Essential Home Items Lifespan

The struggles of a homeowner is real, especially a new homeowner. You have expenses that most renters don’t need to worry about and a bunch of maintenance and tasks you need to remember to do. Doing routine seasonal maintenance and replacing things when they are no longer efficient, will not only maintain the value of your home, but save you a bunch of money in the long run. 

If you were ever wondering how long before you need to replace something in your home, here’s the details:  The source of the information below is: PillarToPost

Roof Covering

• Asphalt Standard Shingle: 12 - 15 years

• Asphalt Premium Shingle: 15 - 30 years

• Wood Shingle: 10 - 2- years

• Concrete/Clay Tile: 20 - 40 years

• Asbestos Cement: 40 - 80 years

• Slate Tile: 40 - 80 years

• Roll Roofing: 5 -15 years

• Tar & Gravel: 15 -25 years

• Metal: 60 years

Heating

• Forced air furnace: 10 - 25 years

• Oil Tank: 40 years

• Water/Steam Boiler - Welded Steel: 15 - 30 years

• Water/Steam Boiler - Cast Iron: 30 - 50 years

• Water/Steam Boiler - Steam Circulating Pump: 10 -25 years

Cooling

• Central Air: 10 - 15 years

• Heat Pump: 10 - 15 years

• Window Air Conditioning: 10 - 20 years

Plumbing

• Galvanized Water Pipe: 2- - 25 years

• Hot Water Heater: 5 - 15 years

• Septic/Sewer Pump: 5 - 10 years

• Well Pump: 10 years

Appliances

• Dishwasher: 5 -12 years

• Dryer 10 -25 years

• Garbage Disposal: 5 -12 years

• Oven/Range: 15 - 20 years

• Washing Machine: 5 - 15 years
  
  
  

Knowing the life expectancy of the important items in and on your home is extremely important for all homeowners. Whether you’re new to the homebuying process or if this is your 3rd home you’ve purchased. Whether your home is new or old. No matter how well-kept your home is. Everyone needs this information so they can make smart decisions when it’s time to make repairs. Using this guide will definitely help you keep track and stay on top of things.

Remember, the life expectancy is just a guesstimate. You also have to keep in mind how often and how much these things are being used, what part of the world you live in, and how many people are using these things. The information won’t be the exact same for everyone. For example: a location where you may get more snow and rain may need to replace their roof (depending on the type of roof) sooner than a place that doesn’t.

Write these down in a notebook and put reminder in your phone when it’s time for things to be replaced. You may also want to set money aside for these repairs and replacements so you don’t have to worry about coming up with the money all at once. Don’t forget, if things breakdown sooner than you anticipated it, you can certainly use your emergency fund to cover the cost. However, the lack of planning when you now have all of this information is not an excuse to use your emergency fund in the future.

Expenses that Sneak Up on First Time Homebuyers

If you’re clueless on what steps to take to buy your first home, you might not know what to look out for when it comes to expenses. There are many expenses that can sneak up on you and derail your budget if you’re not careful.

Many realtors and sellers understand that when you’re buying your first home you’re probably going to fit into the cliché of basing your buying decision solely on emotions. Don’t feel bad though, we all do that in the beginning. I even did. This is your first home, there are a lot of feelings and emotions going on, and that is normal.

Although you have emotions about your first purchase, you don’t want to be that cliché and more importantly, you don’t want to make any wrong decisions. By doing your research and getting insight from experts (me), you'll be able to prevent overlooking those sneaky expenses. And, you'll be well on your path to being a financially prepared and educated homeowner. 

So if you’re new to the home buying process, keep reading and be ready for these expenses:

Maintenance costs

Most first time homebuyers naively underestimate the cost of maintaining their beautiful home. Budgeting for maintenance costs is extremely necessary. Firstly, because you must be able to pay for emergency costs promptly if they occur. And secondly, to maintain your home's value.

• Home ownership is an unpredictable ride. In fact, the only thing that is certain about home ownership is that you'll have a mortgage payment due each month. What will you do if your furnace is nearing its life expectancy, your home's water main bursts or you need to hire a pro to replace shingles? Budget accordingly for these expenses in order to avoid financial pitfalls.

• According to Coldwell Banker, homeowners should budget approximately 1% to 4% of their home's value for yearly maintenance costs. Plus, you can expect higher maintenance costs if you have dogs or two or more children.

• Having an emergency fund and/sinking funds, will be important so you can always stay a step ahead of anything that goes wrong. Here are a list of items you may want to start a sinking fund for based on their life expectancy.

Avoid underestimating your down payment.

• With all of the talk about down payments, it can be confusing to set aside the right amount. Be very mindful of loan programs that advertise a "no money down" option. While you won't have to place a down payment on the home, your interest rate will be exorbitant and you’ll incur other costs as well.

• If you are using FHA, you’ll only need to put down 3.5%, which is amazing.

• If you are going Conventional, you’ll need to set aside 20% of the purchase price for your down payment. Though 10%, and in some instances, even 5% will suffice, you'll incur the cost of PMI.

• PMI is an acronym for Private Mortgage Insurance. Lending institutions require buyers who provide a down payment of less than 20% to purchase PMI insurance and pay it off monthly in addition to their mortgage.

• For example, if you purchase a home worth $150,000 and you put down only $4,500 (3%), you'll need to purchase PMI insurance to cover the missing 17% of the down payment. In this case, the monthly PMI would amount to $118.82, in addition to your mortgage payment.

Remember your closing costs

The number of novice buyers that tend to underestimate the amount needed for closing costs is astounding. Generally, closing costs will amount to approximately 3% of the purchase price of the home. However, the cost may vary.

• The most important fees that are included in closing costs are legal fees, lender fees, transfer taxes, and title policies. However, there are several other costs associated with closing on a home you intend to purchase.

• Employing the services of an experienced local realtor will not only help you accurately estimate your closing costs. But, your realtor will also be able to guide you toward vendors with the lowest fees (such as banks, lawyers, and more).

• If you have an experienced realtor, based on the conditions of the home, they may even be able to ask the seller to cover the closing costs, which will save you a bunch of money.

• It’s becoming increasingly common to negotiate into your contract that a percentage of the closing costs are to be paid by the seller. In some instances, the seller will be willing to pay all of your closing costs.

Much like getting married and starting a family, purchasing your first home is a rite of passage. It isn't uncommon for homebuyers to get themselves into trouble by overextending themselves financially or choosing a home that isn't right for them. 

Make the most of this joyous moment by ensuring that you're aware of all of the expenses you'll incur as a homeowner, and budgeting accordingly. If the expenses are simply too high to handle at this time, there's no shame in waiting until you're financially ready; it's the responsible thing to do.