A little bit of history first.
I've been renting for all my adult life.
Between apartments.. renting a room in a house....
Most currently, renting a whole house.
So this'll be my first time OWNING a house.

I'm trying to come up with a list of possible expenses that might pop up during this whole process (and after the process for normal upkeep)
I've already paid for (or have allotted funds for):

Home inspection (I understand there could be off-shoot inspections from this - such as roof or mold)
Well inspection
Radon inspection
Termite inspection
Septic inspection
Appraisal

Obviously there will be a chunk of cash for closing costs.

So I've made a list of other possible "surprise" costs that may still come up:

Fees for changing over services (internet, power, trash)
Movers (safes are heavy! I don't wanna move them myself!)
Purchase of washer/dryer
A survey
Lawn maintenance (this is more long term - the grass won't suddenly grow like crazy once I buy the place)
Propane tank (don't yet know if it's leased or owned - also don't know how full it is)


So the ask here..
What have I missed?
I imagine that there's a very large number of you that have gone down this road before me.
What has surprised you?

Congratulations! Home ownership is great, but does come with some hassles and headaches.

Off the top of my head, besides what you've mentioned, other stuff that may require money early on include...

-Fridge. Unless you've included that in your offer, or already own a fridge that you'll move from your rental, you'll need to buy a fridge. The built-in appliances like oven and dishwasher generally come with the house, but usually not a fridge.

-Furniture/decorative items, especially if the new house is noticeably larger than your current one, or the rooms are laid out significantly different.

-Is the interior of the new house in need of repainting? That's easier to do on the front end, before you get all unpacked and settled in.

-How's the flooring? Like painting, replacing carpet or other flooring is easier to do before you get fully moved in.

-Does the house come with window dressings (blinds/curtains/etc.), or are you going to have to supply those?

-Does it have a fence? How's its condition? Some home inspections don't cover the fencing.

-Storage. You may discover, for example, that your new kitchen has fewer cabinets than your old one, and you've run out of places to put all your kitchen stuff, so need to invest in some freestanding storage options. Same for the garage.

-Basic tools. As a homeowner, you won't be able to pick up the phone and call the landlord if something breaks or needs maintaining. You're now the landlord. And you don't want to be paying a handyman every time a hinge needs tightened, or a window needs recaulked, or a faucet needs a new cylinder. So if you don't already have them, you'll need a set of decent tools. Nothing fancy or too elaborate, but you'll want a solid basic set consisting of things like screwdrivers, socket wrenches, pliers, vice grips, hammer, etc., as well as some power tools like an electric drill and impact driver, and a good caulk gun. You can then add on as needed, as new project come up.

-Basic household replacement items. You're now responsible for all the things that need to be replaced on a regular basis, including stuff like HVAC air filters, light bulbs, water filters, etc.

-Additional insurance. Check your new homeowner's insurance policy, to see if you need to bump up any of the personal property coverage. For example, most basic policies only cover a very small amount in certain categories, like jewelry, or guns. Often just a few hundred bucks of coverage to start. You may need to add additional coverage, which will cost more.

-Savings for repairs/replacements. Owning a house is a battle against entropy. Your house is constantly doing its best to fall apart around you. (Kidding, but only just...) Make sure you have a chunk of money set aside for home repair expenses, and that you're always adding to it steadily. This will allow you to handle stuff like the water heater failing, or the roof developing a leak, without being crushed financially. Those kind of unexpected things will come up at some point, and most of the time it's not the kind of thing you can (or want to) file with insurance. So plan for it, and save for it. Even more importantly, in addition to smaller unexpected breakages, the big subsystems of your house (roof, HVAC, water heater, kitchen appliances, exterior paint, septic, etc.) all have lifecycles. They tend to run in 10-15 year intervals. Every 10-15 years, you'll need to be dropping a decent amount of money to replace or redo one or more of these. And depending on how old your new house is, you may be buying it at a point that's 14 years into some of the systems' 15 year lifecycles, for example. So they may need replacement sooner rather than later.

Your list looks pretty comprehensive. Keep in mind that the sellers should be asked (or required) to fix things revealed by the requisite inspections. Sometimes these things are negotiable, and your Realtor can provide some guidance here. You may want to pick and choose what you ask of the sellers depending on the situation.

Good luck — homeownership is great, but not without some measure of difficulty. Not unlike most things in life that are truly worthwhile.

Depending on the age of the house, things like lead paint, asbestos, aluminum wiring, etc.

Things like hazard insurance, flood insurance, title insurance (paid by seller usually), property tax costs. Are there property tax homestead exemptions or ag use exemptions for the land?

It sounds like a rural area to me so I'd check surveying, neighbors, easements, property lines, water rights, mineral rights, etc.

I think you have a pretty good what if but don’t forget about yearly Property taxes.

Property taxes, insurance, title fees, etc. should all be paid/prepaid at closing. So after closing, he won't have to worry about taxes and insurance for a little while. And those are generally rolled into your monthly house payment anyway, after the prepaids at closing.

i would like to wish you well on the possible purchase.

A full survey or the corners marked by a surveyor at a minimum. Seller should provide.

Easements should show up on a prelim title report.

I hope you have a good realtor. They are rare, but a good one can make a world of difference.

Paint. Unless the interior is the color, or colors, you want, paint it before moving in.

Heat and cooling ducts. Get them cleaned out.

Fireplace (if applicable). Have it inspected before finalizing the deal.

REPAIRS that the home inspection finds. If you want to change flooring, now is the time before the house is full of furniture.

Minor expense, BUT, all new smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. This is my firm rule #1. Buy the best, they're still a minimal cost.

I'd have all the locks rekeyed, or locks upgraded. No telling who may still keys to your new home.

You may want to have an alarm system and possibly a security camera system installed.

Best wishes to you, may you enjoy your new home.
.

I forgot this — the seller should purchase a home warranty for you. We’ve been happy with 2-10 through the years; have gotten them in three home purchases and had to use them in two different homes and have renewed them in both homes.

There are a few companies from which to choose; often it’s just whatever one your Realtor prefers and suggests.

Which appliances convey withe sale is usually according to local custom. I learned the very hard way not to trust a home inspector referred by the realtor. He totally failed to disclose the time-bomb polybutalene pipes, which I should have known were a common problem in the houses of that area and age. I don't know what the market is like in your area now, but push for seller concessions as hard as you can.

You should get a good pest control guy.

windows and main water lines have long but limited lives and are costly to replace

Thanks all for the input.

I hadn't stated it, but we're already planning to paint a number of rooms before we move in.
With regards to space - the new place is literally about double the size of our current rental.
We're going from 1700sqft to 3600sqft.
It's gonna be great to be able to spread out finally :P
I say that now - until I get the heating and cooling bills lol....
Furnishing the place will be an adventure taking several months as the bulk of our current stuff is... not great.
A lot of our current furniture was bought with the knowledge that our living condition was temporary.
So as a result... we'll be starting almost from scratch with buying actual "good" furniture.

The place we're buying was built in 2016 - so most everything is still in very good shape. (or at least appears that way)
The idea about rekeying the locks occurred to me - but I neglected to add that to my list - so very much thanks for the reminder.
Hadn't thought about fire/smoke/CO detectors - not a bad idea at all.
Pest control - also good idea that I had not considered

With regards to appliances - they're keeping the fridge (shame - it was a nice fridge lol) and the washer/dryer.
Happily we already have our own fridge that we'll be bringing with us.

quote:

-Savings for repairs/replacements.

When you rented, if a faucet dripped, the A/C quit, etc., you called the landlord and he or she got that fixed. When you own, you have to pay for that stuff yourself. Typically, water/sewer and trash pickup is paid (rolled into the rent) when you rented. When you own, you have to pay that yourself. When you rented, since somebody else owned the dwelling, they paid the property taxes (also rolled into the rent). When you own, you pay them yourself. Be sure you're accounting for all that and more, not just that you can afford the mortgage payment.

In the current rental home I pay for:

Electric
Water
Sewage
Gas
Trash
Internet

So owning a home won't be too different in that regard
The only thing really new will be the property tax.

With regards to "you call the landlord when anything breaks"...
Not so much.
We're not supposed to have pets.. but we have a couple cats.
The last thing we want is to have the landlord show up to fix something and "WTF IS THIS CAT DOING IN HERE?!"
So as a result.. we've been doing a lot of the basic repairs.

My last house had one HVAC filter, easy, and affordable. My current house is newer and has about 8 HVAC filters, some in odd sizes. It cost a small fortune to order them all and change them on a regular schedule . So annoying ...

quote:

Originally posted by creslin:
Thanks all for the input.

The idea about rekeying the locks occurred to me - but I neglected to add that to my list - so very much thanks for the reminder.

Look at having all the doors on one key.

For example, my front security door and main front door are the same key. Very convenient.

Insurance, property taxes, and possibly HOA assessments

Check the age of the HVAC system and water heater. 20 years and you are on borrowed time.

Basement? Ask about flood history and check for sump pumps.

When you make an offer, consider requesting the seller pay closing costs. Negotiate toward half if you have too.

If you are eligible for a USDA Rural Development loan it can be a better option than FHA.

Make offers contingent of an acceptable home inspection and financing.