The full cost of buying a new home

There's more to buying your first home than simply saving the 10% deposit.

Fees, duties, taxes and insurance all have to be paid too so it's a good idea to find out the full cost of buying your home up front.

Here's a brief guide to the additional expenses.

One of the biggest amounts, after your deposit, is stamp duty. It's not part of your mortgage and you'll need to save it in addition to your deposit.

Stamp duty is calculated at 1% of the selling price of a residential property up to €1m, and 2% on the balance above.

If you buy a home worth €300,000, you will need to pay stamp duty of €3,000.

For new builds, stamp duty is payable on the purchase price excluding VAT.

Stamp duty may change and full details are available from the Revenue.ie website (Bank of Ireland is not responsible for information on third party websites). When closing a sale, your solicitor will calculate the stamp duty you owe to the Revenue Commissioners.

You'll need a solicitor to look after all the legal aspects of transferring ownership of the property to you.

Costs vary; some solicitors charge a flat fee while others charge a percentage of the house price, usually around 1% or 2%.

Expect to pay in the region of €1,500 to €3,000 plus VAT.

Shop around, get quotes and always confirm whether a price is inclusive of VAT or not.

Before making an offer on a house it's important to engage the services of a surveyor, who will look over the property for you.

A vendor isn't obliged to point out any defects a property may have, so a surveyor's report will identify any hidden problems, structural issues or planning breaches which could end up costing you more money. Things like structural defects, subsidence, damp, dry rot or pyrite.

You should budget around €300 plus VAT for this report.

Before a mortgage provider can sign off on your mortgage they need to know that the property you plan to buy has been fairly valued by the vendor.

We don't want to see you paying over the odds.

Property valuation must be carried out by a professional valuer recommended by the bank. The cost could be between €150 and €250 plus VAT, but this can vary.

If you own a residential property in the State, you are liable for payment of local property tax.

The amount of local property tax you have to pay depends on the value declared for the property and the local property rate applying to the property for the year that you buy.

Protecting your mortgage will cover any outstanding debt on your mortgage should you die before the loan is fully paid off.

Premiums vary, and depending on the cover purchased, the level of cover can reduce over time as the mortgage balance reduces.

A necessity before your mortgage can be drawn down, property insurance protects your home in case of damage.

Policies vary, but the most basic will cover the key risk of fire.

For more information on getting mortgage ready and top tips, signup to get your First Time Buyer e-book today.