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All serious home buyers should already know about closing costs, the cash needed to finalize a home purchase. Usually totaling between 2% and 5% of the purchase price, this money covers a variety of expenses, including the title, lender, and appraisal fees, that are required to sell a home. As part of your financial preparation for buying a home, you probably budgeted for these official closing costs; however, there are several additional expenditures which are commonly overlooked by otherwise well-prepared home buyers. Keep reading to learn about these forgotten costs so that they don't end up busting your budget!

You've heard it a million times before: increasing your credit score can have amazing benefits. However, you might be skeptical that moving this seemingly-magical number up a few points can really make all that much of a difference. LendingTree decided to prove the value of a great credit score by quantifying the money that someone with a "very good" score would save in interest compared to someone with a "fair" score. They found that a score of "very good" would save you over $29,000 on mortgage debt alone!

If you've been quietly hating your boring, outdated bathroom for years, then your desire for serious change is understandable. In fact, you aren't alone; some previously out-of-style design options have become more popular as homeowners attempt to break away from established norms like all-white everything and subway tile. However, now that you've finally decided to renovate, you might want to sit down and reconsider the bold colors and intricate patterns that looked so good in the online photos. HouseLogic recently identified some emerging design trends and alternate options that you should consider instead.