Hidden Costs (of trying to buy)

As I was explaining to my friend Blake, there's a fair amount of money you can spend on a house before you even make the decision that you really want to buy it. To sum it up: inspections. Expensive inspections.

Before you buy a place you want to make certain that it's not completely falling apart and full of mold or termites. That's really the big three inspections you're looking at: general, mold, and termites. A good general inspector will check out the structural stability of the foundation, the house itself, the quality of the plumbing and wiring, up to the point a specialist would need to be called in. The mold inspection is going to check for, well, mold (specifically in air ducts and around water sources). Termites are self explanatory; in our case the owner (the bank) covered the termite inspection and repair.

So how much is all of this going to cost? Roughly $750 - $1200 and it's got to come out of your pocket. This cost isn't covered by the bank or able to be rolled into your loan, and even if you spend that money there is no guarantee that the house will end up yours. So the decision that you've got to make is whether or not you like the place enough to throw down the cash (we decided yes).

So, what other hidden costs can you guys think of?