Nearly 75% of homeowners spend $10,000 they never expect in the first 2 years – how buying a house can torch your finances

“The biggest mistake first-time buyers make is assuming that if they can afford the mortgage payment, they can afford homeownership,” Daniel Amodeo, president of Boston-based Amo Realty, told Moneywise.

The first two years of home ownership often bring expenses people never planned for, from replacing a water heater or HVAC system to higher insurance premiums, property taxes, landscaping, and routine maintenance.

“I always tell buyers to leave the closing table with a healthy emergency fund because it’s usually not a question of if something will break, but when,” Amodeo said. To Amodeo’s point, 45% of those surveyed in Jobber’s study said they’d warn future buyers to pad the household repair budget with more cash than they think they’ll need.

Buyers too often focus on the initial costs of a home like the listing price and mortgage but fail to account for additional expenses. “First-time homebuyers often lack the experience to understand the surprise expenses,” Wyatt Simon, founder at Omaha Home Advisors, told Moneywise.

Here’s where the biggest early home repair bills originate

New homeowners can do themselves a big favor by focusing on the critical infrastructure of a home, which holds it together, ensuring it operates efficiently and safely. It’s more important than decor or cabinet space.

“Most surprises are seldom cosmetic,” Alexei Morgado, a Florida-based real estate agent and founder at Lexawise, a digital real estate exam preparation platform, told Moneywise.

“They’re related to the age of roofing systems, heating and air conditioning units, water heaters, plumbing or electrical systems, and insurance deductibles.”

Those cost headaches tend to surface at the same time, since the systems may well be close in age. Additionally, most buyers aren’t adequately prepared for these costs since qualification for a mortgage focuses more on affording the monthly payment than on the maintenance.

“Home inspection represents just a snapshot and is no guarantee of the life left in the equipment,” Morgado said. “Most of the buyers may use all of their available funds to pay for a down payment, closing costs, moving, and furniture.”

Insurance and property taxes are changing homeownership economics

Many new homebuyers also discover too late that a fixed-rate mortgage is not a fixed total housing payment.

According to Cotality, non-mortgage housing costs soared by 30% in 2025. Meanwhile, ATTOM finds that the national average on property taxes was $4,427 in 2025, representing a 3% annual increase.

New buyers must factor in insurance costs and taxes when purchasing the house because they are just as as mortgage rates and payments

“The buyer must be aware that it may cost more to buy a cheaper house in a high-risk insurance area, one that needs to have additional wind and flood insurance, which has a large deductible or a potential reassessment of the property following its purchase,” Morgado said.

Here’s how to keep on top of surprise home repair bills

As the old saying goes, a little bit of preparation goes a long way, and that goes double for accounting for home repairs.

Home experts say that while due diligence on maintenance may dent the budget, it’s a whole lot better than the cash you’ll spend addressing big repairs. “Save at least 1% of your home’s value each year for maintenance, Melanie Musson, insurance analyst at Clearsurance.com, told Moneywise. “If your home is older, you should save at least 3%.”