Buying A Home
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
First Time Home Budgeting
What is the rundown on cash you needed (or should have had) at closing for a first home. I'm expecting things like
* downpayment of course (20% for us)
* closing costs (what effects whether it's closer to 1% or 3%?)
* taxes (no idea how much, I think it depends on time of year???)
* furniture/window blinds/ladders & tools/etc
* appliances if necessary
What am I missing? What were the ballpark costs you found for these (either percentages or dollar amounts where relevant)? We will have our 3-month emergency fund in addition to this savings. We are fine with used things, but most of our furniture is carry-overs from my poor grad student days so we'll need a fair amount of that stuff.
My goal is to have a reasonable estimate for how much savings we need so we can be prepared. The starter houses in our area are ~350K if that's relevant.
Re: First Time Home Budgeting
House insurance,
Utility deposits
Moving costs (movers or renting a van - include extra eating out until you get your kitchen unpacked!)
Cleaning of your new home
If this is your first single family home then add extra items such as garbage cans, hoses, rakes, shovels, brooms, and misc tools, ladders. etc. Lawn furniture
Decorating - paint, curtains, rods, area rugs, additional furniture.
Any repairs or renovations, upgrades.
(for some nice, less costly furniture consider estate sales, consignment shops. and Craigslist.
Also, just something to keep in mind. We closed on our house on a Friday about noon. I called all the utility companies (gas, water, electric, trash, etc) to get us all set up immediately afterwards, but because I had called on a Friday afternoon the various companies weren't able to come out to until Monday so we spent the first weekend moving into our new place without any running water or electricity...in the middle of winter, lol.
Adding and you may also want to put one income into savings and do housing costs off the other. In this case, also budget home costs on one income.
With regard to closing costs, your bank should give you an estimate on the closing costs. They can vary depending on things like taxes and whether there is town water/sewer.
You should also call the tax collector to find out what the property taxes were for the past year so you can get a handle on what they will be at the closing and in the future.
DIY & Home Decor Blog
I bought my first home a couple years ago, but it is a duplex...and NO appliances on either side. So that meant two fridges, two stoves, two sets of washers and dryers...phew! If you are on a budget, I cannot more highly recommend buying your appliances second hand. You will spend literally pennies on the dollar. Scope out your local Craig's List or used appliance stores to get a feel for the going rates. Another great place for good finds was the clearance aisle at Lowe's.
Here is rundown of my finds to give you an idea...practically new gas stove and dishwasher (Craig's list from vacation rental) $225 total
Fridge (Craig's list) $100 and washer/dryer with one year warranty $350 for both (used appliance store)...nothing fancy but all still working great over two years later.
Gas stove on clearance at Lowe's...normally $650, half off for $325. Initially bought a $250 fridge from used appliance store, but upgraded two years later when I found a 26 cu. ft. SWEET one on the clearance aisle at Lowe's...normally $1100, on sale for $625. I will admit I had to search many months until I ran across that deal
, but you never know!
One thing I personally won't buy second-hand though, is mattresses or anything upholstered. There are just too many issues with bed bugs nowadays.
Don't forget about inspection! You'll need to pay for that before you close. Also your banker may need a deposit to order the appraisal and begin the loan process.
Check out my buyers guide Here