The Real Cost of Home Ownership

1301 Words3 Pages

The real costs of home ownership
Because of the high prices of homes in the United States, people often focus on only the buying price when considering the costs of owning a house, and neglect many other aspects of home ownership. A house is not your regular item that you buy and store or use for a limited amount of time. Houses come in a package with upkeep costs and taxes, and it’s wise to take these into account when analyzing your finances.
The average cost of a house is estimated to be around $200.000 in 2013. As such, it’s no wonder people are distracted about such a significant amount and overlook other aspects. Owning a house can be exceedingly expensive. Just for the down-payment on the house, which you have to come up with, you’ll be spending an average of 20-25% of the buying price. That means that the down-payment for a $300.000 house can range from $60.000 to $75.000. Thus, you need to be prepared to put down that kind of money if you’re planning on buying.
Let’s take a look at what owning a house can cost you on a monthly or yearly basis.
Mortgage Costs
Most people that decide to buy houses do so by applying for loans. There are two distinct types of mortgages or loans.
The first type implies fixed rates. The advantage of this type of mortgage lies in the fact that you know ahead of time what you’ll be paying monthly. The disadvantage is that while your debt decreases over time, the monthly rate you have to pay remains the same.
The second type of loan has an adjustable rate. These rates are often unpredictable, and even though the initial monthly rates might appear to be lower than with fixed rate mortgages, rest assured, you won’t be paying less in the long-run.
When deciding what you can afford, make sure you inf...

... middle of paper ...

... arise to.
And with these upgrades, your house will gain market value, which also means that the annual insurance fees will rise accordingly. The more your house is worth, the more you will be spending on insurance.
Conclusion
These are only some of the major costs affiliated with owning a house. There are many more. Some of them can be avoided, others cannot. You can save money if you’re planning ahead in most cases. Owning a house comes with costs, there is no doubt about it. Still, you should not be turned away immediately at the thought, after some time, these costs will become routine and can be minimized. The important idea to remember is that you have to keep these costs in mind, or else you’ll be facing issues that you cannot overcome.
Your budget should not be limited to buying a house alone, it should include a large margin for such additional costs.

More about The Real Cost of Home Ownership

Open Document