Personal Finance Buzz

There are a good number of costs to consider when buying your home besides your mortgage!

There are many moving costs, searching for a place to live, packing, changing mailing address, moving day itself and the inevitable buying new furniture.

What costs more, renting or buying a house? Can you afford a house? Invest some time in figuring out which would be better, renting or buying a house.

Here's a closer look at the 4 hidden costs we faced when buying and selling our house:

In September 2010 we moved into our new (to us) 100 year old home. We felt it prudent to ask for average utility costs prior to buying and we were taken aback at the heating costs of our soon to be new home.

If you’re new to the home buying process, you may be a little surprised at the fees and costs you pay over and above the cost of the home. Unbeknownst to ill-prepared home-buyers, there’s actually a good amount of money that will be due when you’ve finally “closed” on the home.

When we bought our home (a new build house), a few years ago, we were so focused on the process of buying a home that we didn’t really take into account some of the costs that can come with a new house.

Car shoppers are normally all about getting the best deal: the smallest amount of money down, the most flexible lease terms and lowest finance charges. What some car buyers fail to calculate is not only the up-front costs associated with buying a car, but the costs to maintain a car over its lifetime, i.e., the total cost of car ownership.