Buying a new home is expensive and is a surprise to nobody. Knowing what your expenses are will help you budget to make sure that you are able to pay the bills and save money for future when you buy the house. The problems pop up when you are faced with expenses that you hadn’t budgeted for.
There are many surprises that often occur when you buy a house but they often are not something you would have thought about beforehand. Instead of just adding a miscellaneous category to your budget and hoping it is enough, you need to have a clear idea of what you can reasonably expect to have to pay out of pocket. In this article, we will go over several of the common expenses a first-time homeowner doesn’t expect.
1. HVAC repairs
Something that happens to a lot of buyers is that they get an unexpected surprise when it comes to the heating and air conditioning. This is because most people don’t maintain their HVAC system. Then it becomes your problem when you move in.
It may be a simple fix in that you just need a technician to come by and clean the ducts and change the filters. In more serious cases, you will need to replace the entire unit. This can end up costing you thousands that you didn’t plan for.
If you do end up needing a new HVAC unit then you can at least feel good about the fact that you are getting a system that will save you money in the long run. It will be far more efficient than the current one which will save you on your energy bills. It’s also possible to save money on house calls by a technician by getting the best home appliance insurance that often covers service.
2. Short-term rentals
Very often timing and coordination don’t work in your favor. There are a lot of moving parts that have to line up perfectly when you are buying a home while also selling one. It could quickly happen that the house that you’re buying hasn’t closed by the time your current house has.
This means that you are technically homeless. When this happens you will need to rent a place until you are able to close on the new house and be able to move in.
Another scenario is that you have more renovations to do than you anticipated and can’t move in by the time you had expected to. Once again, a short-term rental will have to be paid for.
Also read: Best Comments for New House
3. Exterminator
It is very easy to miss the presence of pests during the inspection of the house. This means that you will have to pay an exterminator to come and get rid of the problem. It could be something like bed bugs that require several visits to properly exterminate. Or, your problem is mice getting in so you have to find and seal the holes in your foundation to keep them out. Either way it’s an expense you weren’t expecting.
