The best time to get a sense of the costs involved in home ownership is before you begin to look for one, especially since the “hidden costs” of owning a home can top $14,000 a year for the average U.S. homeowner and exceed $22,000 in pricey metros such as San Francisco and New York.

The sum — which pencils out to $1,180 a month for the average homeowner — includes utility bills, homeowners insurance and maintenance costs, according to an analysis by Zillow and Thumbtack, a home management platform that enables people to fix, maintain and improve their homes.

While most prospective buyers are familiar with big ticket items such as mortgage payments and property taxes, smaller costs add to the cost of owning a home. Taking them into account before you begin shopping can help prevent unpleasant surprises that strain or drain your finances.

What are the costs of owning a home?

“Understanding all the costs that come with homeownership can not only impact a buyer’s budget, but the type of home they shop for, too,” said Zillow® home trends expert Amanda Pendleton. “While a big backyard or a larger home may be appealing, it’s important to consider how much maintaining those spaces could cost. Buyers may want to consider affordable alternatives to single-family homes, or spend more upfront on a new-construction home that could need less maintenance in the near term.”

The total costs of home ownership are made up of purchase costs, ongoing fixed costs and maintenance expenses. The most common ongoing expenses include:

• Mortgage payments (principal and interest)
• Property taxes
• Insurance
• HOA dues (if applicable)
• Utilities
• Maintenance

Costs of homeownership by location

Of the top 39 metro areas analyzed, the locations with the highest hidden costs of ownership costs are San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, which all came in at more than $22,000 annually. 

Locations with some of the least expensive annual hidden homeownership costs are Las Vegas ($9,886); Asheville, North Carolina ($11,318); and St. Louis ($11,824).

Home details that affect your homeownership costs

A few additional factors besides your real estate market can make your homeownership experience less or more expensive than the average, including: 

• Age of the home
• Home’s condition based on inspection and disclosures
• Location (affects both contractor costs and climate-specific maintenance)
• Materials used for build and subsequent renovations or repairs
• Home warranty

Ongoing fixed costs of owning a house

Once you buy a home and move in, you’ll start paying a set of ongoing fixed costs for as long as you own the home.

Monthly mortgage payments (principal & interest)

If you put 10% down on a typical U.S. home, valued at about $350,000, and financed the rest with a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 7%, here’s what the cost of borrowing would look like:

• Principal and interest: $2,096
• Private mortgage insurance: $155 (note that for many loans, you’ll only have to pay PMI until your equity in the home reaches 20%)
• Total monthly mortgage payment: $2,251

Property taxes

How much you’ll pay in property taxes depends on the tax rates where your home is located and how much your house is worth. Your property taxes are paid in a lump sum annually or biannually, either out of pocket or, more commonly, through your mortgage escrow account. 

Nationally, homeowners pay an average of $2,827 in property taxes annually. Metro New Yorkers pay the highest property taxes out of the 40 studied, averaging $9,145 a year. Pittsburgh metro homeowners average the lowest property taxes at $1,055 annually.

Homeowners’ insurance

Homeowners’ insurance generally covers repairs or replacement of your home and its contents if they are damaged by certain hazards such as fires or other natural disasters and is almost always required by your lender.

The cost of homeowners’ insurance will vary depending on your location, the type of coverage you’re buying and any discounts you might qualify for, and your insurer.

Broadly speaking, homeowners pay about 0.5% of their home’s value every year for insurance. So for the typical home, valued at about $350,000, you’d pay about $146 a month. The cost is likely to be higher in areas prone to hazards, and lower in the most affordable metros, such as Pittsburgh ($994 annually) and Cleveland ($1,087 a year).

Coverage for rebuilding or repairs after an earthquake or flood is usually not included in standard homeowners’ policies, so you may want to — or in the case of flood insurance, have to — buy a separate policy.

If you’re buying with a mortgage, the lender will typically roll the cost of insurance into the monthly mortgage payment and pay the premiums on your behalf.

Homeowner association (HOA) fees

If your home is part of a homeowner’s association, you’ll be responsible for paying monthly, quarterly or yearly dues. HOAs are more common in condominium, townhome or planned communities. 

Homeowner associations or HOAs are non-profit entities that can establish and enforce rules, provide basic services such as water and tend to the maintenance and repair of community amenities such as pools, roads and landscaping.

Commonly found in condominium, townhome and planned single-family home communities, HOAs are run by a board of homeowners and typically charge dues that you will be required to pay monthly or annually. Dues vary widely, and can change depending on the community needs. For instance, an association that has neglected maintenance or wants to undertake development of something such as a new park can raise dues or levy special assessments. 

Maintenance expenses of owning a home

“Just like you would visit a mechanic for regular tune-ups to help keep your car in good condition and avoid big bills, your home needs the same routine maintenance to ensure that everything is running smoothly,” said David Steckel, Thumbtack’s home expert. “Staying on top of annual home maintenance will not only increase the value of your home, but will also help prevent emergency repairs that can wreck a homeowner’s budget.”    

Maintenance costs are somewhat flexible because they may not impact every homeowner in the same way. For example, you could have to pay for lawn maintenance out of pocket or through your HOA or you may not have a yard to maintain. Although costs will vary, it’s helpful to get a feel for maintenance expenses. 

Maintenance and upkeep

Based on data from millions of home projects completed across the country, home maintenance and upkeep runs about $6,413 annually, according to Thumbtack. The list of projects on which the list is based is a long one that may or may not apply to your circumstances: 

• appliance maintenance 
• carpet cleaning 
• central air conditioning maintenance 
• deck staining and sealing 
• duct and vent cleaning 
• fireplace and chimney cleaning 
• full-service lawn care 
• gutter cleaning and maintenance 
• heating system maintenance 
• house cleaning 
• pressure washing 
• roof maintenance 
• sprinkler and irrigation system maintenance 
• tile and grout cleaning 
• tree trimming and removal 
• water heater maintenance
• window cleaning

The average cost of upkeep is highest in Los Angeles and Chicago, totaling $8,639 and $7,722 respectively. Meanwhile, homeowners in Pittsburg pay an average of $3,373 and those in Cleveland pay $3,747 a year to maintain their homes. 

Utilities

If you’re a first-time buyer, the cost of utilities could surprise you, especially if your previous rental home included utilities. Homeowners in Hartford, Connecticut, pay the highest utility bills, averaging $4,443 annually, according to the Zillow/Thumbtack research.

For homeowners in urban areas, utilities could include: 

• water and sewer
• garbage pickup 
• electric 
• natural gas 
• cable and internet

Rural utility costs could include: 

• water 
• septic repair and maintenance 
• garbage pickup 
• electric 
• propane 
• wood or wood pellets for heat 
• internet

Larger homes are likely to cost more to heat and cool, and older homes may be less energy efficient unless they’ve had new windows installed and/or the insulation upgraded.

Home repairs and cosmetic updates

Depending on the age and condition of the home, you’re likely to run into things you want to update or have to fix. 

Research and survey data from Zillow and home services website Thumbtack in 2021 shows that 65% of active shoppers are not looking for a fixer-upper. Yet the research found that the typical for-sale home could need nearly $30,000 worth of work, and that new homeowners should expect to spend $26,900 to make their new home move-in ready.

That’s substantially more than the $10,000 to $15,000 the average millennial surveyed by Thumbtack expects to pay for repairs and updates.

The most expensive project — evaluating, repairing or replacing heating and air conditioning systems — clocked in at a national average of $3,615.

New appliances

Everything in a home has a lifespan, and appliances are no exception. 

If you’re buying a newly built home, the appliances should be new and under warranty. If you’re buying a resale home, the need to replace or repair an appliance can vary widely depending on the age and condition of the appliances.

At a minimum, most appliances will run you several hundreds of dollars for the most basic models. Add bells and whistles, and you could be looking at thousands of dollars to replace a refrigerator. You also could have to pay for installation, a pricey proposition if it involves changes to electrical wiring or plumbing.

How to prepare for hidden costs

A good place to start is to determine how much you intend to put down on the purchase, and then see how much you’re prepared to spend on closing costs and improvements. 

A good rule of thumb is to have 1-4% of the home cost reserved for hidden costs.  

Complete a home inspection

Look to your home inspection for a preview of what to expect. The best way to get a handle on possible costs for repairs and upgrades is to have a home inspected before you make an offer to buy it.

A good inspector can assess electrical systems and plumbing, structural soundness and the condition of the roof — and some inspectors can offer price estimates for various repairs. Even seemingly small repairs add up, so knowing what your house may need in advance can help set expectations for your wallet. 

Once you have a handle on what repairs are needed, you can factor them into the cost of the house to determine the true cost of owning it, and compare the price to other homes that might not need as much work.

Set up an emergency fund

Home maintenance costs can be unpredictable. It’s smart to set aside 1-2% of your home’s value each year into an emergency fund, so that when those big-ticket repairs need fixing, you’ll already have the money set aside. 

Make a plan for improvements

Plan for updates. Think about what things would have to be done immediately, what could wait, and — if you’re handy, what you might be able to do yourself. Be realistic. Some home projects, such as painting the outside or remodeling the kitchen, can take a long time when you’re working and/or tending to your family.

Forecast repairs and replacements

Although it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly when something in your home is going to fail or need replacing, you can use the expected lifespan to prepare, both financially and mentally, for upcoming projects. If you’re buying an existing home, your home inspector will usually estimate the age of the appliances at the time of your purchase. Here are common lifespans, according to the National Association of Homebuilders and Consumer Reports: 

• Roof: 20-30 years, or 50+ years for slate or copper roofs
• Furnace: 18 years for a gas furnace, 15 years for electric
• Air conditioner: 15 years
• Oven/range: 15 years
• Refrigerator: 13 years
• Freezer: 11 years
• Washer/dryer: 10-13 years
• Dishwasher: 9 years
• Flooring: 10-100 years, depending on the material

Assess your appliances

Get to know your appliances. Ask your inspector to test the appliances during the home inspection, and ask your real estate agent to get the age of the appliances from the seller, along with typical cost of utilities in the summer and winter months.

Consider a home warranty

Research home warranties. A home warranty — which is a short-term service contract that helps home buyers cover the costs of repairing or replacing certain mechanical systems and applies during the first year of ownership, can take away some of the financial uncertainty. Depending on the level of coverage, home warranties typically cost between $300 and $800, and can usually be paid monthly or in a lump sum. You can ask the seller to pay for one or buy one yourself. 

Ask about HOA maintenance practices

Since HOA dues are fixed for the year, they should be easy enough to figure into the budget. To get a sense of how stable those costs are likely to be long term, ask for a copy of the HOA’s most recent three annual financial reports to see whether it is spending money on routine maintenance. HOAs that kick the can down the road can end up with expensive projects that require special assessments or hefty dues hikes.

Add up costs for maintenance

If you’re contemplating a home with a yard, for example, do a cold-eyed assessment of how much time and money you need and want to spend maintaining it. If you prefer to hire someone to do it, put that in your budget.

Remember: Your list doesn’t have to be exhaustive, but it should get you close to what you’re prepared to spend. Having that monthly cost in mind, can help you determine whether the home you want to buy fits your budget.

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It’s a Saturday afternoon in August, nearly a year after the death of one of the most iconic burlesque performers to grace the stages of San Francisco’s bygone nightclubs. 

A group of former dancers, friends and family members are gathered at the Showgirl Magic Museum in the basement of the Clarion Performing Arts Center in San Francisco’s Chinatown, laughing and sifting through old photo albums as they snack on matcha ice cream and listen to cabaret music on a crackling turntable. 

They’re in the middle of a conversation about Coby Yee.

Arlene Dark, a longtime dancer at the Chinese Sky Room, points to a photograph of her and grins. “I was always doing Coby’s number backstage. She had a very good act, and the crowd just loved her.”

Cynthia Yee, a past nightclub performer crowned Miss Chinatown in 1967, fondly refers to one area of the museum she now helms as “the Coby Corner.” It’s filled with an assortment of glitzy gowns and lavish sequined headdresses that glimmer from the walls, as well as paraphernalia from the club that came to be known as “Coby Yee’s Forbidden City,” including a ’50s-era dinner menu with a filet mignon priced at $5.50, and the tap shoes of popular dancer Tony Wing.

Shari Matsuura, Coby Yee’s daughter, walks down the steps into the museum and takes in the scenery, nodding to herself. 

“It’s the first time I’ve come back to San Francisco without my mom,” she says with tears in her eyes, adding that she flew in from Honolulu just a few days before. “I think she would be so surprised by all of this. But it’s wonderful to be surrounded by all of these people — all of my mom’s friends. This is home to me.” 

Some of the memorabilia on display at the Showgirl Magic Museum in San Francisco on July 29, 2021. The museum is a tribute to San Francisco’s rich mid-20th century nightclub culture.

Mariah Tiffany/Special to SFGATE

Described as “China’s most daring dancing doll” in aging newspaper clippings, Coby Yee’s electrifying stage presence enchanted crowds of hundreds at the peak of the Chinese American nightclub scene in San Francisco, which lasted from the mid-1930s to 1970. Not only was she a headlining act who crafted all of her own costumes, but later in life, she also owned and operated the largest and most famous of the clubs, the Forbidden City on 363 Sutter St., plus a cocktail lounge on Broadway (the Dragon Lady) and her own dance and clothing studio in Waverly Place. 

“You could go to Chinatown, see Coby Yee perform, be seated by her at her own bar, go take a dance class from her and then commission a dress. And then you could pop over to another club and see a show that she created,” said Burlesque Hall of Fame museum curator Darby Fox in an episode of their podcast “Quimm City Presents.”

The Las Vegas-based museum presented Yee with a “Living Legend of Burlesque” award in 2020, though she passed away at the age of 93 on Aug. 14 of that year — one day before she would have received the honor in a virtual ceremony. An exhibit titled “Coby Yee: The Hardest-Working Woman in Chinatown” is currently on display at the Burlesque Hall of Fame, showcasing her legacy and contributions to the art form. 

“I have a lot of admiration for her,” said Fox. “There’s a lot of hardworking women and exotic dancers that came after Coby, and they had a venue and a place to perform because she kept stages like that going in a changing landscape of live entertainment. She was a pioneer and a powerhouse.”

A photo of Coby Yee in the late 1950s. 

Courtesy of Shari Matsuura

The child of two Cantonese immigrants, Yee was born in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 2, 1926. Early in life, she demonstrated an affinity for tap dancing, according to Matsuura. She had an uncle who owned a supper club in Washington, D.C., where she performed as a teenager and had her first brush with show business, her daughter said. After World War II, her parents expressed a desire to return to China, and brought Yee and her sister with them to San Francisco to catch a boat and cross the Pacific. When they arrived, Yee refused to leave San Francisco.

“I don’t know how she convinced my grandparents,” said Matsuura, noting that Yee’s sister was already married and not expected to go back. “But she stayed put.” 

Eager to show off her talents, Yee started performing in chorus lines and ensemble acts before becoming a top-billed performer at the Forbidden City, which had been spearheaded by Charlie Low in 1938 following the success of his previous venture, the Chinese Village (known as the first cocktail bar in Chinatown). The popularity of the bar inspired many similar businesses, including Kubla Khan and the Lion’s Den, where Yee also performed. 

It was a time when at least five busloads of people from across the country would descend upon San Francisco every evening for a taste of the nightlife, said Cynthia Yee. They’d make their way from the drag club Finocchio’s on Broadway to Bimbo’s 365 on Columbus before finally arriving at the Chinese Sky Room and the Forbidden City, where a revue combining mime, comedy, live music and scantily clad dancers cycled through three performances a night, which regularly sold out. 

Coby Yee performs in a magic act at the Forbidden City on Sept. 24, 1966.

Courtesy of the Showgirl Magic Museum

Yee was undoubtedly the star and a local celebrity of sorts, with her name splashed across newspaper ads and regularly appearing in nightlife columns. 

“Mona Fong and Coby Yee have made Charlie Low’s show at the Forbidden City the best that Charlie has produced … just what the doctor ordered,” reads an excerpt from a 1959 review penned by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Hal Schaefer.

That same year, Herb Caen detailed how King Baudouin of Belgium came to see her perform while on a visit to the city.

“She curtsied — whereupon he smiled and waved to her,” wrote Caen. “Before she went on, though, she asked Boss Charlie Low nervously: ‘Shall I censor the act?’ Charlie: ‘Heck no, let ‘er rip!’”

Other stories depict her shrewd sense of humor. Once, when interviewed by the San Francisco Examiner after a man had drunkenly wandered into her dressing room, she remarked, “I have never been so embarrassed. He caught me standing there completely clothed!” 

Chinese dancers Mae Tai Sing and Tony Wing perform an elaborate floor show circa 1955 at Forbidden City, a nightclub in Chinatown, San Francisco.

Orlando/Getty Images

That’s not to say clubs like the Forbidden City were universally revered. At first, they drew a mixed response, with some in the Chinese community viewing them as exploitative, not to mention a fetishization of their ethnicity that catered to mostly white tourists. And though the Forbidden City was marketed as an all-Chinese nightclub — a three-page spread in a 1940 issue of Life Magazine hailed it as “the No. 1 all-Chinese nightclub in the U.S.” — apprehension from Chinatown’s residents led to the recruitment of many Japanese, Korean and Filipino performers from around the Bay Area as well, according to Arthur Dong’s book “Forbidden City, U.S.A.”

However, dancers would often subvert the so-called “Orientalist” stereotypes they promoted, playing with the racial expectations of their clientele and ultimately defying societal norms to pursue the performance art they were passionate about. And the truth was their talent couldn’t be ignored.

“Coby really pushed boundaries back then, and encouraged me to continue to explore what it means to be a Chinese American woman, especially in burlesque,” said Frankie Fictitious, an East Bay burlesque performer. “We were raised to keep our heads down and blend in, but [performers like Coby] redefined what it meant to be an Asian American woman or a woman of color, subverting the idea that we are docile and submissive, when we’re women being unapologetically powerful and reclaiming our sexuality.”

A photo of burlesque performer Frankie Fictitious, left, wearing one of Coby Yee’s, right, handcrafted costumes she sewed during the height of her career. 

Courtesy of Frankie Fictitious

If there’s one thing those close to Yee remember her for, it was her ambition. When Low decided to retire and sell the Forbidden City in 1962, Yee took over, owning the club until its eventual closure in 1970, while still going back and forth between multiple venues to perform, often within the same night. 

“I don’t think she realized she was going to become a trailblazer. In her mind, she was just going to work,” said Matsuura. “And to me, it was normal. I had a working mom — a single mom. She did the regular things to get me ready for school. She dropped me off and picked me up. We went to family dinners. There was nothing too out of the ordinary, except my mom worked at night.”

Eventually, a shifting nightlife scene and the rise of clubs featuring go-go dancers and topless acts like Carol Doda at the Condor Club led to the demise of Chinatown’s nightclubs, said Cynthia Yee. The Chinese Sky Room was the last to shutter.

Two chorus girls prepare for their act in the dressing room of the Forbidden City nightclub circa 1955 in Chinatown, San Francisco. 

Orlando/Getty Images

After the Forbidden City days, Coby Yee quietly opted to leave show business. That is, until Cynthia Yee saw her teaching a ballroom dancing class at a senior center in the East Bay about six years ago.

“I asked her to come and do a show with us,” said Cynthia Yee, referring to the Grant Avenue Follies, a touring dance troupe she founded in 2004 with a group of other former Chinatown performers and community members. “She was like, ‘No, no, no. I’m not doing any more of that. Forbidden City is over with.’ And I said, ‘Please. Come down with me to Las Vegas to the Burlesque Hall of Fame. You just have to walk across the stage, that’s all you have to do.’”

Eventually, Coby Yee relented and joined the group in traveling across the world, from Las Vegas to Havana, Cuba, and Shanghai, China. Her last performance was in February 2020 at a show produced by Cynthia Yee at the Clarion Performing Arts Center, just a floor above the museum that now serves as a tribute to her burlesque career. 

Coby Yee dancing in Cuba in 2019.

Courtesy of Patricia Nishimoto

“I remember that day. She was so… tired,” said Fictitious, who also performed at the event. “But then when she got up on stage, she lit up and was the biggest ball of energy. She made everyone in the audience smile. They gave her a standing ovation, but then again, she always gets one. I just remember thinking how happy the stage made her … and I’m so happy that she was able to rediscover her passion for burlesque toward the end of her life.”  

Coby Yee resided at her home in San Pablo for 40 years, where she spent hours behind her sewing machine each day, continuing to create thousands of intricate garments that filled up every corner of her house but never made it to the stage.  

Fictitious wanted to change that. 

With the help of the Bay Area burlesque community, many of Yee’s remaining costumes were donated or sold on a pay-what-you-can basis to local burlesque performers. Some are on display as part of the exhibit at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. Others are still available for purchase through Pistil Dance Studios in Vallejo, with the proceeds going toward the Grant Avenue Follies, the Burlesque Hall of Fame, the Clarion Performing Arts Center, among other organizations that keep the art of burlesque alive.

“I know my mom would be very pleased to see other people wearing her designs, to be enjoying and making use of her work in this way. Tickled, really,” said Matsuura. “Can you imagine?”

Coby Yee and Frankie Fictitious at Yee’s San Pablo home. 

Courtesy of Frankie Fictitious

A photo of Coby Yee, circa 1945. 

Courtesy of Shari Matsuura

From left to right: Patricia Nishimoto (a member of the Grant Avenue Follies), Shari Matsuura (Coby Yee’s daughter) and Coby Yee in Chinatown, taken in 2019. “Coby loved seeing me in her white leather coat,” said Nishimoto.

Courtesy of Patricia Nishimoto

Coby Yee, right, gives one of her handcrafted headdresses to Mimi Chin, a member of the Grant Avenue Follies, at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.  

Courtesy of Cynthia Yee

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