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If you want to buy, start saving now - for repairs
There's no point scrimping and saving to buy a house only to get sunk after you move in and the roof starts leaking.
In fact, the biggest challenge of homeownership may come after you sign your life away on the mortgage - it's the job of keeping your house in livable shape without getting into a financial jam.
It's a theme that should resonate here in Greater Boston, where first-time home buyers too often stretch to get buy some older, overpriced home in need of work. Little do they know what they are getting into.
I recently took a look at this for Bankrate - here are some tips I came across.
- Do an inventory of your major home systems - from the dishwasher to the furnace to the roof. They each have their own natural lifespan - a roof may last you 20 years and a furnace 10. The key is finding out how much time each has left and starting to sock away some money.
- After you move in, spend a few hundred extra bucks and get a second home inspection done, with special attention to major renovation and repair issues that may be looming.
- Make sure you have access - in cash or credit - to at least $5,000 at all times. Better yet, sock away 1 percent of your home's value each year in a repair/maintenance account.
- Pray the roof, furnace and dishwasher don't all quit on you all at once.
About boston real estate now
Scott Van Voorhis is a freelance writer who specializes in real estate
and business issues.
Rona Fischman is a buyer's agent who provides a look at the local housing scene, from basements to attics.
