12 Hidden Costs of Homeownership

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Buyers underestimate these costs all the time. Add in property taxes, insurance, and on and on and you are underwater before you know it if yu are not careful and plan ahead.
Dave Ramsey has a good guideline. Do not buy a house until after you have :
1. saved up at least 6 months of expenses in an 'emergency account'; and
2. can put at least 20% down toward the purchase price.

Joe of NM 9:56AM April 26, 2012

I'M REFINANCING A HOME LOAN WHICH WAS REFINANCED IN 2007. I WAS NIAVIE AND BELIEVED THAT MY CREDIT UNION WAS ON MY SIDE. BY THE TIME THEY WERE FINISHED WITH ALL THEIR HIDDEN COST, I FELT LIKE A PUPPY DOG GETTING SCREWED!
I INTENED TO REFINANCE IN NOVEMBER 2011, (FIVE YEARS AFTER THE 2007 REFINANCE)SOON WITH A DIFFERENT CREDIT UNION WHICH VERBABLY PROMISED ME POSSIABLY NO CLOSING COSTS.
I MUST ADMIT, I DON'T WANT TO GET SCREWED AGAIN. I FOUND THIS ARTICLE VERY VERY HELPFUL! ALL POTENTIAL BUYERS SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO IT.

GEORGE BISHOP of CA 6:11AM November 22, 2011

Among the most hidden aspects of home ownership is not the mortgages but the combination of potential estate taxes in conjunction with the years of credit costs, property taxes, and maintenance costs that currently afflict the American Dream asset industry.
For young people of today, even quick and dirty computational analysis is likely to yield more disadvantages than advantages that were not factored into the tradition of home ownership as being a secure investment.
When the American Dream investment industry began, homes were affordably and fairly priced so that it was possible to grow equity more quickly than the potential exit-expense. That is no longer true in America after sucessive Congresses have eroded homeownership and other private property rights with respect to local government and commercial credit practices.
Flipping the American Dream has become so much more than selling appreciated real estate for profit as it now encompasses the entire fundamentals of what is meant by private property, its uses, and its advanatages.
If there is potential salvage in the industry, it may be by loosening of the criteria of use by renters so that owners may continue to consider ownership an advantage to supplement income with investment income from renting to those disillusioned would be buyers who now cannot afford to buy, or choose not to buy because they don't want the risk or burden of buying. The next debate should be over rights and privileges of use in the purchased produce of a home by rental, and what "private property rights" can be dictated to those purchasing that right.
Home markets have changed.....and how!

Pat of MA 10:26AM August 26, 2010

You dealt with several bad real estate people. Brokers can not withhold offers nor refuse to write offers without written, lawful specific instructions from the seller. I would suggest you contact the department of regulation and licensing in your state if you feel you have been treated unfairly. First discuss any situations with the broker of the company , however and do not jump to any conclusions.

Arnie of WI 5:47AM April 27, 2010

I bought a home 5months ago . The home is only 7 years old , we have now found structural problems to our home it truely is scarie as we are on fixed incomes . I'am hoping the company that built the home has to fix these major problems. The roof was never nailed to the rafters the doors were not hung right , the widows are now flush with the house'. The electic box has been wet by water and is rusty it is just one nitemare after another. I pray now sice this is the builders fault I have some legal recourse here .

Debbie of ME 8:34AM April 26, 2010

My wife and I, after 3 years of continous research and development...FOUND OURS....14 offers that fell apart, 22 real estate agents, all wanting us to be theirs, no thank you, they all wanted to put us where we did not want to be... Bankers that would not take a mortage application, until we had an offer, and Realtors who would not take our offer until we were pre approved from a bank. What a dilema, we even went back to the old fashion style, and made offers to buy if the sellers would hold a 5 year land contract, one realtor never heard of such a deal as that. We had 3 offers that were held back by realtors, until they could buy them themselves, and then tell us, I am sorry that home sold yesterday. Two of the three sold for less money than we had offered. They had the keys, and they would not return our calls, later on they just would tell us, oh that home has many offers already. Later checking on court records and what homes had sold for, we were able to find out these things....Best of luck to all you other home hunters...P.S. we ended with a 30 yr fixed, @ 4 and one half %, $250.00 per mo $50.00 ins, taxes $100 per. A 1400 sq ft 3/2/2 gar. never lived in 2 yr old home. 1/4 acre lot country home, 10 miles out.

Harry and Caren Watmuff of FL 8:21AM April 26, 2010

We bought the first house we looked at. Should not have done. We looked at the house in the summer, it was beautiful. Lots of trees. Big pool with lots of trees around. Bought house in August. October came, all the grass died off in the back yard as it had to many trees. Those trees became nightmares in fall and spring. The leaves that fell into the pool and the roots from the trees started to break up the pool deck a year later. To much money to put a screen over. Also never even thought about asking how much the electric bill was. Never owned a house that had vaulted ceilings. First bill for that August was almost $500, called the power company and they said that was the average in the summer. I have never seen a power bill lower than 300. House is 2100 sf. Found out last owner never had grass but put grass in just before they put on the market so it would sell. Can't grow grass, way to many trees! It is a gated community, gate is always broken. The ARB board drives around every other day with a note pad. Never will I move into a home that has a Homeowners association. Can't even paint the house the same color with out approval.

Suzy of FL 10:45PM April 25, 2010

At the last minute my fiance and I decided to take advantage of the new tax credit. The kicker was that my mortage lady told me that if I put the house in my name then I would be approved, but after marriage there would be no hope for a home approval, because my fiances credit is so bad. News flash to me. Long story short. He had to "gift" me the money for the down payment on a house. Everyone is flooding the market by purchasing homes at this time, so if you find a home you like it's like an adreneline rush, because people are putting contracts on "quality" homes like hotcakes. We have had to pay:
$340.00 Home and termite inspecton
$1000 good faith check that they cashed right away
$100 for the seller to show them we were serious
$425 for home inspection
$5500 due at closing
My fiances home lease isn't up until November, so it's like a double edged sword to have two mortages for a while or not be able to get "our" house in the future. We didn't expect all of these costs to come at one time, plus I had to provide the mortgage lady soooo much paperwork. At the end of all that she says oh yes before we close I need you to show at least two mortgage payments in your account. I don't know if they think money grows on trees, but that a big chunk to bite off. So I wanted to share my story, because I think that it will be helpful for people in my situation. But at the end of the day we are getting a beautiful spacious newer home for a fraction of the cost that we would pay closer to downtown.

Home buying newbie of TX 12:20PM April 25, 2010

We selected a real estate agent who is a patient at my wife's doctors office. Very experienced and knowledgeable. She found the type of house we were looking for, told us how much to offer in order to outbid another contract and hired a home inspector she knew and asked him in front of me "is this house ok?".
I think the idea that 'everybody is conspiring against you' when buying a house applies when you don't trust anybody and you don't let those who deal with R.E. everyday do what they do best.
WARNING: After 3 years at this house I was adding on the back deck and went around to the front to for a couple of drinks for my helpers and saw what looked like flying ants coming out of a crack in the front porch. I found an empty medicine bottle in the kitchen and scooped some up (to show an inspector) and put it in the freezer and the next day called a termite inspector. After an extended time underneath the house he found the termite tube. He also said the tube was so well hidden that without me pointing out where the termites were coming from "no inspector" could have found the problem. I had my house treated and also had him treat a rental house I have.
Termite inspectors cannot guarantee that a house is termite free after a visual inspection. This $1200.00 was money well spent.

David of VA 10:21AM April 25, 2010

My husband and I bought a home in July 2009 in the eastern panhandle of WV (it borders MD & VA) Its a very beautiful, mountainous, & quiet area. It is an hour + away from the DC area. It IS our DREAM home! 2,500 sq ft, log home on 2 acres, 4 beds, 2 baths and a loft. We were VERY lucky to buy it when we did! We bought the house at $90,000 less the seller wanted for it in 2008! We were lucky thru the entire process. The seller was VERY honest about any probs (which they were minimal) And we are still to this day, 9 mths later, able to call him up and ask questions about the house! He also calls us sometimes to see how things are! Actually a few weeks ago, our oven broke. The seller found out about it and offered to buy us a new one! We told him no cuz after 9 mths, he had no idea it would happen, things like that just happen!!....Our agent thru Re/Max was also very informative. He let us know up front ALL the expenses we would incur. he was very patient, and it wasnt just because he wanted to make a sale (in very hard times for Realtors). We were also able to save $ due to my father in law doing the home insp, and a bunch of friends helped us move! We kind of turned it into a "moving party!" LOL!
So basically my advice...look at many houses in the area u want to live in. research that area! (schools, crime, etc) Dont act too anxious in front of the seller and agent, they will pick up on that vibe and take advantage of you! Think long & hard about the house of your DREAMS! In this economy, if you think it over for weeks, maybe even months, the house may still be there when you are ready. make a list of your expenses, add in your mortgage payment, local & property taxes, and make sure you can afford it!
Even tho lenders are tighter than ever right now, they still need business. The big kicker is, right now the first time buyers $8,000 tax credit looks real sweet, honestly its kinda misleading! First of all, many banks ( ours did) make you get whats called PMI insurance on your loan (which can add 100's of dollars to your mortgage! PMI is req'd cuz some lenders are letting you use that in a weird twisted way as your down payment. The only way you can get rid of it is if you refi your house to a lower interest rate after you have some equity in the house. We are getting ready to do this cuz we've made some "improvements" to the house.....but back to the $8,000 tax credit, even tho its a "credit" it doesnt mean you will get 100% of it back!! We didnt....it has ALOT to do w/your income and taxes paid in! I could write a whole article about all the "tax credits" Obama put in place, many misleading,and many the IRS didnt even know how to apply them! The Obama admin and the IRS really need to get on board w/each other!
Sorry this was so long! I just wanted to share my experience. I hope it helps some potential home buyers in some way, gives them some things to think about! And whether you decide to rent or buy, i hope you find your DREAM HOME!!! :>

BRANDY SALAT of WV 10:00AM April 25, 2010