By the time buyers contact you for help in making a real estate purchase, they’ve probably crunched the numbers and determined how much they can afford to spend on a new home. They’ve likely factored in the down payment, mortgage payments, closing costs, taxes, and insurance. Your buyers even may have obtained pre-approval from a lender. Even the most meticulous buyers can overlook or underestimate some common home ownership expenses.
In this article, we’ll take a look at:
- The Ongoing Costs of Owning a Home
- Hidden Homeownership Costs
Annual homeownership expenses
General maintenance
Depending on the size and condition of the property, homeowners can expect a variety of seasonal and annual expenses. These may include routine tasks like filter changes and caulking, as well as more significant upkeep such as roof repairs for leaky roofs and HVAC system tune-ups. Properly addressing these general maintenance tasks helps keep the property in good condition and can prevent more costly repairs in the future.
Lawn care
Caring for turf, gardens, shrubbery, and trees can add up, even for do-it-yourself homeowners and for those with smaller yards. Buyers will likely have expenses for gardening equipment, fertilizer, weed killer, mulch, plants, lawn and garden products, plus any professional care. If there are trees on the property, buyers will need to budget for regular trimming, fertilization, and removal of hanging tree limbs that can fall and damage roofs, windows, and other trees, shrubbery, and plants.
Termite and pest control
Protecting a home from termite and other pest infestations can vary according to region. Still most homes need some level of protection from termites as well as other common household nuisances, including rodents, ants, flies, roaches, bed bugs, and others.
