Condo to House: What Expenses am I Missing? (HOA fees, condos)

[Lookout Kid]

My wife and I will soon have two kids, and are strongly considering moving from our North Side condo to a single-family house on the edge of the city or in an inner suburb. We are both in our mid-thirties, and neither one of us has lived in a house since we left our parents houses nearly two decades ago! As we try to budget, I'm curious what expenses other people in this situation have been shocked by. Here's where we think we will have to spend more money:

1. Equipment- Lawnmower, fertilizer spreader, hedge trimmers, gardening tools, snow shovels, sprinklers, hoses, etc.

2. Utilities- Water, increased heat and electrical usage.

3. Maintenance- Exterior stuff like roofing, exterior paint, siding maintenance or tuckpointing (depending on the material), etc. Anything else that costs money on a regular basis? I imagine we'll shovel our own snow and care for our own yard.

What am I missing here? Obviously we will have some savings since we will no longer be paying condo association dues, but we're having trouble attaching a dollar amount to this house stuff.

[middle-aged mom]

My all brick home is 40+ years old and has never been tuckpointed nor does it need it. Quality siding and roofing should last at least 20 years.
Sooner or later driveways need maintenace or replacement

-AC and furnace annual check-ups ( if you are into preventative care)
-Driveway resealing, if approapriate
-Sump pump and battery back-up needs replacement about every 5 years
- H20 Heaters have about a 10 year lifespan
- Discretionary home improvement projects

Depending on which suburb:

Family Pool Pass
Assorted school and activity fees
Water
Sewer
Refuse Removal

[ajolotl]

That looks like most of what I have to deal with. For what it's worth, most maintenance issues don't dent my budget too much. The three things that have killed me are 1) new furnace 2) new fence and 3) exterior paint job. These are all in the 6-10K range (more for fence in general). Most other things are a few hundred to a thousand. When you get a house try to make sure you don't have to invest in these areas too early on (unless you happen to have a big cash cushion).

[Lookout Kid]

Thanks for the comments m-a-m and ajolotl!

I have no idea how to budget for exterior maintenance. In our condo I feel like we're already spending too much money fixing things. It seems like it would be best to just keep a good amount of cash handy in case something major needs replacing, like a furnace or water heater. I keep looking at these 100-year-old houses and am very nervous about being on the hook for upkeep.

[ajolotl]

My house is over 100 years old and the regular minor upkeep is much less than I expected. Pretty much nothing has gone wrong. It is incredibly well built. The expensive things that I have to replace are things that I knew about when I got the house (and negotiated a good priced based on them).

The thing that I didn't anticipate when I got a lot more space is that it's a lot more space to clean. This is my real problem. I pay $400/month for someone to come once a week (and that's considered a good deal).

Fall leaf removal is also about $300, but I have a relatively huge yard.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

I pay $400/month for someone to come once a week (and that's considered a good deal).

Hmmmm... We paid $60 for someone to come every four weeks, but our place is only 1400 square feet.

[Sarah H.]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Hmmmm... We paid $60 for someone to come every four weeks, but our place is only 1400 square feet.

See if your cleaning person will go to your new home. He/she may charge more but probably less than a new person or service and it's nice to have someone you already know. Also with 2 babies on the way you'll need a lot more help. Our cleaning lady has worked for us since I before I was pregnant with our first and has followed us to 4 locations. It's been a wonderful experience for us all.

[ajolotl]

I have four floors of living space. Most estimates were 200+ per visit. I recommend a smaller place.

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Hmmmm... We paid $60 for someone to come every four weeks, but our place is only 1400 square feet.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

1. Equipment- Lawnmower, fertilizer spreader, hedge trimmers, gardening tools, snow shovels, sprinklers, hoses, etc.

2. Utilities- Water, increased heat and electrical usage.

3. Maintenance- Exterior stuff like roofing, exterior paint, siding maintenance or tuckpointing (depending on the material), etc. Anything else that costs money on a regular basis? I imagine we'll shovel our own snow and care for our own yard.

What am I missing here? Obviously we will have some savings since we will no longer be paying condo association dues, but we're having trouble attaching a dollar amount to this house stuff.

#1 - Agree with you completely. Those are generally one time events.

#2 - Agree with the water for the lawn but the other two will be negligible.

#3 - Roofs need work about ten years, siding 20-25 years, paint every five years. Tuckpointing starts when the house is 40 years old or older. That is a relatively inexpensive unless you let it go. In fact, if I saw a house that needed major tuckpointing, I would not buy it as that is pure evidence that the house is not being cared for.

Now I have another idea because we will be getting out of condos when we move the next time. You are used to paying HOA fees. On a monthly basis, put the fees is a separate account and pay all these expenses out of that account. That way, you'll have the money in advance. Do remember that you can pay people to do lawn work and snow removal (which is what we'll do should we buy another home).

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Thanks for the comments m-a-m and ajolotl!

I have no idea how to budget for exterior maintenance. In our condo I feel like we're already spending too much money fixing things. It seems like it would be best to just keep a good amount of cash handy in case something major needs replacing, like a furnace or water heater. I keep looking at these 100-year-old houses and am very nervous about being on the hook for upkeep.

If you are not into home maintenance project, do NOT move into a 100 year old house as they require a lot of upkeep. Every year, you will find a project or two that needs to be done that will run into hundreds or thousands of dollars.