Page 37 - How To Buy A Home In Louisville

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Breakdown of Costs

Month-to-month homeowner costs:

■ Mortgage payments— Your loan officer provides you with this amount.
■ Homeowner’s insurance— Most of the time, the cost of homeowner’s insurance is paid at the same time as
your monthly mortgage payment. Flood insurance is a separate, additional amount, if needed. See the web-
sites http://www.msdlouky.org/programs/crssite/fpindex.html and www.fema.gov and www.floorsmart.gov
for more information.
■ Property taxes— Also sometimes bundled with your monthly mortgage payment. Ask your lender if you will
use escrow for taxes and insurance. This means taxes and insurance are collected monthly with your mort-
gage payment instead of billing you once a year for the full amount. If you have questions about these for
a particular home, please ask! Taxes vary by city, county, and fire district. A good rule of thumb is to put a
decimal point in front of the last two numbers of the sale price. If the house costs $200,000, taxes should be
around $2,000 a year.
■ Utilities— Electricity, gas, water, phone, cable, internet, security system.
■ Garbage removal— Sometimes included under another fee such as a neighborhood association fee (HOA)or
city taxes.
■ Maintenance— Yard, roof, plumbing, furnace filter, gutters cleaned, grass cut, trees trimmed.
■ Home updates— Includes paint, carpet, new faucets, air conditioner, furnace.

Yearly homeowner costs:

■ Termite contract— If you choose to have the company guarantee no termites.
■ Furnace cleaning— Approximately $90.

One-time homeowner costs:

■ Down payment— This varies. It is possible to put no money down, however, to avoid a monthly fee, called
PMI, most lenders require 20% of the total home cost. Ask your lender about an 80/20 loan with no PMI.
■ Lender and attorney fees.
■ Home inspection, and an inspection for termites and other wood-destroying organisms.
■ Appraisal.
■ Credit report.
■ Other inspections as you choose (radon, mold, septic, structural).
■ Title insurance for you and the lender.

The River Valley Realty Group - How to Buy a Home in Louisville, Kentucky 35