Taxes:     Can’t be avoided (to my knowledge).    At closing one of two things will happen with the property taxes.   If the seller has already paid them for the year you will have to pay him for the number of days left in the tax year but then won’t owe more property taxes until next year.    If he didn’t pay them in advance, he will have to pay you for the number of days that have already passed in the year.   In this case you will use that money to pay for his part of the year and also have to pay for the rest of the year.   This can get confusing and lead to big arguments at closing.   Make sure your agent gets this information to you ahead of time.  The bottom line is you only pay for the number of days you are in the property (in theory).  Taxes can be found for Fayette County in the PVA web site ( www.pvdnetwork.com ).  

Property Taxes in Fayette and Jessamine Counties per $100 assessment

Utility Costs:     If you are renting and the utilities are part of your rent, get ready for a surprise.   Where you live and how you live are two of the major factors in determining utility costs.   A large house is more expensive than a small one to heat.   A large family does more cooking at home and hopefully more laundry and bathing, this costs more.  Even the utility companies charge different amounts and this can be a large factor.  When looking at a house ask for utility costs.

Buyer Information

Why You Need a Buyers Agent

How Long Will Home Items Last

Buying A House

Buy First or Sell First

Finance Information

Amortization

Credit Ratings

Down Payment

Where to Go For A Loan

Additional Costs to Consider

Questions to Ask Lender

What Can You Afford

Financing a Home

Selling A Home

Selling a House

Seller Mistakes to Avoid

Preparing Your House to Sell

What Is Your House Worth

Buy First or Sell First

  Homeowners’ Insurance:       The lender will want proof that you have this.  Obviously the more expensive the house the more expensive the homeowners’ insurance.   When you go to closing make sure that your insurer has sent notification that you have insurance.  The lender will not allow you to be without it.  Two major types of policies include: Replacement cost policies which are usually best (and more costly) for older homes and cash-value policies which are more beneficial for newer houses.   Your Insurance agent will help you decide what is best for you and the lender will decide what is best for them.

 1% approximate yearly cost of house for maintenance – For a $150,000 dollar house this would be approximately $1500.00 a year, or $125.00 a month.  If the house you buy is in poor condition this can cost much more.   Please check on the Home Inspection pages for the life expectancies for various house parts.  (Examples:    Hot Water Heater, Roof, etc).

 Furniture, landscaping, things you would like to have.   These need to be put into your family budget.

The cost of the Mortgage go to the amortization page.