When purchasing a new home, the sales price of the home appears to be the number that sticks out in most people’s mind, however that number can lead to a false impression of what it will cost to purchase a new home. There are many other fees that can be hidden or plain just not thought of when purchasing your new home.  

Once you have come to the decision that you want to own a home and no longer rent, the first thing to consider would be your credit.  It's important to clean up all your credit before hand in order to have a better credit score; this will give you a better chance at a lower interest rate.  Today's mortgage rates have been hovering at or around 5% thanks to the FED program, that has pumped $1.25 billion into mortgage backed securities.  Although this program expired at the end of March, the rates have not fluctuated by all that much. Be sure to add the price of cleaning up your credit to the cost of the home.

Closing costs should also be taken into consideration, as they will be needed up front in addition to your down payment.  The closing costs on a loan are to cover items such as title searches, administrative expenses etc.  According to Greg Herb, regional vice president for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), these costs could be equal to around 4 to 6 percent of the homes' sale price. Therefore if you are looking at home for 100,000, closing costs could be somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,000.  

Real estate attorneys are not necessary when purchasing a home, but they can help in giving the buyer piece of mind knowing that all necessary paperwork is complete to the letter of the law.  This could be another cost to be considered.  Costs of hiring a real estate attorney can vary.

Then of course there is the cost of moving into your new home.  If you are purchasing a home that is considerably larger than the home that you already live in could create the need for more furniture, window treatments, pictures and nick knacks. The costs of these items could easily run into the thousands.  You would also need to consider the cost of renting a moving van, movers and if you are moving long distances; the gas for the move.  Turning on your utilities at your new home will usually require a deposit, be sure to include that into your moving costs, as well!