In the event that you are looking at obtaining a mortgage loan, you have to be very confident that you will be able to honour the monthly installments! Have you ever taken enough time to sit down and draw up a list of every single thing that you have to pay on a month to month basis? Being a home owner is a large responsibility that does not simply end with the paying of your mortgage!

Let’s have a look at a couple of the most common expenses that house owners have to face every month:

Water and electricity: When last did your suburb have a power interruption that left you in the dark for a couple of hours? Not so long ago, right? And I am fairly confident that you did not quite enjoy being trapped in the dark with nothing to do but relax and wait for the power to come back on. And can you remember a time that the water to your house was cut off for whatever reason? Do you remember how annoying it was when you wished to flush the toilet, take a bath or have some coffee? It’s only at instances like these that we really fully grasp how crucial electricity and water actually is and how much we consume from month to month. The bigger the family and the home in question, the higher your monthly municipality bill!

Fuel and oil: We have to get to work and back every single day, drop the youngsters off at school and football practice and go to the retail store after work. I’m very sure that most of us would be lost without our cars and it will not be able to effectively run a household without our set of tires! The fact is that cars and trucks don’t operate on love and cold h2o! Before you decide to commit to a mortgage, do a proper calculation and then determine how much money you would have to spend on fuel each month to get to work, school, the stores and so on. Because fuel is not really a perceptible expenditure, a lot of people neglect to include that in their calculations.

Insurance: This is something which no home owner can be without! Firstly you will need contents insurance coverage to insure the actual content of your home. How else are you going to replace that big screen tv set, personal computers and home furniture after a break-in? And what will happen if the construction of your house is badly damaged in a flood or by fire? You’ll need building insurance to help you with restoring your house following this type of disaster! Should you add your vehicle insurance policy as well as your medical aid to this list, your monthly insurance cover obligations can almost be equal to your mortgage payment!

Other costs to consider are the obvious things such as food, clothing and education fees. Also don’t forget that you should never obtain a mortgage at the absolute maximum amount that you will be able to afford. What’s going to happen if the interest rate suddenly increases or you are without employment for a couple of months? Always plan in advance and make sure that purchasing a house is something that you are 100% ready for!

For more information on mortgage, go to http://www.isureins.co.za