New Home, New Expenses

After less than a month in our new home, we’re still adjusting to being home owners (or ‘home loaners’ as my husband likes to say). Among many other changes, we have some new expenses that we didn’t have as renters.
Mortgage payments
For example, our first mortgage payment is due in March. Along with our mortgage payment, we’re also putting money into an escrow account to cover our property tax bill and home insurance premiums. While we budgeted for it and anticipated paying these costs, it still feels odd to have our housing bills mapped out for the next 30 years.
The mortgage payment itself (considering principle and interest) is much lower than the rent we were paying for our two bedroom apartments. The discrepancy between the cost to own and rent in our city is one of the big reasons we considered buying a house. If it was much cheaper to rent, we would’ve continue renting, either saving for a huge down payment (making the mortgage much smaller) or investing the difference for other goals.
Our goal is to pay an extra $150/month starting with our first payment for 2010 payments to help pay off our mortgage early and greatly reduce the amount of interest we pay over the life of the loan. If and when we can afford more, we’ll add to this amount accordingly, but we want to make sure we build up our emergency fund first.
Homeowners’ association fees
This is a new bill that I’m not too crazy about, but membership is mandatory with in our development. Our HOA fees covers water and sewage, pool and clubhouse access, lawn maintenance, and condo area upkeep. When we were looking at some older homes in the area, we found that the HOA dues were often higher and sometimes came with fewer amenities.
After reading some horror stories on HOAs, we asked some friends who live in a development by the same builder and with the same company running the HOA for their opinion. It turns out that they’ve been happy with their experience thus far, and the fees have remained consistent so far.
Property taxes
As I noted above, we’re paying into an escrow account every month to cover our property taxes (as well as our homeowner’s insurance). Property taxes are an unavoidable expense of being a home owner.
My best advice is to look at your city or county’s tax records online to get an idea of what you might expect to pay in taxes before you buy. While we were shopping around, I looked at different neighborhoods and researched the property taxes. As a result of this additional information, we actually ended up reducing the amount we were willing to spend on a new home just so we could stay within our budget.
Once you’ve bought your home, don’t let your guard down. Keep an eye on your property tax assessment, and don’t be afraid to appeal your home’s assessed value.
Your take
I’m curious to hear how you guys made the transition when you went from being renters to owners. What was the biggest financial adjustment you had to make as a home owner? If renting is a better option for you, I’d like to hear about that, too.
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