Buying a House With Cash

Who knows how exactly it happened… Perhaps you came into a large inheritance, perhaps an investment went bonkers, or maybe you’re super disciplined at saving and just worked hard. At any rate, you’ve found yourself buying a whole house with just cash. Surely that makes things easier, right? Well, sometimes. There are still expenses you’ll have to account for. Here’s what you need to know!

Closing Costs

As we talked about last week, closing costs have the ability to present quite the sticker shock sometimes as they range from 2-5% of the purchase price of the home. They won’t be quite as high when buying with cash because you will not be paying loan origination fees. However, there are still closing costs that are incurred no matter how you’re funding a home: title fees, appraisal and inspection fees, and any other filing fees. 

Future Expenses

It’s worth stressing that even if you buy a home in cash that doesn’t mean you’ll never again have any kind of payment on it. Don’t forget about your property taxes! The easiest way to calculate what that will cost you is to visit your home’s listing and use the property tax calculator. Or you can contact the courthouse in the county wherein the home is situated. This will also be a great place to ask whether you can pay property taxes monthly or as an annual lump sum. 

Insurance

It’s incredibly common for homeowners to roll their homeowner’s insurance into their monthly mortgage payment. If you don’t have one, however, you’ll need to plan for the monthly expenses of keeping your home insured. 

Monthly Expenses

Finally, factor regular monthly expenses into your budget so you’re not left with any surprises. Things like homeowners association fees, home warranties or other maintenance costs, as well as utilities.