What is the True Cost of Home Ownership in Massachusetts?
As a home buyer in Massachusetts you will need to know the total upfront costs of maintaining a home. After all, this will be part of your total monthly budget as an owner. In order to effectively determine a home's affordability you will need to determine the following information:
- Monthly mortgage payment
- Taxes
- Insurance
- Landscaping
- Maintenance
- Electric Bill
- Gas or oil expense
- Trash removal expense
- Water & sewer bill
- Snow plowing costs
- Miscellaneous expenses
There is no obligation in Massachusetts for the seller to provide the costs of utilities to a potential home buyer (althought the State of Hawaii has now made this mandatory in real estate transactions.) The responsibility falls to you or your buyer agent to request the utility costs and copies of the electric bills from the owner.
Depending on the rules of the energy providing company, you can sometimes call them with the address of the property and ask them for the seasonal costs. However, some energy companies will not release the actual costs of their customers to an outside inquiry; they will only give you an estimate. The best way to discover the true expense of the utilities for a home is the have the seller provide you with copies of their monthly bills.
Heating and utility costs are also contingent on how well a property is insulated or whether it has energy efficient windows, new Energy Star-compliant appliances or a newer heating system. Having this information ahead of time will help you to better plan your overall budget. It can also be a make-or-break item if you are choosing between two similar properties.
By this same reasoning, if you are getting ready to put your home on the market any time soon, be sure to keep all the records of your utility costs.
A smart buyer will surely ask for them.
Copyright 2010 "What is the True Cost of Home Ownership in Massachusetts?"
Claudette Millette, Broker, Owner, The Buyers' Counsel - a Buyer Broker Since 1992
If you have questions about buying a home in Massachusetts please give me a call at 508-881-6230 or Email Me. It will be my pleasure to talk with you.
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