What will your new house cost when you are living in it

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​Many people only consider the actual costs of house construction, which we discussed in the article How much will your new house cost to build. But once the house is finished there are other costs to consider. These costs could make your new dream home unaffordable. It’s important to consider the ongoing costs of the house after the construction work is complete. Making the right decisions when designing your new home could reduce some of these costs.

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Running and ongoing costs after your house construction is finished 

​The running or ongoing costs of your new house could include:

• Loan repayments for money borrowed to fund the design and construction of your new home.
• Utility payments for electricity, gas and water. Larger houses inevitably use more power, gas and water. However, with better design it’s also possible to substantially reduce water, gas and electricity consumption. Incorporating solar or wind power generation may even mean that excess electricity can be sold back to the utility provider.
• Insurance, which usually depends on the value of the house – the more expensive the house the higher the premiums. Insurance premiums also depend on the location, with premiums being higher where risks are perceived to be higher, such as houses located in areas prone to flooding, or in areas where crime levels are high. However, incorporating security measures into your new home, such as, alarms, window locks and security screens, could also help reduce insurance premiums. Lock up garages could reduce insurance premiums for vehicles.
• Rates and taxes are often calculated according to the value of the new house, and they’re dependent on the size and the location of the property.
• Maintenance and repairs. All buildings require some maintenance. Houses that require regular painting can be a nuisance as well as costly. Areas close to the coast require more maintenance. Selecting higher grade products, materials and equipment can lessen the amount of maintenance and increase the life of items. It’s important to select equipment that can easily be serviced, that has good warranties and which has parts readily available.
• Upkeep of gardens. Many enjoy sitting out in a nice garden. Gardens are a place for kids to play, a place for pets and even a place to entertain family and friends. Some even enjoy gardening. But for many looking after a garden is a chore, or they don’t have time. Garden services are often expensive. However, gardens can be planned to limit the amount of maintenance, and even the amount of water required.
• Security costs, which could include alarm monitoring, or more, depending on the perceived security risks.
• Estate management fees. Some residential estates have management fees to pay for the estate security and for insuring and maintaining the common assets, such as, fences, roads, sidewalks and pools.
• Pool running costs, which include, power to operate the filtration system, water to top the pool up because of evaporation or excessive splashing, chemicals and pool cleaning and maintenance.

• Other costs which are related to the location, which could include, travel costs to work (properties located closer to places of work have lower travel costs) and the costs to get children to school. Travel costs could include toll fees, fuel, bus fares, etc.

Conclusion - how you can lower the running costs of your new home

It's important to consider the ongoing and running costs of your new house in conjunction with the costs to build or renovate your house. Sometimes spending a bit more during construction, perhaps selecting materials that don't require maintenance, or more hard wearing and durable finishes, could save money later. Fitting security features will reduce your insurance premiums. Installing solar panels and water recycling systems will reduce utility bills. Installing energy saving devises, passive heating and cooling systems, and even orientating the house correctly will reduce your energy and heating bills.
But, sometimes the rates, insurance premiums and estate costs (levees) may just be too expensive. In  this case you may have to consider building elsewhere where the rates are lower, or it may be necessary to build a smaller house, which is cheaper to build so the monthly loan repayments are less. A cheaper house also usually means lower rates and cheaper insurance premiums.
​Don't wait until you are living in your dream home to find that it's not affordable. Rather work out all the ongoing and running costs at the outset of your project, when you can still do something to reduce the bills.

For more valuable home construction and renovation tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more

​© 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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