There is no doubt that in the custom home building journey that there are expenses that follow suit, but what exactly are those expenses?  Here are some expenses that you should look forward to besides your monthly mortgage payments.

• Homeowner’s insurance: Banks and mortgage companies require this as part of the loan process. Even if you pay cash for your home, homeowner’s insurance is a great way to protect your home and your property investment.

• Utilities– Your monthly utilities are what keep your home livable, and they include things like electric, water, sewer, and gas expenses.

• Lawn and Garden Expenses- These are expenses that homeowners might not factor into their monthly or quarterly/seasonal expenses. Maintaining these items require you to purchase the materials and tools yourself or you can pay a lawn care service to handle it for you.

• Pest Control- You should hire a pest control service to come out and spray the house every 6 months.

• Routine Home Maintenance- Home maintenance is required to keep your home in great shape, as well as your appliances and systems running smoothly. For example: changing air filters, pressure washing your home and driveway, painting, cleaning out your gutters, testing smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarm batteries, etc.

• Property Taxes– When you own residential property, property taxes are an annual expense. The notices come out every November. The earlier you pay the taxes the less expensive they will be.

• Cleaning Expenses– Whether you decide to hire a cleaning person/service to clean your home or you do it yourself, this is another expense you might not think about when you own a home.

• Emergency Repair Expenses- Unexpected things happen…that’s just life. If a neighbor accidentally backs up into your mailbox, or a delivery driver backs into your gutter, these are unexpected costs that you might be faced with for home repairs. Another might be an unexpected roof leak, or mother nature brings a hurricane with hurricane force winds that damage your pool cage…these are all emergency repair expenses that could pop up when you own a home.