When you are a first-time home buyer there are going to be a lot of surprises. You will surely hear from friends and family about what the process is like. However, there are always some things you will not be prepared for. One of the rudest surprises is an expense that you hadn’t accounted for.
Unfortunately, buying a house involves a lot of expenses and can end up costing more than you expect. This isn’t to say that there are scams to watch out for. Since every home purchase is unique, there may be some items that you have to pay for that others won’t. In this article, we will go over several that you may encounter.
If you are not a first-time buyer but living in a house that you are selling and trying to coordinate the sale with your purchase then the timing may not work out for you. Likewise, if you are having a house built. Very often the work will take longer than you expect and you will move in later than anticipated. This could interfere with a lease that is ending before you’re able to move in.
The only options you have are to move in with friends and family until you can pass pacers or get the go-ahead to move in. or, you can rent out a short-term rental apartment until you are able to officially move.
This is an added expense that you may not have anticipated. In addition to the cost of the rent, you may be on the hook for other expenses such as renter’s insurance. Short-term rentals usually cost more than a long term so expect to pay over what the average rent is for your area.
If you were to visit the house and make an offer in the winter then chances are that you didn’t check to see if the air conditioner was working. A summer visit probably means that you didn’t check if the heat is functioning. You’ll find out if there are issues with the HC+VAC once the inspection happens but you are not likely to walk away from the house after you’ve made an offer.
It’s possible that you can negotiate the cost of the house to reflect the expenses you are going to encounter with the HVAC, but in this housing market, many agreements are as-is. Some don’t even allow inspections.
Expect to have to repair or replace your HVAC out of your own pocket.
There are a lot of potential pests that are lurking in your new house that were not revealed during your walk-through. Bed bugs are a particular nuisance that is easy to miss. There could be squirrels in the attic, cockroaches in the walls, or even termites in the wood.
All of these pests will require some intensive efforts to get rid of. This means paying a pest control service. Many of the problems will require multiple visits to eradicate the issue. You may also need to pay to have the house sealed to prevent future infestations.
Photo: OLM Staff
