If you're buying your first home, it's very important to realize that the down payment is only the start of money outlay you'll be facing. It's really important to understand that after the uphill battle to scrape up the down payment, there are monthly expenses you'll face afterward.

The monthly mortgage payment is what you'll be owing the bank on a particular due date every month. The typical mortgage payment is made up of something called PITI — an acronym for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, the four components of a mortgage payment. You'll find that in the early years of paying your mortgage, most of the amount you're writing that check for goes toward the interest you owe your lender, not the principal that actually pays off the loan. Depending on the structure of that loan, you'll likely be paying off more of the principal over time.

If you put down less than 20 percent of the price of the home, property taxes are typically built into the monthly payment of your mortgage. Property taxes are usually paid to the county or town tax-collector's office. It's very important to call your county assessor's office before you put a bid on a home to make sure that the property tax figure you see on the seller's marketing materials is accurate and current. It's also a good idea to check when the next tax assessment will be and what the range of increase might be the next time around. With home prices rising nationwide, property taxes are becoming a very expensive part of home ownership.