The insurer said that new homeowners generally underestimated the costs needed to buy a property.

It found that first-time buyers needed to find £1,680 more than expected to pay for essential repairs to their home, with spending hitting £3,727 in total.

Despite these additional costs, one-in-five people said they would consider purchasing a home that needed major DIY repairs.

Stamp duty was also significantly underestimated. Buyers expected to spend £1,486 on such taxes but ended up forking out £2,389.

Three-quarters of people surveyed said they had only saved for a deposit and did not plan for any further expenditure, such as fees and repairs.

The deposit saved often was not enough, the firm added. A typical first-time buyer saved £12,143 when the amount required was £18,624.

“Scraping together the cash for the deposit alone can be a mammoth task, but that’s just the first hurdle”, said Heather Smith, marketing director at Aviva. “It’s the other essential costs such as solicitors’ fees and stamp duty which can be the sting in the tail – not forgetting any essential repairs which might be needed once the keys have been handed over.

“First-time buyers face walking into a money pit if a first dream home turns out to be a nightmare. If the cash outlay needed to buy the house isn’t expensive enough, a hefty bill for unforeseen essential repairs is the last thing needed.”