![\"Buyi\"](\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Buyi-1024x512.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
You have officially gone through the difficult part of buying your first house. \u00a0You have your finances in order<\/a>, been pre-qualified<\/a> and have probably even started working with a realtor or started looking online<\/a> for the perfect house within your budget. \u00a0But before you put your offer in on a home there are some hidden costs associated with buying your first house. \u00a0Below are some of the hidden costs I found while looking for a home. \u00a0Know that these can be different regionally or based on the price of the home.<\/p>\n Once an offer on a home has been accepted by the seller you will be expected to put some money down as a way of showing good faith. \u00a0This will also put you into escrow and will take the house off the market. \u00a0Most the time earnest money will be 1-3 percent of the cost of the home, but can be increased to strengthen an offer. \u00a0The seller will typically want this wired to them or in the form of a cashier’s check. \u00a0Tip:<\/em> If your money is in a bigger bank make sure you go right away to have the money wired. \u00a0I didn’t realize that the banks have times they put these through and they require a manager’s approval. \u00a0This required me to get a cashier’s check and have a courier pick it up and deliver. Note:<\/em> This money can not be returned if you change your mind. \u00a0It will only be returned if something is drastically wrong with the home when the home inspector visits.<\/p>\n After you put an offer in you will want to get a home inspection so you can make sure the house structure, appliances, roof and everything else is good on the house. \u00a0The average cost for a home inspection is $315 but could cost more if the house is over 2,000 sq ft and a little less if the home is under 1,000 sq ft. \u00a0I assumed the inspection went into the cost of the loan or closing cost, but I was wrong.<\/p>\n In some cases the seller pays for the appraisal at closing. \u00a0In my case, it was my responsibility. \u00a0The appraisal will let the mortgage company or lender know that the house will be worth the loan. \u00a0This was also a bit of a surprise to me as I thought this went into closing and it was not a small cost. \u00a0My appraisal cost me $475, which was more costly than I would have thought.<\/p>\n Based on the federal loan I was taking I had to take a class on home buying. \u00a0It was very helpful and made the process easier. \u00a0However, it cost $100. \u00a0Another cost that I was not expecting.<\/p>\n I also needed to have a termite inspection to make sure the house was not at risk from termites. \u00a0This cost $40.<\/p>\n Based on the type of loan you are getting these costs can be quite different. \u00a0Sometimes you can get money back. \u00a0Best case scenario is when you have the seller pay some or all of the closing costs. \u00a0You can see all costs of closing in\u00a0the closing disclosure forms that come at least three business days before close. \u00a0I was uncomfortable waiting for that as I am a planner and had several conversations with my loan officer beforehand to ensure I knew what was expected.<\/p>\n I\u00a0would suggest using this moving calculator<\/a> to determine how many moving boxes and other supplies<\/a> you may need. \u00a0I also would recommend using movers<\/a> to move the heavy items. \u00a0This saved me hours on moving day!<\/p>\n This cost is controllable to a degree. \u00a0I needed a washer, dryer and fridge when I moved in. \u00a0I chose to also buy a new couch and bed to make my new home as comfortable as possible!<\/p>\n These hidden costs can add up when you are buying a home. \u00a0I have to admit that I walked through the process blindly for the most part. \u00a0This was of my own choosing because I had a real fear of taking this step even though I knew it was best for me. \u00a0I am hoping this information helps through the house-buying journey. \u00a0If I had to do it again, I would want to know in advance about some of these costs that sneak up so I could be prepared.<\/p>\n Did I miss any hidden costs? \u00a0What was the most surprising cost you had when buying a house? \u00a0Share in the comments!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You have officially gone through the difficult part of buying your first house. \u00a0You have your finances in order, been pre-qualified and have probably even started working with a realtor or started looking online for the perfect house within your budget. \u00a0But before you put your offer in on a home there are some hidden […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":37742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,198],"tags":[2417,2416,2418,2415,227],"class_list":["post-37721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moving-2","category-planning","tag-appraisal","tag-buying-a-house","tag-closing-costs","tag-hidden-costs","tag-home-inspection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46577,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37721\/revisions\/46577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uhaul.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Moving](\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Untitled-design-40.png\")
Earnest Money<\/h3>\nHome Inspection<\/h3>\n
![\"Household](\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hidden-Costs-of-Buying-a-House-683x1024-1.jpg\")
Appraisal<\/h3>\nHome Buying Course<\/h3>\n
Pest Inspection<\/h3>\n
Closing Costs<\/h3>\n
![\"Movers](\"https:\/\/movinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/20160430_094753-1024x576.png\")
Moving Costs<\/h3>\nHousehold Items<\/h3>\n