Buying Calculator
Work out the true cost of buying: mortgage payments, stamp duty, buying and selling costs, maintenance, and what you walk away with when you sell. Use it alongside the Renting Calculator or the Rent vs Buy Calculator to compare your options.
Property price
Buying tends to be better the longer you stay because the upfront fees are spread out over many years.
What Are Your Mortgage Details?
£1,144 Per Month
£30,000
Capital & Interest Payment Breakdown
£270,000
£343,322
£73,322
Property Price Growth
Do you predict your property to increase in price after your stay?
Worth £315,303 after 5 years
Monthly investment
Will you be investing additional money after paying your mortgage every month?
Your mortgage is £1,144.
Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is a government tax paid on homes costing £250,000 or more.
First-time-buyers will pay no Stamp Duty on the for properties worth up to £425,000. You pay a different tax if your property or land is in Scotland or Wales, however this calculator does not support that option, so just select "Do not include".
£0
For more details, use our stamp duty calculator.
Buying and Selling Costs
There are a variety costs to pay when you are buying/selling your property. Costs that do not apply if you were renting e.g. surveyor’s and legal fee
£3,000
£3,153
Maintenance and Service Charge
Homeowners are responsible for all the costs of keeping the house maintained and repairs, for example replacing the boiler or getting a new fridge if it breaks. This is in addition to any renovation work like remodelling the bathroom or kitchen.
You may also have to pay service charge and ground rent if you are purchasing a leasehold property.
£3,000 spent per year
£0 spent per year
Save this calculation to return to it later, or to compare two scenarios side by side. Calculations are stored in this browser only. What does this mean?
Quick summary
# Summary
After 5 years, the net gain/loss from buying and selling a property would be -£30,734.
Explained
You bought your property for £300,000 and sold it for £315,303 after 5 years.
During that time, you paid £68,664 in mortgage payments. £24,884 was interest, and you paid off £43,781 from the £270,000 mortgage principal, meaning you still owed the bank £226,219 at the time of selling.
Therefore, from the £315,303 sale money, £226,219 goes to the bank for your mortgage.
So, you actually received £89,084 from the sale.
Now, let’s go through the expenses:
- £68,664 in mortgage payments.
- £15,000 for maintenance and repairs over 5 years.
- £6,153 in buying and selling costs.
That leaves you with -£734.
But wait, there's also the £30,000 deposit, if you take that into account too, then overall you’ve lost -£30,734.
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# Breakdown
See how the buying total was calculated.
Buying
- Deposit:
£300,000 x 10% = £30,000
Property price x Deposit (%)
- Mortgage paid:
(£1,144 x 12 = £13,733) x 5 = £68,664
5 years of mortgage payments. More details available with our mortgage calculator
- Capital from sale:
(£300,000 x 1% 5) - £226,219 = £89,084
(Property price x Growth rate % Years) - Outstanding mortgage
- Investment growth:
£0 per month with 5% growth rate after 5 years = £0
Monthly investment with X Growth rate after X Years.
More details available with our compound interest calculator
- Maintenance/repairs
£300,000 x 1% x 5 = £15,000
Property price x Maintenance (%) x Years
- Service Charge
£300,000 x 0% x 5 = £0
Property price x Service Charge (%) x Years
- Stamp duty
£0
From To Rate Cost £0 £300,000 0% £0 Calculated using our stamp duty calculator
- Buying/selling costs
(£300,000 x 1%) + (£315,303 x 1%) = £6,153
Property price x Cost of buying (%) + Sale price x Cost of selling (%)
- Net gain/loss
£89,084 - £30,000 - £68,664 - £15,000 - £0 - £0 - £6,153
= -£30,734Capital from sale - Deposit - Mortgage paid - Maintenance/repairs - Service Charge - Stamp duty - Buying/selling costs
= Net gain/loss
# Frequently Asked Questions
SmartMoneyTools.co.uk to help you make smart money decisions.
- What does the buying calculator work out?
- It gives you the full cost of buying and owning a property over your stay: mortgage payments, stamp duty, buying and selling costs, maintenance, and any service charge. It also shows what the property could be worth when you sell, so you can see what you actually pay overall, not just the monthly outgoings.
- How is this different from the rent vs buy calculator?
- The Rent vs Buy Calculator puts buying and renting side by side on the same property to show which leaves you better off. This calculator focuses purely on the buying side. Use it when you've already decided to buy and want to try different scenarios: how a higher mortgage rate affects your monthly payment, what a lower growth rate means for what you walk away with when you sell, or how stamp duty and maintenance add up over time.
- Why does my total change when I adjust the growth rate?
- When you sell, you get back what the property is worth at that point. A higher annual growth rate means a larger sale price, which reduces what you pay overall. UK house prices have grown at roughly 3–5% a year on average, though results vary a lot by region. Try 3% for a cautious view and 5% for a more optimistic one.
- What should I enter for buying and selling costs?
- Buying costs cover solicitor's fees, a survey, and any mortgage arrangement fee, typically 1–2% of the property price in total. When selling, the main cost is estate agent commission: usually 1–3% of the sale price plus VAT. Enter the selling costs as a percentage of the property price.
- Where is my saved data stored?
- Your saved calculations are stored in your browser's local storage. They stay on this device only and are not uploaded anywhere. If you clear your browser data or switch to a different device or browser, they will be gone. Use the share URL to keep a copy you can reopen later.
- Can I share or bookmark my results?
Use the share URL section to copy a link that includes all your current inputs. Anyone who opens that link will see the same inputs pre-filled. The page URL in your browser's address bar does not update automatically, so make sure to use the share link rather than copying the address bar.
The calculator's methodology may be updated over time, so results for the same inputs could change slightly in the future. See our FAQ if a saved link no longer matches what you expected.
- Does this work for renting too?
- No. For rent costs, deposit, other costs, and investment growth on your savings, use the Renting Calculator. To compare both options directly, use the Rent vs Buy Calculator.