Editorial: Costly fees draining our savings for a home

Buying your first home in today's property market is tough.

My husband and I are still looking to buy.

So far we've found two properties we were keen on and lost out by a long way at the auctions.

At the second auction we thought we were in the right price range and had a good shot at it. We didn't even get a bid in.

It's left us more than a little disheartened.

Each time we have had to fork out $150 to $200 for our lawyer to look over the property title and contract.

I know it's an important part of the process when you are preparing to spend so much money and take on a loan for 20 years plus but it does feel a bit like money down the drain. Especially when you are saving hard to add to your deposit.

It's worse for others though.

We are lucky to have relatives who are builders who can look over the property for us to avoid having to pay for a formal building inspection.

The amount we would have to spend every time would skyrocket if we had to pay for that as well.

I do really feel for those who have to pay for the whole lot.

In today's paper Michele Hunter reports it can cost potential buyers up to $700 for a building inspection and lawyers fees.

Imagine that. If you bid on five properties it could cost you $3500. Ten properties would be $7000. If your deposit is $60,000 that's a fair whack.

In Auckland it's got to be even worse. The market is even more unpredictable there.

I have heard of young couples in Auckland forking out for all the pre-auction costs time and time again only to lose a large chunk of the money they had saved for a deposit.

That has got to be frustrating.

Our experience so far means that now, when we look through the property listings, anything that is not for auction catches our eye.

We like the idea of dealing with the vendor to get an idea of where we stand and how many others have made offers so we have more information to work out if it's worth spending money on lawyers and builders.

We're definitely willing to give it a try.

However, Harcourts managing director Simon Martin also points out that by considering only properties with an advertised price you miss out on 80 per cent of the homes for sale at the moment. He has a strong point.

We've seen that first-hand.

There's no way we can rule out auctions all together.

We're just going to have to keep searching and trying.

I can't see auctions becoming less popular any time soon.

The way the market is going you're almost crazy not to opt for an auction if you're selling. If there's a lot of interest in your house it's a sure fire way to get top dollar.

I also can't see the market changing in a hurry as prices rise and competition becomes stronger.

I guess that means we've just got to grit our teeth and keep going.

We're better off getting in now while we have two incomes and no kids than waiting in the hope that things settle.