Real Estate Reality

by Eric Lowrey

Planning Ahead
Congratulations, you have just purchased a new home. If you are like many people you have spent almost every dime you have just to get the house of your dreams. But what about maintaining this dream, do you have a plan for that?

When you go through your home inspection the inspector should give you an estimate for the life span of the mechanicals. A roof should last say thirty years and the one you just bought is twenty years old. So in five to ten years you will need a new roof. How are you going to pay for that? What about a hot water heater? That will go bad in six years.

You can use your home inspection to plan an improvement schedule for your home and start saving for this plan. A wise buyer should have at least one to three percent of the purchase price in savings for any unforeseen expenses. Things rarely go as planned, so you should plan for the unexpected.

Buying a home is one thing, maintaining it is another. With good decision making and planning the home of your dreams can remain that way for many years.

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Volume 6, Issue 9, Posted 8:26 AM, 05.06.2010