The True Cost of Buying a House: Every Fee Explained

You found the house. You saved the down payment. You got pre-approved. You're ready to sign.

Then the closing statement shows up, and the real number is eight to fifteen percent higher than you planned for. Notary. Transfer tax. Title insurance. Loan origination. A survey you didn't know you needed. Movers. An unexpected boiler replacement the inspector flagged in week two.

Every first-time buyer goes through some version of this. The good news: none of these costs are secret. They just never live in one place, so people discover them one expensive surprise at a time. Here's every category you should budget for before you sign.

The down payment

The obvious one. In most markets it's 10–20% of the purchase price, occasionally as low as 3.5% (US FHA) or as high as 30% (second homes, investment properties, some European banks). A few things first-time buyers miss:

Earnest money / deposit is usually paid at offer acceptance and counts toward the down payment — but if you back out without a contract contingency, you may lose it.

Down payment gifts from family often need a paper trail (a "gift letter") so the bank doesn't flag the deposit as an undisclosed loan.

The down payment you "need" and the down payment that avoids private mortgage insurance (PMI in the US, CMHC in Canada, LMI in Australia) are usually different numbers. Paying 20% instead of 10% can save you thousands per year in insurance premiums.

Notary, legal, and conveyancing fees

Whoever does the legal paperwork — a notary in continental Europe, a solicitor in the UK and Ireland, a real estate attorney or escrow agent in the US — gets paid a percentage or a flat fee. Expect 0.5–2% of the purchase price.

In most countries this is unavoidable: the notary or solicitor is the one who actually transfers legal ownership, registers the deed, and handles the money. Shopping around helps — fees vary more than people think — but you cannot skip this step.

Transfer tax and stamp duty

This is the line item that surprises people the most. Depending on country and region, the government takes between 1% and 13% of the purchase price as a tax on the transaction itself:

Spain: 6–10% ITP (transfer tax) on second-hand homes, or 10% VAT + 1–1.5% stamp duty on new builds

France: ~7–8% "frais de notaire" (which includes transfer tax, not just the notary)

Germany: 3.5–6.5% Grunderwerbsteuer

Netherlands: 2% for buyers under 35 buying a primary residence, 10.4% otherwise

Portugal: IMT, a progressive 1–8%

UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax, 0–12% banded

US: varies wildly; most states have a "transfer tax" or "recording fee" of 0.1–2%

Look up your exact rate before you make an offer. On a €300,000 house in Spain, the transfer tax alone is €18,000–€30,000 — enough to change whether you can afford the deal.

Mortgage-related fees

The loan itself has costs beyond the interest rate:

Arrangement / origination fee — typically 0.5–2% of the loan amount

Valuation fee — the bank's own appraisal of the property, €200–€600 / $300–$700

Mortgage deed registration — the government fee to register the mortgage against the property

Broker fee if you used a mortgage broker — sometimes paid by the lender, sometimes by you

Mortgage protection insurance — required by many European banks, optional in most US states

If you're comparing mortgage offers, look at the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) rather than the headline interest rate — the APR rolls these fees into a single number so you can compare apples to apples.

Valuation, inspection, and survey

The bank pays for a valuation to protect its interest. You need a home inspection to protect yours. They are not the same thing.

A valuation confirms the house is worth what the bank is lending. A home inspection tells you the roof has three years left, the electrical panel is from 1978, and there's moisture behind the tiles in the bathroom.

Inspection costs €300–€800 / $400–$900 depending on the property size. It is the single best money you will spend in the entire process — a good inspector either saves you from a house you shouldn't buy, or gives you leverage to renegotiate the price.

Insurance

You will need home insurance before closing — lenders require it. Budget €200–€800 per year depending on property and region.

If you have a mortgage, some countries also require mortgage life insurance (Portugal, Spain) or title insurance (US, Canada). Title insurance in the US typically runs 0.5–1% of the purchase price, paid once at closing.

Moving, furniture, and the first six months

Once you have the keys, you're still spending money:

Moving company: €500–€3,000 depending on distance and volume

Utility setup fees: electricity, gas, water, internet — often €100–€300 combined

Basic furniture and appliances for an empty home: plan for €5,000–€15,000 even when buying carefully

Immediate repairs the inspector flagged: set aside 1% of the purchase price as a "first six months" fund

A realistic worked example

You're buying a €300,000 home in a typical European market with a 20% down payment.

Item | Amount
Down payment (20%) | €60,000
Transfer tax (~8%) | €24,000
Notary & registry fees (~1.5%) | €4,500
Mortgage arrangement fee (1%) | €2,400
Valuation | €400
Home inspection | €500
Home insurance (year 1) | €400
Moving + utility setup | €1,500
Furniture & immediate needs | €8,000
Total cash needed | ~€101,700

The house costs €300,000. You need €102,000 in cash to close the deal and sleep in the bedroom. That's a third more than the down payment alone, and this is a conservative example — in France or the Netherlands the tax alone adds another €10,000–€20,000.

The takeaway

None of these costs are surprising to your notary, your mortgage broker, or the friend who bought last year. They only feel like surprises because nobody ever writes them in one place at the beginning.

Write them down. Track every single one as you go. You'll negotiate harder, you'll sleep better, and when someone asks "how much did your house actually cost?" you'll have a real answer — not a guess.

CasaTab was built to make this easy. One place for every cost, from the first deposit to the last light fixture, in every category that matters, with receipts attached and shared with your partner. Start a free house and log your first expense in under a minute.