Those hidden costs of buying a home

How much is that $300,000 home going to cost you?

Well, that depends on how much you can negotiate off the purchase price, right?

Not quite. Even if you manage to land that home for $290,000, you can still expect to pay a lot more. That’s because a home’s purchase price is only the beginning when it comes to figuring how much a residence will cost you.

First-time homebuyers, especially, sometimes forget to factor in the hidden costs of buying a home. First, there are closing costs, the fees buyers pay to get that mortgage loan. These costs include everything from title insurance fees to document-preparation charges to appraisal fees. Generally, they add up to 2 to 4 percent of a home’s purchase price.

That’s not exactly small change.

And don’t forget taxes. Depending on where you live, you’ll have to pay a varying amount in state and county real estate transfer taxes and recordation fees. These add up, too. For instance, in Washington, D.C., recordation fees for homes costing $400,000 or more run 1.45 percent of the property’s purchase price.

If you’re buying into a condominium development or a maintenance-free subdivision, you’ll have to pay monthly assessment fees. And if you’re really unlucky, your new condo board of directors will decide to levy a special assessment to cover the costs of repairing the cracked parking lot.

The point here? Buying a house isn’t cheap. It’s not cheap even when the house you’re buying is.