The Hidden Costs of Buying Your First and a New Home.

Everyone knows that buying your first home is an expensive ordeal—just the cost of a down payment alone can be significant for many buyers. But those aren’t the only costs that you have to consider prior to home shopping.

First-time buyers often don’t realize that they will need to pay for more than just the selling price that they negotiate with a seller. Things like interiors, hookup fees for utilities, and appliances are all extra expenses.

So what else do you need to budget for as a first-time buyer? Follow along as we take you through the basics.

Step One: Before You Buy

Before you start booking viewings, figuring out a budget, or even browsing through furniture stores, you need to figure out what your real costs are going to be. Your down payment is not the only upfront cost that you are going to have to pay, so you need to make sure that you hold enough back to cover all of the extras, such as:

Legal fees

Though mentioned in the cost sheet by the seller. Take care that you are in the safe side wuith the legal charges.

Agent fees

If you are buying a house using a real estate agent, make sure that you have your terms discussed in detail before proceeding further. Usually it is 1% - 2% of the property cost. 

However, the agent is paid a percentage of the sale price upon the completion of the transaction.

Inspection and appraisal

The trend now in India with the sellers is, they mention the cost for the government approval in the price sheet. So be clever and conscious when you calculate the cost of the property. Please do research on the present trend and compare in your price sheet.

Mortgage with interest

So maybe you have a general idea of what you can afford for a mortgage, but did you factor in an interest rate? Will your interest rate change based on your down payment? Will your rate fluctuate, or will it be fixed?

You will need to talk to your bank about this, to see how much you qualify for and what they can offer to you. Your monthly payments can change significantly based on your interest rate, so if you get an offer that seems high, feel free to shop around for one that better suits your bank account.

Note : Feel free to visit our website (www.loanyantra.com) for constant alerts on interest rate changes and also for zero fee balance transfer.

Step Two: After You Pick a House

Don’t put away your calculator yet!  Sure, you made your budget work for the “before” costs, but don’t forget about the “during” costs, which include:

Moving expenses

Do you have enough stuff to warrant a moving truck or movers? Is your new place far away from your current one? If you need, or want, to hire movers, you’ll need to figure out the cost. Depending on your preferences, movers can get pricey.

For example, if you just rent a moving truck or trailer, your costs will be moderately low. But if you need people to help pack your things and move your items out of one house and into another, you’re going to have to cough up some extra cash.

Home Insurance

Homes come with all kinds of monthly expenses, and insurance is one of the necessary ones. Depending on the age and condition of your home, your location, your insurance history, and so on, your insurance rates will fluctuate. They’ll also vary drastically by provider.

Be sure to shop around for the best coverage and price for your personal needs.

Interiors and Utilities

We all know that interior designing and buying utilities are going to cost money; that is inevitable. Interior designers will surely cost your pocket. So depending on your financial situation, take a call. There are plenty of options around. Probably, it is time for you now to look up for offers and sale. Now-a-days, shopping online and cash on delivery options make things easier and economical as well. So think wise before you shop either online or outdoor. The idea is to save money and time too.

Property tax

Property taxes are something that every homeowner has to pay, and they vary by location. And this is one of the taxes the government is strictly probing. So to avoid paying lump-sum, plan well in advance. 

Step Three: Once You Move

So, you figured out a budget and selected a house. Since you’ve probably put a lot of your cash into the process so far, it might be difficult for you to consider parting with any more of your money, but chances are you still need a few things to turn your new house into a home.

Take a deep breath and remember:

• There will be unexpected costs. Maybe something gets damaged in the move, or maybe you need to change the locks to your new house. Don’t beat yourself up for not thinking about every single cost involved.
• Your first grocery trip is going to be expensive. Why? Because, chances are you need to stock up on groceries, spices, canned goods, and other staples. Don’t worry, you’ll only need to do a move-in shop once. The rest of the time you’ll just buy what you need, when you need it.
• All of the money that you were saving isn’t gone. It’s finally gone towards what you were saving for in the first place.

Setting up House and Settling in

You won’t often hear that buying a house is easy, but you won’t hear too many regrets about doing it either. It’s a big purchase, and it’s bound to be a bit complicated, but don’t let that keep you from building equity and making a home of your own.

Spend wisely, save for a rainy day, and cover your most important costs before anything else and you’ll have a happy and financially healthy home to call your very own.