“Buying a home is so cheap!” said nobody ever. Purchasing a home is full of expensive (and sometimes unexpected) costs. However, homeowners tend to spend even more than they expect during the first few years of home ownership. According to a study done by the National Association of Home Buyers, purchasing a home triggers much larger purchases – some of which aren’t always necessary. For example, during the first year of home buying a homeowner will spend almost $5K on repairs. If the home came with a homeowner’s warranty, that cost would be reduced to mere hundreds. Homeowner’s warranty company Landmark looks at the largest money traps in a new home, and how to make sure you don’t fall into them. download button money pit money pits download button money pit Furniture Most new homeowners are moving from a smaller living space to a larger one, and they don’t have enough furniture to fill up the extra rooms. Many new homeowners spend extra money to fill up the empty space. According to the NAHB, within the first year of buying a house, homebuyers spend $5,025 on new furnishings on average. This is an especially large number compared to homeowners who have lived in their home for two years, who spend $1,899. Don’t fall in the furniture money trap! Although it’s tempting to buy furniture to fill the empty rooms of your new abode, it’s OK to leave them empty. If you need to have furniture within a room for guests or young children, you can save money by purchasing furniture at discount or second-hand stores. The best way to avoid a money trap is to save up and buy new furniture piece-by-piece throughout the years. Appliances Another money trap that new homeowners fall into is spending thousands on appliances. Many times new homeowners deal with a run down furnace, dishwasher or oven. Instead of purchasing a homeowner’s warranty and maintaining those older appliances, they opt to purchase new ones. On average, homeowners spend $2,665 on new appliances within the first year of owning a home. Don’t fall in the appliance money trap! It’s enticing to buy a new home with all new appliances. However, you can save money by resisting that urge! It’s more than likely that with proper maintenance you can keep using the existing systems and appliances. How do you know? When you were purchasing your home, you most likely had a home inspection. That would have told you if there were any appliances in the house that needed to be repaired. Your real estate agent most likely asked to have the seller repair those issues. As long as those problems were repaired, and the home inspector found no issues with the other appliances, you don’t need brand new ones, especially with a homeowner’s warranty. Homeowners who have lived in their home for two years spend $1,661 on appliances. Compared to the homeowners in their first year of homeownership, that is a lot less money, but it i

1. Furniture
Appliances
Repairs
Many new homeowners spend extra moneyto fill up the empty space of their new home.
New homeowners spend
$5,025 on average on
furniture in their first year,
while homeowners who
have lived in their homes
for more than two years
spend $1,899.
It’s enticing to buy a new home
with all new appliances. It’s
more than likely old appliances
will still work, though!
New homeowners spend $2,665 on average
on appliances in their first year, while
homeowners who have lived in their homes
for more than two years spend $1,661.
On average new homeowners
spend $4,965 on repairs – and
unfortunately, it doesn’t stop after
the first year of homeownership.
Individuals who have owned their
home for more than two years spend
around $4,225 on repairs.With a home warranty, youcan save thousands on theserepairs!
ALL STATISTICS FROM THE NAHB