Each Saturday I usually post a little more personal of a post, along with a few articles I recommend for “weekend reading.” On Saturday I missed this post because I was busy moving into our new house. After making multiple Home Depot runs and thinking more about the various expenses we will face as homeowners I thought it would be beneficial to write a post about ten expenses that future homeowners should consider before making the leap to home ownership.
Of course, some of these are unlikely expenses that most homeowners will never face, but they are expenses to consider and to be mindful of. No more calling your landlord or maintenance to fix that messed up shower!
1) Furnace
Replacing a furnace can run you at least a few grand, and can break unexpectedly. If you are a first-time home buyer, some of the houses that are in your search criteria likely will be older and could very well have an older furnace. If you decide to put an offer on a house with an older furnace consider the fact that it will need to be replaced sooner rather than later.
2) Roof
Similar to a furnace, having a roof done will run you at least a few grand, if not more. There are various reasons a roof will need to be done. The house we bought had messed up shingles in the back and the seller was forced to replace it because a loan could not be made on a roof that needed immediate replacement. So even if you think you will be selling the house before the roof needs replacement, there is always the chance that an inspector will find an issue that forces you to take the hit.
3) Siding
Siding needs replacement from time-to-time, and as you might have already guessed: this will also run you at least a few grand. If you are lucky there may be a big storm that rolls through and the hail forces the insurance company to replace it all…but I wouldn’t count on it. As with everything else, consider the age of the siding when looking at houses. Old siding may not last too much longer before your bank account needs to take the hit.
4) Water Heater
One of the houses that we looked at was pretty much fully updated…except the water heater. It was going to need replacement within a year or two. Be sure to check the age of the water heater when looking at homes.
5) Plumbing
This can be tricky, since there can always be potential issues that an inspector will miss. Older plumbing may eventually need to be upgraded, or even fixed if something breaks. Of course plumbing expenses aren’t reserved just for older plumbing – new plumbing can break and require a plumber to fix.
6) Electrical
When things are wrong with a house’s electrical work, the numbers can keep adding up. I watched an episode of Holme’s on Homes where the couple did not get an inspector, and the entire electrical had to be redone. This would have cost thousands and thousands of dollars to do. Consider the possibility that a major electrical issue – or even a minor one – will come up.
7) Trees
If there are large trees on your property, there are maintenance costs involved. Tree removal can get into the thousands, as can having a professional come out and do necessary upkeep. Also remember to factor in the costs associated with raking up all those leaves. This may just be lost time for you, but it’s important to decide if it’s worth it (we decided it was – gotta love the Fall colors and shade they provide in the Summer).
8) Windows
Upgrading windows is another one of those expenses that could run you thousands of dollars. The nice thing is that once you upgrade, they last for decades. It can definitely be tempting to splurge on new windows, but remember to have some money for all the unexpected expenses listed above before going out and getting those custom Anderson windows!
9) Fences
Personally I love privacy fences. I can’t wait to get one in our backyard. Unfortunately they are also expensive so I likely won’t get one for a few years. Even chain-link fences can be expensive to have installed, or time-consuming (and still relatively expensive) if you do-it-yourself (DIY). Count yourself lucky if you want a dog and your neighbors already have put up fences – you can delay putting in a full fence until years into the future.
10) Minor Costs that Add Up
When I say minor costs, I’m talking things similar to: primer, paint, tools, cleaning supplies, furnace vent covers, outlet covers, etc. The little costs can seem never-ending and definitely add up over time.
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There are many other expenses to consider when buying a home, but I think the ten above cover quite a few of them. A list like this can really bring up the renting vs. buying debate that will rage on forever, but despite the expenses owning a home can be rewarding in many ways, and perhaps even profitable.
Homeowners and potential homeowners – what expenses would you recommend buyers consider when looking at purchasing a home? In particular, are there any expenses that most people would not think of until they are hit with the bill?
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Good points. Like you say, there could be many others. Two I would add would be if there is any painting needed to be done in the house and carpeting. We had to have both done and prices can vary widely between quality and whether or not you do it yourself. We went the DIY for the internal painting and had someone install the carpet. I had never really painted before…but anyone can paint. It would have taken me entirely too long to carpet our upstairs and probably would’ve looked terrible as well.
@FrugalRules Yep we are painting the entire house. The house we bought was NOT staged whatsoever. I’m talking yellow blinds, dusty drapes, etc.
The carpet here needed some hardcore cleaning, and will continue to need some deep cleaning. We would like to put in hardwood floors but that could be a few years off. I would not install carpet myself either!
I know this one is a little obscure but I have heard of peoples houses sinking or leaning to one side. It can actually cost huge amounts of money to get it rectified and it’s something that most people only discover once they have moved in.
@MonsterPiggyBank I have definitely heard of that. Houses with foundation issues are money pits, or so I heard.
Great list! We have a lot of things at our house which will need to be replaced soon (water heater and a couple of others) but luckily we have family who can do these cheap and just for some beer :)
@SenseofCents Nice if you can save on labor that’s always a big win!
These are the expenses that we always look at when thinking about buying a home – the few times we’ve looked and considered it. Roofing is probably the most expensive thing on here. I’d also add windows – older houses sometimes still have single paned windows which can be very expensive when heating a house
@addvodka We have some older windows on our house that will need to be replaced, but there is a give and take I feel. The water heater, ac, furnace, roof, and siding are all less than 2 years old. Dealing with things like old windows and a driveway that needs paving sounds like fair tradeoffs. If everything is done the price of the home can shoot up quick.
Two other ones to consider are sump pumps depending on the grade of your property and driveways. Our driveway was a royal mess when we bough the house to paid to have it re-paved. We re-did the siding and windows when we moved in, having energy efficient windows is a huge winter help. We paid almost 7k to replace every window in the house but so worth it, both for our benefit and resale. Our roof didn’t need replacing but I have since found out that it;s not as expensive as I thought, around here you can have a roof re-done in 30 yr shingles for under 4k (1 peak roof).
@PlungedinDebt We will eventually replace all the windows, so I appreciate your quote on the prices. I think paying more for quality windows is worth it in the end. We will also have to get the driveway paved but I am delaying it until after winter.
I totally agree with all of these!!! People focus too much on things like paint colors…..when they should really be looking out for all of the above!!!
@Holly at ClubThrifty I get so annoyed when people on House Hunters focus on the paint or wallpaper in a house! EASY FIXES! It’s “the bones” that are important.
I’ll bet you had a great weekend! It seems like whenever I move, the people at Home Depot and I are on a first name basis because I’m back there every half hour.
I don’t have any for this list, but I do know that people always seem to underestimate some of the expenses right after moving. Most of my clients who moved seemed to overspend on furniture and landscaping especially.
@AverageJoeMoney I definitely had a good weekend, despite it being completely exhausting.
In Minnesota you can put off most landscaping if you buy a house in the Fall, which is exactly what I plan on doing ;)
Are you guys all moved in? I hope it went smoothly! In a house insulation can be costly too, but can end up saving you money on the heating bill. And a very humid house can produce mold and other unpleasant surprises that will ruin your walls and your clothes. I have had to buy something to dehumidify my flat, to prevent any of that.
@RFIndependence Yep we are all moved in, tho we do have some finishing up to do at the apartment. We need to be out of the apartment by October 31st at the latest, so pretty soon we will kiss that place goodbye!
Little things certainly do add up like rugs, curtains, and shelf liners. In our house that we built, we had to add a lightening rod after one of the neighbors got hit and lost all appliances, electronics, and fried his electrical. I thought being on higher ground was a good thing!
@Eyesonthedollar Wow! That sounds like terrible luck!
When we bought our house we immediately had to deal with 1, 7, 8 and 10. Did 2 last year and still paying it off. Many first time home buyers don’t realize the costs associated with maintaining a house.
I also remember those weekly, sometimes daily, trips to Home Depot. I do not miss those one bit.
@JustinatTheFrugalPath Oh man, that’s a lot at once. Did you know it all going into it? We bought a house that needs a lot of cosmetic upgrades (“wants” imo) that are less expensive and not absolutely necessary, and we did that to avoid having to deal with major expenses I listed. But they can come at any time, of course.
I am enjoying the daily trips to Home Depot, but I also haven’t checked my credit card balance in the past couple weeks so maybe I will start enjoying them less VERY soon ;)
@DC @ Young Adult Money @JustinatTheFrugalPath We knew about it at the inspection. And got a bad feeling. Real estate agent talked us out of leaving…. I’m going to post about that chapter in a few weeks.
Luckily my in-laws bought our HVaC system as a moving in gift so we didn’t have to foot the entire bill.
David, make it into a downloadable checklist and offer it as a resource. I’d use it in the future :)
@Veronica @ Pelican on Money That’s a great idea! I have a list of spreadsheets/downloads I want to create and put on the site. I will definitely add this to the list.
Home ownership is expensive. It doesn’t matter if you buy a brand new house and need to do all of the landscaping and build a fence, or if you buy an older home that will soon need some of the stuff you mentioned above.
I loved all of the homes I owned. Each one was brand new and many of the minor things were covered by the warranty. As time went on I would say that the townhouse I owned probably cost me the least amount of money in terms of maintenance.
We’ve been renting now for 3 years and I know it has stopped has from spending a bundle of money. The house is 15 years old and will probably need a new roof soon. Thankfully we won’t be paying the 10K to get it done.
@TacklingOurDebt Sounds like you would have some great insight into the owning vs. renting debate!
I did a post about it back in February when my blog was brand new. Having done both, I do prefer renting at this point in my life.
If you are a first time home buyer cash may be very tight.
You mentioned the furnace and water heater but not the air conditioning (must not be a priority for Minnesota). If an older air conditioning unit needs to be replace, you may hear that replacing the furnace is also recommended . The two combined begin at a $10K investment.
Our local utility provides worry free contracts for each unit. You pay a monthly fee, but if the heat stops working in the middle of February, you don’t have a surprise bill. Keeping your expenses predictable is important when you are stretching to get into your dream house.
@Kevin @ Ask for Benefits I actually did think of an air conditioner, just ran out of numbers ;) It is a big deal in the summer, just not quite as important as a furnace. You could live without one here.
When we bought our home we put a new roof on 2 months later and yes all those little costs add up and can be very scary come the end of the month when you review your budget. Home ownership is great but many fail to look at the cost of home maintenance. Why make one of the biggest investments of one’s life and let it rot to the ground because you don’t have any money to maintain it. Emergency Savings and Home Maintenance (HM) are categories in our budget and we save around 5k for HM a year so we can keep the house up. Great post and congrats on your house… have fun mate. Mr.CBB
@CanadianBudgetB Thanks! The seller actually had to put on a new roof before our loan could be approved, because it needed one immediately
My parents just had to replace their water heater this summer and it was not cheap! Great list
@momoneymohouses Old water heaters scare the crap out of me! Definitely trying to avoid paying for a new one!
@DC @ Young Adult Money @momoneymohouses
I got lucky when I had to replace mine this summer and everything ended up fitting perfectly. Took the old one out and threw the new one in only a few hours. I agree though, it definitely isn’t cheap.
Where did you find that picture of me looking confused by the wiring? :)
These are all really important. I actually bypassed all of these by having our house built.
This is no surprise for me and I think this should come’s first when getting in a house in the first place. These are useful facts about the expenses and I’ll surely take note on this… Thanks for sharing!
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This is no surprise for me and I think this should come’s first when getting in a house in the first place. These are useful facts about the expenses and I’ll surely take note on this… Thanks for sharing!
http://www.searchjeffco.com/
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