The Added Costs Of A New House

Back in March my wife and I signed the papers for our new house. We were told that our house would be ready in March of 2011. That gave us plenty of time to come up with decent down payment. A month later we were told it would be ready this October. From that moment, I decided to curb my spending and go on a saving spree. No more bought lunches. No more beers with the boys after work. No new Iphone or Ipad.  If there was anything I wanted and didn't need, I would just think of our new house and how big our mortgage will be, and my desire to spend money would be eliminated.


We were told this week that our tentative possession date this December/January. What a gong show! I wish the builder would make up their mind, because it feels like we're on a yo-yo. At least we have a better idea of when it will be ready, and it allows me to save up more money over the next few months. Part of me wants to put all my saved money on the mortgage, so we pay less interest over time. But part of me knows moving into a bigger house has a lot of added costs involved with furnishings and appliances.

When building a house through a builder,  I've learned to not accept any appliances that they include in the price of the home. They are the bottom of the barrel and are very basic pieces that they get a deal on by buying in bulk. Our home was fully upgraded compared to what other builders offered for the price, but the only appliances they included were the dishwasher and microwave. After seeing them at the supplier, we decided to upgrade because they were both entry level appliances. You get what you pay for these days and we wanted nice appliances for our nice house. Besides, I'd rather spend an extra $500-$600 on something that's going to last 10 years longer then it's cheaper counterpart.

We will have two living rooms to furnish, and my wife doesn't want my navy blue palliser leather couch and love seat to stick out like sore thumbs in the new sitting area, so we will have to buy a new couch and love seat that matches our color choices. We never upgraded our other living room furniture because we knew living in our condo would be temporary(plus they would get in the way of many Wii events we held), so now we have to buy end tables and a coffee table to match the new color choices.

The new master bedroom is huge, and a queen sized bed would not fill it up enough and would leave large areas of useless space, so we decided to splurge and get a king size bed. Our Ikea nightstands are going to be used in the spare bedrooms so we will need new ones as well. New dressers to match the new nightstands and head board are a must, so the old ones will be used in the spare rooms as well. I asked sales person about purchasing extra lumpy beds for the spare rooms to ensure short visits, but it was only met with a smack from my wife.

Then there is the yard. We have one year to sod the front yard and plant one tree. We got off pretty easy as some neighborhoods require multiple hedges and bushes as well. Since we built on a pie lot we have a smaller front yard, so to sod my front lawn, it will only require a few midnight visits to my new neighbors freshly sodded lawn. I'm sure they won't notice... We will also have to build a fence, but hopefully my new neighbors are not cheap bastards and will split the cost AND help me build it. All I need is someone with a pulse to hold the level and help me with the power auger.

We used the builders lawyer so we avoided any legal fees which is a bonus, and the bank is more then happy to lend us the money knowing we will pay an extra $100,000 for the mortgage. I'll be paying myself with each dividend cheque,  so it won't hurt as bad. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of small costs for things needed like area rugs, window coverings, new towels and linens; but that's a given.

We don't have to buy all new furniture and upgraded appliances, but we both have good jobs and for the last three years we lived like semi bachelors so we could buy nice things for our new house. And for my wife living with me through my saving spree and all my money saving exploits this year, I think she deserves it.


Have a good weekend, everyone.