Buying a Home? The Costs You May Not Know About

Buying a home for the first time is an exciting process, but it is also an expensive one. While you are certainly going to expect a monthly mortgage, you may not even be aware of some of the hidden costs attached to buying a home in the United States. Here’s a look at the additional expenses you should be prepared to pay.

Mortgage Fees

Mortgage fees are spread across several issues, including your deposit, home appraisal fee, application fee, and closing fee. It is standard for home buyers to place a 5% deposit down at the time they obtain a mortgage. At this time, you will also incur a home appraisal fee of approximately $300 to $500,  application fee ranging between $300 and $500, and closing fee of as much as $7000.

Property Taxes

Property taxes are paid during the closing of a home purchase. They are also known as real estate taxes. The buyer pays a prorated amount for each type of real estate tax collected in the state where the property is located. The seller owes the tax amount accrued during his time of residence, leaving the buyer to pay the taxes accruing during the remaining months. The actual amount is determined by the tax regulations in place for the specific location of the property.

Appraisal Fees

Before your lender considers how much money you can borrow, the property undergoes a valuation or appraisal to determine its worth. This expense typically falls between $300 and $500.

Legal Fees

An attorney’s services are helpful when you buy a home, but they do not come free. The legal fees typically fall between $300 and $1,800, depending on the nature of assistance. If surveys and conveyancing are ordered by the attorney, a fee is charged. For example, a search is often undertaken to check for problems and potential changes to local codes in the near future. Conveyancing and surveying costs are well worth the expense because they help you determine whether or not the home is a good investment for you.

Electronic Transfer Fees

Electronic transfer fees involve the charges incurred when lenders transfer your mortgage money to the attorney. Typically, this fee ranges between $25 and $100.

Ongoing Costs

Your ongoing costs of home ownership are often hidden, but they include the expense of running and maintaining your home. Some of these fees, such as ground rent, residents’ parking, cable, television, and broadband fees, will remain stable, while others will vary from month to month, such as water, gas, telephone, and electricity bills, will vary. The cost of your local tax varies, depending on your location, but it typically pays for important services such as road maintenance, street lighting, and rubbish collection.

Repairs

Repairs are to be expected. If you’ve hired an attorney, you should be aware of some of these prior to buying your home. The cost varies according to the type of repair needed. Maintenance and building work often includes rewiring the building, replacing the roof, or replacing appliances, the boiler, or lighting fixtures. You can also expect to pay for furniture and trash removals as well as redecorating services and materials.

Insurance

Protecting the value of your home is critical, and buying insurance easily accomplishes this task. Not only will you need to buy home, contents, and building insurance, but you should also obtain life insurance to cover the cost of the mortgage should you die. Costs vary.

The true cost of home ownership involves lots of factors. In order to ensure you can cover these expenses, review what they are and add up how much you can expect to pay. Creating a free account can automatically determine this for you.