With a big rise in rates, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to the cost of living and how to make the right choices when it comes to your home and future.
Before (COVID, Brexit, Ukraine War, Mini Budget…take your pick), we cared about bedroom sizes, off street parking and the potential to grow veggies in our garden. Now, whilst that still matters, so does the impact to our monthly budget.
So, what does it look like to run a home? And is it as bad as you might think? Let’s look at a few examples based on UK averages and our Postland Property prices:
3 Bed Detached House: (The Ashton)
Price: £275,000
EPC Rating: C
Council Tax Banding: C
Stamp duty (if first time buyer): £0
Average monthly council tax: £142
Estimated yearly energy bill: £504
Average monthly water: £34.92
2 Bed Semi-Detached Bungalow: (The Fulton)
Price: £240,000
EPC Rating: C
Council Tax Banding: A
Stamp duty (if first time buyer): £0
Average monthly council tax: £106
Estimated yearly energy bill: £433
Average monthly water: £31.72
*Please note:
All the figures above are estimates taken from current national averages; your actual costs will vary depending on where you live, your suppliers, how you use your supply, interest rates, deposits, whether you use a water meter or have a fixed rate etc. The information supplied is an example guide only.
What help is available:
Energy:
The Energy Price Guarantee:
The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will see the government top up your energy payments to account for the enormous rises in wholesale energy prices. It will be in place from 1 October 2022 for six months.
No matter what type of tariff you are on, you do not need to do anything to receive this support – your energy company will apply it automatically to your account. You should receive information from them before 1 October about what your new unit rates will be.
The Energy Bill Support Scheme:
As well as the EPG, the Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) announced earlier this year will continue to roll out this winter as planned.
This will give all households with an electricity tariff a £400 discount on their bills this winter. This will be paid as a credit onto your electricity bill in instalments from October 2022 to March 2023, and it won’t need to be paid back.
Stamp Duty Land Tax Relief
You get a relief from SDLT if you (and the person you are buying with if you are buying with someone else) are first-time buyers purchasing a residential property of up to £425,000 (provided the property you’re buying costs £625,000 or less).
Mortgage Guarantee Scheme:
For households looking to buy with a 5% deposit on properties costing a maximum of £600,000, you can apply for a 95% loan to value (LTV) mortgage with participating lenders offering a government backed mortgage guarantee scheme until 31 December 2022.
