Property Buying Cost Calculator

Our property buying calculator is quite detailed but you are not required to complete all the fields as it depends on the type of property you are buying so your best guesstimate is ok.

Below is an example of buying a $500,000 investment house in NSW. Please note that this is an estimate only.

Government charges (Mandatory)

• Stamp duty: $17,990
• Mortgage registration fee: $142
• Transfer fee: $142

Lender fees

• Loan application fees: $600
• Legal fees: $330
• Lenders mortgage insurance: –

Other buying costs

• Solicitor and conveyancing: $1,000
• Strata search: $0
• Home and contents insurance: $400
• Pest inspection report: $200
• Moving costs: $700
• Building/council inspection: $0
• Connecting utilities: $50
• Land tax/council rates: $375

Total property buying cost estimate = $21,929

Total deposit required if you are borrowing 80% of the purchase price is:

Deposit: 20% x $500,000: $100,000

Total property buying cost: $21,929

Total savings required: $100,000 + $21,929: $129,929

• Stamp duty
  Stamp duty fee varies between states and territories. Most states offer exemptions and concessions for first home buyers

• Mortgage Registration fees
  This fee is to registers your property as the physical security for your home loan. The registration fee typically costs between $116 and $187

• Title transfer fees
  This fee also varies from state to state, but usually runs between $100 and $140

• Loan Application Fee
  Lenders also have their own fees associated with home loans which they may charge at the start of the loan. This is typically called application or establishment fee

• Legal Fees
  This refers to fees charged by the lender to draft up loan contract and attend settlement. The legal fee can range from $200 -$500 pending on the lender

• Lenders Mortgage Insurance
  This is a premium paid to the lender by the borrower that is borrowing more than 80% of the property purchase price. Lenders mortgage insurance can be capitalised (added on) to the loan. Some lenders may apply an exemption (condition applies) to certain professions such as doctors, lawyers, accountant etc. where borrowers can borrow up to 90% with no lenders mortgage insurance.

• Home and contents insurance
  Some lenders require the buyer to have building insurance in place prior to settlement. The building insurance is design to protect the bank in the event that the property is substantially damaged and requires a replacement.

• Solicitor & Conveyancing
  Buyers is likely to engage a solicitor or conveyancer to help with reviewing contract of sale and with the settlement process. The legal fees vary significantly ranging from $600 to $1500 plus disbursement.

• Building and Pest Inspection
  Buyers generally order a building and pest report to check on the integrity of the building structure and if it is free from damaging pests like termites. These inspections typically cost around $300-600 for both building and pest inspection.

• Moving Expenses
  These are costs you need to consider if you are moving into the property. This cost is discretionary because you can save money by doing it yourself or with the help from friends and family. If you do choose to hire removalists, the cost will vary depending on where you are moving from and to. For example, Sydney removalists charges around $90 -150 per hour and can take anywhere between 4 to 6 hours to finish. This cost is generally not applicable if you are buying an investment property.

• Utilities
  This refers to utilities such as electricity & gas. 

• Land Tax
  Government applies land tax which is paid annual by homeowners which like stamp duty, differs from state to state. It is likely you will not be able to obtain this information, so you can either leave it blank or put down your best guesstimate.

• Rates
  This refer to council rates which is paid to the local council to provide essential services. Just like land tax, it can be difficult to obtain council rate fees, so you can either leave it blank or put down your best guesstimate.

• Others
  This field is for other expenses that you may wish to consider such as buying new furniture, non-structural renovation etc. You can leave this blank if you can’t think of any other expenses.

All the above cost is in addition to the deposit you have saved up for your property purchase.

Let’s use the above example to demonstrate this.

You have saved 20% deposit ($100,000) to purchase an established investment property.

Your total cost: $21,929

Amount available for deposit: ($100,000 – $21,929): $78,071

This means you no longer have 20% deposit after accounting for the cost and you will need to borrow more to make up the difference.

In this example, you will need to increase your loan amount from $400,000 to 421,929 which is 84% of the purchase price. Please note, borrowing more than 80% of the purchase price will trigger lenders mortgage insurance which is paid by the buyer.