When deciding on having a house of your own, do not think that the spending will be limited to the acquisition of the property itself. Even if you have moved into it, there are costs that you will shoulder, and some are even quite unexpected. Here are some of the substantial hidden costs that Cindy Perman described in her article in CNBC.
1. Your Heart
Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling advises, "Oftentimes, homeowners make the largest financial decision of their lives -- buying a home -- with their heart, not their head. They get emotionally involved with the property. That can put them on a very slippery slope. I suggest people make all financial decisions with their head -- and leave their heart out of it!"
2. Property Taxes
The taxes will keep on going up. You could even get a tax increase in the first year you own your home so you need to save a large amount in your budget to pay even more taxes.
3. Insurance
There are a lot of factors to consider when it comes to insurance--electrical, heating and plumbing, as well as proneness to disasters such as earthquakes, floods, volcano eruptions, and tsunamis, in determining your rate. The higher the risk level of your home, the higher you will pay.
4. Appearance
You add a paved walkway, decks, flower boxes, patios, sheds, shutters, additional rooms, and landscaping to improve the appearance of your home.
5. Maintenance
There are a million of these maintenance costs both inside and outside the house.
6. Cleaning
Aside from shouldering the cost of purchasing multiple sets of supplies for the different floors and areas in your home, cleaning takes time and energy. And if you choose to hire a cleaning person, that means additional cost on your part, too.
7. Wiring
This includes the cable, internet and phone, plus an electrician who will be needed to rewire the home.
8. Safety
Safety measures such as lighting a footpath, adding motion-detector lights, installing an alarm system, will entail costs on your part.
9. Pest Control
Having to deal with rats, cockroaches, mice, termites, or the latest pest craze, bed bugs, costs a lot of money.
10. Emergency
Preparation for unexpected situations like power outages, breakdown of appliances, and damages to some portions of the house, will compel you to spend a lot of money to be comfortable.
