Have you ever looked at your monthly expenses and found out that you are spending way more on your house than what you initially expected? True enough, a mortgage can be the most expensive item on a homeowner’s list of things to pay for, but are you aware of the other “hidden costs” of owning a home?
Hidden costs include your property tax, insurance premiums, utilities, maintenance, and other housekeeping costs. Even if you aren’t living in your Norcross house or no tenants live in it, the bills for your hidden fees will continue to come in. And if you don’t give them considerable attention, you may be losing more than what you’re supposed to get from your asset. So let’s go over your hidden costs to help you evaluate whether they’re worth it or not.
Property Tax
Property taxes are either paid at the county tax office, the county tax commissioner, or the county board of assessors between January 1 and April 1 of each year. In Georgia, the average property tax rate is 0.87%. This means that a $250,000 home can incur an average annual property tax of $2,175. Take note that the tax applies to the value calculated by an official county assessor. If the market value/assessed value of your home is $250,000, but you bought it for less than $250,000, your tax payable will still be calculated based on $250,000. So you’re paying a lot for tax over time.
For Gwinnett County, the average county tax rate is 1.190%. For a $250,000 Norcross home, your annual property tax would be around $2,975. That’s about 36% more than the average yearly property tax for the entire State of Georgia. If you aren’t qualified for a property tax exemption in Norcross, are you willing to pay this much year after year?
Insurance
Insurance is mandatory if you buy a house with a mortgage loan. Nevertheless, homeowners are encouraged to get one, mainly when their property is located in a high-risk zone. High-risk zones include areas prone to flooding, earthquakes, wildfires, and other environmental hazards. According to Zillow, the average annual insurance fee nationwide come at around $996, and these can go up depending on the size of the house, the materials used to build it, the location, additional riders, your credit score, your distance relative to a fire station, and many more.
Considering a $300,000 Georgia home with a $1,000 deductible and $300,000 liability, the average annual insurance fee is around $2,555. This makes the peach state 19th of the most expensive states for home insurance, more expensive than the national average. If you don’t know how much you are paying for your home insurance because you just charge it to your credit card, it’s time to revisit your statements. If you think your Norcross insurance is too much, maybe it’s time to scout for another house with cheaper insurance costs.
Utilities
In 2018, Georgia had some of the highest utilities cost in the entire country. Homeowners spent more than $450/month on electricity, gas, internet, cable, and water.
In Norcross, the city government distributes the power supply from the Municipal Electric Associate of Georgia Power (MEAG). If you want to know how much you’re going to spend on utilities for the next months or years, you can contact the Norcross City Government for their current power charges per kilowatt-hour; Or you can go over your previous electricity bills and see how much power you are consuming on average. Do this also for your other utility bills.
If you think your utility expenses are too much, you can evaluate which activities you can cut out to save on costs. But if your bills are confusingly hefty, you may want to consider transferring to another home.
Maintenance
Maintenance expenses include everything that has to do with housekeeping. These can be your cleaning solutions, your labour fees for your landscaper, service fees for HVAC cleaners, drainage cleaners, and general house cleaners. Even if no one is occupying your Norcross house, you still need to keep it in good shape to avoid reducing its value. Houses in bad condition are priced lower than houses in livable condition. With this, if you aren’t living in your Norcross home, you’ll need to hire a property caretaker, which will cost you additional.
Miscellaneous
Other miscellaneous expenses include all the appliances, furniture, and other stuff that one buys for the house. If your house didn’t come with a kitchen stove, for example, you might’ve bought one for it. Or if your house came with water-damaged ceilings, you might have replaced them before you moved in. Those are additional property expenses.
Maintenance and miscellaneous expenses can be alarming because, unlike insurance and mortgage, you don’t always know how much you will spend for them. Given the condition of your house, do you think you’ll be paying more on maintenance and other miscellaneous things in the future?
If you aren’t too confident anymore with your Norcross house, we can also take it off your hands and give you cash for it. Our professional team at Spire Home Buyers can buy your house as soon as you want to sell it. We offer a fair price, and you won’t have to worry about spending for closing and commission because we will also take care of those for you! To know how much you can get for your house, leave us a message through the form below or call us at (678) 318 – 1801!