Internet Banking
Contact us
Facebook
Security
The extra costs of buying a home
This article is part of a fictional case study series following "Sarah", a typical first home buyer in Victoria. Read each article to follow "Sarah" through a variety of articles exploring issues related to buying a home.
After years of saving, Sarah was finally able to step foot in her own house. It was a great feeling – one of accomplishment.
But as she soon found out, paying a deposit isn’t the only cost new home owners have to pay. In just the first few weeks, she encountered having to pay the following costs – and she didn’t expect all of them:
Moving costs: With a few pieces of furniture and plenty of boxes, Sarah had a couple of friends helping but wanted to drastically reduce her moving time by using a service. The privilege? A cool $1,000.
New utility costs: Signing up new contracts for energy, internet and water, all cost money. Altogether the costs for moving her contracts – and signing up new ones – ended up in the realm of about $400.
Repair costs: Within just a few weeks of moving in, Sarah found one of the pipes in bathroom had burst. Thankfully the leak wasn’t too bad, but it still cost $150 to repair – with a small hole in the wall!
Those are just some of the costs she found. But a year in, she discovered an extra cost some home owners don’t think about until it’s too late….
Rising interest rates
Socked with a 20 basis point rise, Sarah found that her repayments went up by about $50 a month. Now, because she had paid a good sized deposit, that won’t eat into her monthly income too much. But on $55,000 a year salary, every dollar counts.
You’ll never be able to avoid every expense. But being prepared for extra ones can go a long way in reducing any negative impact they can have on your financial health.
SARAH'S TAKEAWAY:
Sarah's mortgage isn't the only thing she needs to prepare for. She's going to take these costs and factor them into her household budget, so she's always prepared.
