The Hidden Costs...

When you decide to buy a house, you are always very focused on the price you pay for the purchase. But did you ever stop to think about all of the hidden costs that come up in the process?

We all know about real estate agent commissions and closing costs. But what about the $50 for the Fire Inspector to come to your house to tell you the smoke detectors in your five-year-old house are in the right place? And that you now need to have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen -- not inside the pantry door where you thought you would put it, but mounted to the wall just next to your kitchen table. (By the way, that fire extinguisher just cost you an additional $25 at Home Depot!)

Then, there's the latest inspection that was just made into a law last week: the Building Department has to come to your house to issue you a Certificate of Continued Occupancy. WHAT??? You have to pay an inspector a $100 fee (yes, that's $100!) to tell you that someone is allowed to continue living in your home??? WOW.

What other oddball fees do you think are going to pop up? I should keep a running list of how much this whole "buying-a-house" thing costs us, and post the grand total in a few months...