💰 Buyer Action Playbook
First-Year Home Budget & Cash Flow
Answer 4 questions for a 6-category first-year budget: property tax, insurance, HOA, maintenance reserve, misc costs, and a year-1 cash flow table.
The down payment is only the beginning. The real test is the next 12 months: property tax, insurance, HOA, maintenance, utilities. Most budget overruns aren't from overpaying on price — they're from undercounting year-1 costs.
- One page per category — tick it off
- Tied to your answers: new home → supplemental tax & builder warranty; older home → big-ticket lifespan calendar
- The F cash-flow table is the single most important page — save it and revisit