Unexpected Home Owner Expenses

In the past, most buyers bought one, maybe two homes over the course of their lifetime. The last home was the one that they committed to live in for the duration of their mortgage. When they made their final mortgage payment the equity was often used as a means for retirement. Today, homeownership is not nearly as straightforward. With the changing employment landscape and business structure would-be homeowners are apprehensive to commit to a property, and mortgage payment, for the long term. One of the reasons for this are the growing costs associated with homeownership. In addition to the down payment, closing costs and monthly mortgage owning a home can be expensive. If you do not stay on top of your home the value will depreciate and the costs will rise. Here are six major home items every homeowner needs to be aware of.

• Plumbing: There are plenty of household items that most novice homeowners think last forever. Plumbing is certainly one of them. In fact, most homeowners never even consider the life expectancy of the plumbing when making an offer. Unless it is pointed out by the inspector, they rarely give it a second thought. In most cases the plumbing will last a decade or so after your purchase, but this is not always the case. Depending on the type of pipes in the property they can last anywhere from twenty to forty years. Copper pipes are the most durable with a life expectancy of 50 years, followed by brass coming in around 40 years and galvanized steel with an average of twenty. This doesn’t mean that there won't be an occasional leak, but depending on when they were installed you should expect them to reach full life expectancy. When it is time to replace the plumbing you can expect a bill anywhere between seven and fifteen thousand depending on the size of the home and style of the pipes.
• Electricity: There are several costs associated with a home’s electric. Unlike painting and other household items, electric isn't something you want to experiment with. All it takes is one mistake to cause serious injury. That is why in a sense you are at the mercy of your home. Replacing the electric panel is a relatively inexpensive fix totaling between one thousand up to three thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of your home. If there are individual outlets not working or that need updating it is an average of a hundred dollars or so, per outlet.
• Foundation: A problem with your foundation is one of the most expensive repairs you can have as an owner. As obvious as it sounds the foundation isn't something you can simply put a Band-Aid on and hope for the best. If you ignore foundation issues it will only be a matter of time before they come to the surface. What makes foundation issues so expensive is that there is rarely just one issue that needs to be fixed. Taking care of an isolated foundation problem could set you back around $5000, depending on the scope of the work. What typically happens with the foundation is that fixing one item opens up a can of worms which causes another item to need fixing. Before you know it you can easily be looking at a $15,000 bill, or more.
• Roof: One of the first items any prospective homebuyer looks at is the roof. Not only is a newer roof aesthetically pleasing, but is also a tremendous money eater. They say that a good roof can last up to forty years. While this may be technically true, if you can get half that out of your roof you are doing well. Like most of the other big ticket items we mentioned, the cost of a roof varies on the size, pitch and style you are looking for. The average price for a new roof is around $7,000, but can be a few thousand less or many thousand higher based on the items mentioned.
• Windows: The quality of the windows probably isn't at the top of items in your new home search. However, the reality is that updating them can be a real money eater. There are a handful of significant differences in the quality of the windows in a home. The most obvious is the amount it costs to heat your home. Poorer windows means higher electric bills, which can add up significantly over the course of the year. Replacing your windows can set you back anywhere from $300 to $700 per window. Doing a quick check of the number of windows in your home can show you that replacement windows can be quite an expensive proposition.
• Appliances: There is an idea that new appliances last forever. Even top of the line appliances eventually reach the end of their useful life. Your dishwasher should get you ten good years, the same with your stove and washing machine. You also need to worry about your furnace every twenty five years as well as the dryer, toilet, faucets and water heaters. Your kitchen appliances are based on your taste but they will cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. The washer and dryer are a little bit more, but can top out at thousands of dollars if you so desire. Replacing old appliances is an unfortunate expense of home ownership.

If you treat your home like an asset and put money into it you will most likely see a return when you decide to sell. There is almost always something you can update, improve or replace with your property. These items are often much more expense than you may realize.