The Most Important Investment of Your Life: How Much Money Do You Need to Buy a House?

Buying a home for the first time can be very exciting. But it can also be one of the most stressful things that you'll ever do in life.

In fact, buying a home for the first time can be so stressful that it leads to about one-third of all first-time homebuyers shedding tears at some point. They get so overwhelmed by the process that they can't help but cry.

Many first-time homebuyers have a million and one questions, and it leads to them feeling anxious. They wonder things like, "How much money do you need to buy a house?", and can't sleep without answers.

If you're concerned about the financial aspect of buying a home, learning how much it'll cost can put your mind at ease. Here is what you'll need to know about how much money you need to have saved up to purchase your first home.

Let's Start by Discussing a Downpayment

You can't possibly answer the question, "How much money do you need to buy a house?", without first talking about putting together a downpayment for a home. It's usually the largest expense for a first-time homebuyer.

Generally speaking, you're going to need to put down 20% of the total cost of your first home as part of a downpayment. Even if you're taking out a home loan through a great lender like the Bank of QLD, a downpayment is a must.

If you're buying, say, a $200,000 home, that means that you'll need to have about $40,000 ready to put down as your downpayment. Or, if you can't do that, you'll need to apply for a very specific home loan that allows you to put down a smaller downpayment for your home.

This could lead to you paying slightly higher interest rates on your home loan than you would otherwise. But it's not a bad option for those who don't have $40,000 lying around for a downpayment.

Make Sure You Don't Forget About Closing Costs

The downpayment that you put down on your first home will represent your largest single expense. But that won't be the only money that you'll have to shell out when purchasing a home.

There are also going to be closing costs that you'll be responsible for at the end of the home-buying process. These costs catch some first-time homebuyers completely off-guard and make them apprehensive about buying a home.

Closing costs are usually anywhere from 2 to 3% of the cost of a home. You should expect to spend upwards of $6,000 on closing costs when you buy a $200,000 home.

But you should also consider trying to find a way to get out of paying closing costs if you can. Many homebuyers will negotiate closing costs into their deal with a home seller and have them cover closing costs. It's a nice way to save yourself some money in the end.

Take Prepaid Expenses Into Account

Closing costs aren't the only things that catch some first-time home buyers off-guard. They're also often shocked to find out how much they're really going to have to pay for their home every month.

The monthly mortgage on a $200,000 home will likely cost you right around $1,000 or so. But you're going to have to pay a lot more than that for your home every month once you factor in real estate taxes and homeowners insurance.

Depending on where you live, you might pay twice what you were expecting to pay to live in a $200,000 home every month. You might also be asked by your lender to set up an escrow account for your prepaid expenses so that those expenses are covered ahead of time.

Every lender operates a little bit differently when it comes to handling prepaid expenses. But it wouldn't be crazy for your lender to ask you to fill an escrow account with $1,500 or so before you move into a home so that they know they can cover your initial prepaid expenses.

Consider the Cost of Making a Move

So at this point, you've figured out how much of a downpayment you're going to need to put down on your first home. You've also accounted for closing costs and prepaid expenses. It's time to put your wallet away and start enjoying your new home, right?

Almost, but not quite. Before you're able to begin soaking up everything your first house has to offer, you're going to need to move into it. And that will—you guessed it!—cost you some more money.

Moving into a home might not seem like it would be such a big expense. But according to the American Moving & Storage Association, the average intrastate move costs almost $1,200. The average interstate move costs more than $5,600.

There is also a chance that you might want to do some work on your first home before moving into it or, at the very least, buy new furniture and appliances for it. This will force you to come up with more money for your new home.

You can, of course, find ways to cut the costs associated with moving into a new home. You can move all of your things by yourself or opt not to change much to your new home right now to trim your costs.

But it's a good idea to think about the various moving costs you might incur. They can easily blow your budget if you're not careful. 

How Much Money Do You Need to Buy a House? It Really All Depends

So, how much money do you need to buy a house? Well, as you've just seen, it kind of all depends on any number of factors.

If, for instance, you buy a $400,000 home instead of a $200,000 one, you're going to need a much larger downpayment for it. You're also going to need to set aside more money for real estate taxes, homeowners insurance, and more.

But you can use the percentages and average costs found here to calculate roughly how much money you'll need to buy your first house. You'll sleep better at night when you know the answer. Or you can find a good financial advisor like Kpartners to ask for the optimal option.

Interested in getting more tips on buying a house? Read the articles on our blog to find out all about how to purchase a home.