4 Hidden Costs You MUST BEWARE about Buying a House | Your Rich BFF

As happy as I was to buy my first home, this almost made me REGRET IT. Even as an ex-Wall Street trader, I was shocked by all of the unexpected fees that appeared. As @YourRichBFF, I'm going share the Top 5 Hidden Costs of homeownership.

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[Itsmehi]

All good points and so so true. Don’t forget about your time because time is money. The time it takes to mow the lawn, trim hedges, pressure wash, shovel. While you can outsource that … it adds up and so many handy type companies are flakey and unreliable these days.

Things that break the list are expense to repair or replace … appliances, garage doors and openers, plumbing leaks.

Before you buy … go to the property repeatedly. Even without the agent. Listen for barking dogs left outside for an eternity, street noise, neighbors running power equipment or loud music. So many things to consider.

Insurance is the worst … esp in hurricane states. The rates keep going up and up and up and fewer and fewer insurers.

[GotGracexxxxx]

As an owner through a Cat 5 hurricane, a comment about insurance: Do not choose a company because of someone’s else’s good experience, or the company’s reputation. Companies staff up after a storm with a flood of new employees, so who you deal with is an absolute crapshoot. Prioritize getting the coverages you want, and (second!) the lowest cost. Get RCV and *not* ACV coverage. No one ever said, “Gee, I wish I’d had less insurance.” (Also, if the worst does happen, hire a good public adjuster to fight your battles for you with the insurance company, and to make sure you get everything you’re entitled to under your insurance contract.)

[elizabethconley]

Thank God for this! We were JUST talking about this together and neither of us know anything about it! We know folks who were able to, but lordy

[Katherine_xs]

You are good at staying on trends, its crazy bcz ive seen so many videos about people regretting buying a house/condo and selling it to go travel

[meganelizabethmoon]

Another expense to consider is that if there is a noticeable increase in average square footage for homes to buy vs. homes to rent in the same area, that means there will likely be an increase in utility costs, especially electricity.

[Onelsyd]

Thank you for this Vivian!! 💛 My husband and I want to learn as much as we can before we plan to buy a home. Keep the tips coming 😁

[IlenElla]

🙌 planning to buy a home in a few years. Educating myself as much as I can on this matter. Thank you 😊

[charliealba]

You left out PMI for first time home buyers, thanks for the video, just wanted to add, not judge

[toxadodo]

Another great video from you.
Please do one on renting vs buying a house.
Thank you.

[Buc-eesGurl]

I was literally house shopping today. I think I'll wait a little bit. Thanks Vivian!

[lyny]

Thanks for the heads up on these fees bestie.

[miabolte]

Hi! Will you consider doing a video on how to invest the Roth IRA funds? Seems like people forget to tell you that it's a two step process!

[NormanOkada]

Great information. I always recommend people use a PITI calculator. Most people don't realize the first years they aren't really touching their principal.Thank you for all you do to educate the masses.

[Investingcoachw]

Such good things to think about. We’re Thinking about home owning ourselves but honestly I truly enjoy the freedom renting affords us. Freedom of not dealing with repairs and the ability to move at the end of the lease to wherever we want. Definitely pros and cons to both.

[acivilright]

I also regret buying. Coming up on a year and looking forward to selling.

[johannamiller]

Property taxes: You *must* do your own homework on this. You *can't* trust the numbers on the real estate listing sites, and you can't even trust your mortgage lender when they set up the monthly escrow payment for your loan. All they'll do is look up what the old owner was paying - but what *you* will pay might be much higher, if you're in an area where long-term owners get grandfathered in at lower rates, or where the property gets reassessed for tax purposes every time it changes hands.

The worst part of it is, you won't even find out that anything is wrong until you've lived in the home for a year and there suddenly isn't enough in the escrow account to cover your tax bill. Then suddenly your payment on your fixed-rate mortgage jumps up by hundreds of dollars a month, because you need to pay the higher tax rate that you should have been paying all along *plus* pay back the escrow deficit that built up over the year.

And you'll have no recourse against anyone when this happens. As far as I can tell, there are no regulations (or even any professional standards) requiring real-estate agents or loan officers to give you good information on what your property taxes are likely to be. They can just give you any old numbers, and there are no consequences to them - only to you.

[jeankelly]

I just found your channel. Great advice. I'm wanting to buy a home again but with the overpriced home costs. it may be some time before i take the plunge.

[isagoldfield]

Hi Vivian! l ♥️ your channel. Thank you for educating all of us & sharing your knowledge & experiences. That dress looks great on you💥😻✨

[jopontino]

So helpful! Thank you! Do you have any tips on how to negotiate?

[JungKimrecruiter]

Gr8 point about the carrying costs associated with HOA fees.