1. Budgeting for
Your First
Lakeland Fl
Home
Petra Norris

2. Budgeting for Your First Lakeland Fl Home
Now that you have all your finances in order
and are ready to buy your first Lakeland Fl
home, are you sure your budget is really
enough to afford it? Some first time
homebuyers find out too late that they can’t
really afford the home they had already made
an offer on simply because they failed to factor
in other costs associated with homeownership.
You can avoid making the same mistake by
knowing what these additional costs and
expenses are, so you could be better prepared
for them and include them in your budget for
buying your Lakeland Fl home.

3. Budgeting for Your First Lakeland Fl Home
Aside from the down payment, which is typically 3.5%-20%
of the home’s selling price, there are other costs and
expenses you need to consider all the way to closing and
moving in such as:
• 1. Home inspection cost: $300-$400
• 2. Closing costs and appraisal, loan, title, and lender fees:
average of $3,754 on a $200,000 mortgage (according to
Bankrate’s annual survey of closing costs)
• 3. Moving Costs
• 4. Monthly dues or homeowner’s association fees (HOA)
• 5. Utility costs
• 6. Maintenance costs: usually 1% of your home’s market
value

4. Budgeting for Your First Lakeland Fl Home
• Tip for utility bills: Avoid getting surprised with high utility
bills by calling the local utility company before buying a
home in that area to get an idea of the average bill in that
particular neighborhood.
• After factoring in all these costs into your budget, you will
now be able to determine how much home you can really
afford. Without a clear budget for your monthly mortgage
and expenses, you might end up having only $20 left in your
pockets until the next paycheck comes.
• Also, please read my article: Make sure you also avoid the
top 10 mistakes home buyers make
•
• Authored by Petra Norris

5. Petra Norris - REALTOR®, SFR
Managing Broker - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc.
• Petra Norris -
REALTOR®, SFR
Managing Broker -
CDV
TransAtlantic, Inc.
(863) 619-6918