When you own a home for the first time, you may be surprised at how much maintenance you will have to do as compared to renting. If you expect the costs, however, you can plan for them and not have them be such a financial burden. Here are the 5 maintenance costs you should expect as a homeowner:
Weather Maintenance.
If you’re moving to sunny Southern California from New Hampshire, you may be surprised that you have a fair amount of weather-related costs for which you are responsible. For example, you will need to keep your air conditioner up and running so you don’t melt in the summer. This will also eat up your electric bill, so plan accordingly.
Curb Appeal.
You will need to keep the exterior of your home looking nice, not only for personal reasons, but because you may have a Homeowner’s Association that requires you to do so. This can include landscaping, painting your house, redoing the roof, or buying new window shutters.
Repairs.
No matter how new your home is, things will eventually break and need to be fixed. Whether your home has a broken sewage system or a moldy basement, you are responsible for making these repairs for your health and safety.
Upgrades.
You may find, as you grow older, that you want to upgrade certain aspects of your home. This could be anything from adding on an extra bedroom to upgrading the counters and appliances in your kitchen. This also extends to things like Bissell vacuum cleaners.
Insurance.
We count insurance as a home maintenance fee, because it really is necessary to have in order to ensure the safety and well-being of your home. Depending on the area in which your home is located and whether or not you have a high propensity for risk, your insurance bill can be quite expensive if you don’t budget for it.
