A $200,000 home costs more than a $185,000 home, right? Well, yes and no. Assuming the same type of financing for both homes, the $200,000 home does cost more initially. But many factors contribute to the overall long-term cost of a house. Here are some things to keep in mind when trying to determine the true cost of purchasing a particular home:

• Does it have a pool or hot tub that requires maintenance?
• How much yard maintenance is required and who will perform it?
• Are there trees that should be removed?
• What are the utility costs? Although your usage won’t be exactly the same as the current owners, you may be able to get their utility bills for the past year from them or directly from the utility company.
• How soon will the roof need to be replaced?
• Does the house need repainting?
• Does the electrical system need upgrading to handle the load for your appliances and electronics?
• Does the home have aluminum wiring, lead-based paint, or other safety or health hazards you will want to address?
• Does the house need new carpeting or flooring?
• What remodeling projects do you see as a must?
• Will appliances need replacing?
• What are the estimated property taxes for the property?

Also, be sure to get a professional inspection to identify other potentially costly problem areas.

2004 by the Texas Association of Realtors, All rights reserved.

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Here are seven ways to cut the cost of your home insurance from http://helpinsure.com , a Texas customer-friendly Internet site. These are tips to help you save on your homeowners insurance.
1. Shop around – and do it early! Check with several different home insurance companies to get rate quotes. (An independent insurance agent can provide rate quotes from a variety of companies.) And definitely do it well before your policy expires, just in case you run into any snags along the way.
2. Raise your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance kicks in. Home insurance deductibles usually start around $250. However, if you increase your deductible to:
$500, you’ll save up to 12% on your premiums
$1,000 ? Save up to 24%
$2,500 ? Save up to 30%
$5,000 ? Save up to 37%
3. Buy your home and auto policies from the same company. Many companies will give what’s called a “multi-line” discount if you buy both home insurance and auto coverage from them.
4. Don’t skimp when buying a home. If you’re looking at buying a home, think about the cost of insuring the home. A newer home’s electrical, heating, and plumbing systems and overall structure are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home – and can lead to a discount on your premiums.
5. Insure your home, not the land. While your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms, and other perils, the land your home sits on is not. Don’t include the value of the land in deciding how much home insurance you need to buy.
6. Improve security and safety. Items such as dead-bolt locks, burglar alarms, and smoke detectors can usually bring discounts of 5% each. Your insurance company may also offer a significant discount of 15% or sometimes even 20% if you install a sophisticated home-security system.
7. Check your policy annually. Your policy should reflect the value of your home and belongings. If you review your policy every year, you can easily make the necessary adjustments. If, for example, you just sold a valuable painting, you won’t need the same amount of personal property coverage. But if you’ve added a garage or other addition, you’ll need to increase your dwelling coverage.

2004 Copyright Texas Association of Realtors. All rights reserved.

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TEXAS (Real Estate Center) – A total of 19,330 existing single-family homes were sold in Texas last month, up 16 percent from March 2009, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The median price was up 4 percent to $144,600 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 7.1-month inventory of existing homes.

Here is how select Texas cities fared in March (data current as of April 27, 2010):

Additional home sales data for these and other major Texas cities are available on the Center’s website.