible moment.

Recurring costs start immediately

Buildings insurance is usually required from exchange rather than completion, because risk passes earlier in many systems. Local property taxes, service charges and ground rent are apportioned at completion and the first payment often arrives quickly. Utility standing charges run from the day of completion whether or not anyone has moved in.

Where it helps most, the maintenance reserve that ownership requires also starts now rather than at some comfortable later date.

Adjust the size of it until it is something you would actually do tired.

Building the number

List every item for your own jurisdiction, get quotes for the ones that are quotable and use conservative estimates for the rest. Add a contingency, because the item you forgot is the one that appears. Deducting the total from your savings gives the real deposit, which is often smaller than the notional one.

A regulated adviser can confirm how these costs interact with your borrowing, which is a separate question from what they add up to.

The takeaway

Deduct the whole cost list from your savings first. What remains is the actual deposit.

Pick the one that costs you least, and let the rest wait.