I bought my house back in 2007. At the time, I was foolishly under the impression that my monthly mortgage payment was my only monthly expense on the house. Boy was I wrong! There are a lot of additional costs when owning a home.

Some we might think of, while others slip our minds. It is important that we take into account as many of the added costs as we can because they could be the difference between getting by each month or going into debt, which will only lead to more trouble down the road.

In this post, I am going to walk you through 5 comment surprising costs when owning a home.

5 Surprising Costs When Owning A House

#1. Lawn Care

Yes you probably thought about the fact that you need to mow your lawn and took into account the cost of a mower. But there are many other costs too with caring for a lawn that we don’t think of. Things like a weed trimmer and the cost of oil and gas for the equipment. And if you have a larger yard, you may be looking into a leaf blower for the fall as raking an acre of leaves would drive any person crazy.

Then there are the various tools, like rakes, hoes, garden shears, etc. that you will need for various jobs around the house. These may be one-time costs, but they can add up quickly.

#2. Snow Removal

Another costly added expense to owning a home is dealing with snow. You need to buy some shovels and possibly a snow blower. And you will have to buy shovels frequently as they never seem to last longer than one season. You also will need to look into salt for when it gets icy as well.

#3. Trash Removal

I overlooked this one! But trash removal is important and it can be expensive. Depending on where you live, you might even have to pay extra to have larger items taken by the trash company. This can add up if you are doing a lot of maintenance around the house or bought a fixer-upper.

Be sure to get quotes from various trash companies in your area so you know when you get a good deal on trash removal.

#4. Water and Sewer

This is another area where new homeowners don’t think ahead. You have to pay for water and sewage if you have public water. If you live in a rural area, you won’t have to pay for these but you will have to pay for the upkeep of your well and sewage area. If these start to fail they can become very costly.

But even using public water can add up over time, especially if you use a lot of water. Your best option here is to see what your first bill is and then make needed adjustments to your routine.

#5. Maintenance

There is a good amount of maintenance that we think of when buying a house. We know it will cost money to do some things. But there are still areas of maintenance that we tend to overlook. For me, it was the smaller items of maintenance, like cleaning. I didn’t factor in the added expense of regularly buying cleaning supplies.

But there are many other costs associated with maintenance and upkeep. Things break or wear out and you need to replace them. Other things need to be cleaned less frequently, but that cost is larger. The key is to not overlook basic maintenance costs.

Final Thoughts

When buying a house you will never be prepared for or account for all of the added expenses you will incur as a homeowner. But the more you are aware about them, the better your finances and your stress levels will be.

Take some time to think about expenses that might not be obvious and be sure to build them into your monthly budget. As an added step of safety, add in another 10-15% for unknown expenses. The more you can be prepared, the better.