How interest-only mortgage payments are worked out
The formula, monthly payments for common loan sizes, the comparison with repayment, and the savings needed to clear the loan.
The price of the home is only the start. Stamp duty, solicitors, a survey, the mortgage fee, removals and, if you are selling, the estate agent all come on top. For a typical move they add up to thousands of pounds, and most of it has to be paid in cash.
Buying a £300,000 home and selling your old one, at the average costs below, comes to about £14,700, or 4.9% of the price. A first-time buyer at the same price would pay about £3,700, mainly because there is no stamp duty and nothing to sell.
Stamp duty
Stamp Duty Land Tax applies in England and Northern Ireland. For a main home it is charged in slices: nothing up to £125,000, 2% on the next £125,000, then 5% up to £925,000. First-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% from £300,000 to £500,000, but lose the relief entirely on homes over £500,000.
| Price | Moving home | First-time buyer |
|---|---|---|
| £200,000 | £1,500 | £0 |
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £0 |
| £300,000 | £5,000 | £0 |
| £400,000 | £10,000 | £5,000 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 |
| £600,000 | £20,000 | £20,000 |
Buying an additional property, such as a second home or buy to let, costs more. Scotland and Wales have their own taxes instead. The stamp duty calculator covers the different buyer types.
The other costs of buying and selling
| Cost | First-time buyer | Home mover |
|---|---|---|
| Conveyancing | £1,445 | £2,241 |
| Survey | £474 | £510 |
| Estate agent (selling) | none | £4,473 |
| Energy Performance Certificate (selling) | none | £65 |
These are averages reported by Which? in October 2026. The mover's conveyancing covers buying and selling. Your own quotes will differ with the price, the area and the firm.
Removals depend on how much you have and how far it goes. Which? found quotes of about £779 for a two-bedroom home and £1,409 for a three-bedroom home, without packing, for a short move in London. For the mortgage arrangement fee we have used £999 as an example. Some deals charge more and some have no fee at all.
Adding it up
| £300,000 home | First-time buyer | Moving and selling |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty | £0 | £5,000 |
| Conveyancing | £1,445 | £2,241 |
| Survey | £474 | £510 |
| Mortgage fee | £999 | £999 |
| Removals | £779 | £1,409 |
| Estate agent and EPC | none | £4,538 |
| Total | £3,697 | £14,697 |
On top of this, budget for the small things that are easy to forget: post redirection, cleaning, time off work, and anything the new home needs on day one.
Work out your own move
The moving cost calculator works out stamp duty for your price and buyer type and adds your own quotes for everything else. If you are still deciding what you can afford, see how much mortgage you can get for your monthly budget.
Sources: HM Treasury, Budget 2026 Annex A for stamp duty; Which?, How much does it cost to move home in 2026? and How to choose the best removals company. Checked 1 November 2026.
This is general information, not financial or tax advice.
It explains published rules and figures. Your own position depends on your full circumstances,
so speak to a qualified adviser before acting on it.