I can’t believe that it has almost been 7 years since we moved into our house (and that we still haven’t removed the stupid timed fan in the guest bathroom). If you are thinking of purchasing your own home, I’m sharing a few tips below on things to consider when considering the total cost of your new home.

1. Make sure you know what all is included in your mortgage – are you paying for your property taxes and home insurance each month along with your mortgage or is it separate? This is a mistake that we made. A few months into our home ownership we found out that our property taxes weren’t in our mortgage, it was a bit surprising to get a $2000 bill. Make sure you take these into account when deciding how much house you can afford. A rule of thumb is to look at houses that are 2.5 times your annual salary and your monthly housing payment shouldn’t be more than 28 percent of your gross household monthly income.
2. Take into consideration all the new bills that will be arriving – if you have been living in an apartment previously, things like utilities, garbage and internet might have been included and now you need to pay for them each month separately. If you home is larger than where you lived before, these bills will also probably be larger.
3. Think about the new THINGS that you will need for your home – there are some large purchases that go along with the home purchase. We spent lots of money buying furniture and tools. Some of these large purchases include a lawn mower, hedge trimmer and a replacement washer & dryer. There were many trips to the Home Depot and IKEA those first few months.

If you have any questions about tips and tricks for purchasing your first home, Capital One has launched a new online learning center which features easy to understand articles and helpful videos. Buying a home is an important process, but certainly not a simple one – Capital One’s new online resource lays the groundwork with a glossary of terms you should know, an overview of the loans available and more.

While there are things I would change about our home, there are definitely things that I love, like the sunsets that I can see from my bedroom window.

What do you love about your home? What tips would you have for people looking at buying their first home?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.