Little Expenses That Add Up When You Become a Homeowner

Your credit report is checked and corrected, your pre-approval is in, and you have done the math to figure out what you can really afford as far as your lifestyle is concerned; you are ready to buy a house. You’ve even factored in things such as additional utilities if you’re buying a home with more space, homeowner’s association fees and more. You are on target. You have done your job. You are, to borrow an irritatingly accurate phrase from Charlie Sheen, winning. Well, you’re half winning. We tell you all the time to remember certain things when you buy a home of your own, but we forget about a few things here and there ourselves, and we want you to be prepared for the little extras that might add up in a big way. A snagging survey will reveal a new build snagging list a new homeowner will have to keep in mind and get repaired.

Trash and Recycling

Perhaps you never paid this in the past if you had a rental or an apartment. However, now you’re going to be paying for it. While it’s not a large fee, and not even a monthly one where we live, it is one that does add up a little at a time. We pay something like $60 every other month for our trash service; just keep that in mind. That’s why hiring waste removal services hertfordshire is a wise financial decision as well. When it comes to carpets it is important to get a good carpet cleaning service.

Pest Control

If someone could just tell me where we can live where pests are not a problem, I will pack up and leave immediately. We Floridians have mosquitos, spiders, roaches, scorpions; you name it, we have it. We have spiders that are the size of your hand when it’s splayed (and let me tell you there is nothing like walking into a room and finding yourself face to face with one of those big, hairy wolf spiders). For us, it’s $50 every other month to have pest control come out – and a fee for any reliable pest control companies you simply cannot skip out on.

Lawn Care

Do you now have a lawn? You’re either going to need to pay someone to come out and mow it and care for it on your behalf (something that runs us around $250 per month) or you’re going to have to purchase a lawn mower and gardening equipment of your own – and that’s not an inexpensive purchase.

Security

My house is made up of glass and doors – and we have an oversized corner lot that people can access from several directions I cannot see from many rooms. On the first floor alone we have 9 entry and exit doors (seriously, that doesn’t even include the interior doors to bedrooms and closets and the likes) and massive windows everywhere. We had to purchase a home security system, and we now pay over $150 per month for several home security cameras, motion-sensing alarms for when we are away and alarms inside and outside our home for when we are home – even one at the end of our drive that alerts us anytime someone passes the gate.

Water

One thing that surprised me when we bought this house is the water bill. We didn’t have one before when we had a well. Now we pay around $20 per month for water. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things, but it is an expense that does add up.

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