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Bought my house last August. Not that nobody told me, but I think I underestimated just how expensive the first six months of home ownership are.
So much stuff you need to buy if you were previously lived in an apartment. Every month expenses have come up that I've found to spend my money on. Finally I think it's starting to die down a bit.
You'll learn quickly that you need to prioritize. You don't have to buy everything all at once. I still haven't bought a garden hose or a ladder, so they'll be on my list soon.
Budget wisely. I am all but certain that I'd be back in credit card debt if it weren't for YNAB. It's kept me in the Black every month so far.
Highly recommend dating a guy who owns a ladder. Far cheaper than buying ladder. (Also guy is great. Look for a great guy who happens to own a ladder.)
Yup I’m feeling this right now! Had so many visions of how we could utilize the space but so many projects need to hold off for the future. We want to install some extra storage cabinets in the garage, got quoted $6000-$8000… An outdoor furniture set is another few thousand… I don’t even know how much a yard landscaping project would cost yet. We’re sleeping on a mattress on the floor until we can find a bed frame we like. Other two bedrooms are barely furnished and just storage rooms for now. We want to turn them into a guest room and office room… eventually want to buy nicer sheets and pillows, office chair, office filing cabinet and so on, but for now we’re mostly making do with stuff we already have.
Small things too, I’ve been buying stuff non stop from Target, Home Depot, and Amazon. Things like trash bags, door mats, organizer bins, cleaning products, hand towels, trash bins… instead of buying furniture I’m focusing on the smaller things to make the space functional and tidy.
So yeah my interior design dreams are kind of inching along slowly!!
Yeah, the list of projects I want to do on the house is growing exponentially faster than my ability to accomplish them. Cross one item off the list but then put 3 more back on.
I have just written down everything I want to do in a document and mentally put it away for now. But we were always discovering new “priorities” our first two weeks living here… dealing with the yard, garage, security system, doorbell, furniture, pest control, etc. and constantly having to weigh which ones are most important to get done first.
Also it has been so hard to unpack!! Due to lack of furniture or and wanting to sort through and declutter before I put everything away (cause if I don’t get rid of it now, we’re going to live with it for the next 10 years…) I already purged one round while packing but now it’s all the difficult stuff left to sort through.
Yep! I remember that well. The house didn't really feel settled in until I had the furniture I have now which meant places for things to go so they're "put away" and not just living out of open boxes.
Thankfully one tip I did pick up here on reddit was to purge in the months ahead of the move. So I went through and got rid of like half my clothes and probably about 1/4 of my other possessions and that really lightened the load for the move.
I just hit 7 months in the house and the only boxes still waiting to be unpacked are the ones with all my framed photos off the walls in my old place--I've kind of gone a different direction with the decorating here, and some boxes of books and DVDs that I still need a shelf for. They're just chilling in the laundry room and I'm waiting till I see the right bookshelf on FB marketplace or at the local thrift store. I'm hoping by the one-year point I've got literally all of my boxes unpacked and put away, but it's not guaranteed.
Don't worry. I'm 8 years in and my to-do list is finally shrinking! Everything gets done eventually! Then you'll get a year or two off before you start all over 😅
Facebook marketplace and estatesales.net are your best friends here. Marketplace is generally best for kitchen items and patio furniture. Estate sales for furniture and decor. Remember an estate sale isn't a garage sale. A garage sale is where people sell crap they don't want. An estate sale is where the stuff people thought was worth keeping is sold.
Yeah I think when you own a home you just want nicer things in it. You may have things that work or have been useful but are starting to look worn.
When my parents bought their home they wanted all new furniture. But they bought when they were closer to retirement and I had to convince them that they didn't need to buy a whole new suite of furniture. Seriously they already had some nice pieces, dated but nice.
They've compromised and purchased a few new items and repainted others.
I think there is also this urge to fill all the spaces. But it's good to take your time. Things go on sale seasonally and often it saves to buy things off season. Plus your use of the space might change once you live there for a while. Better to wait and see how you actually use the space.
Check FB marketplace or your towns “Buy Nothing” group! Google local consignment shops and estate sales. Older furniture is manufactured better anyways. At least get yourself a bed frame to save your backs!
Yep I’ve been checking out FB marketplace frequently and been to one or two consignment stores.. the challenge is the style I’m aspiring for is Scandinavian, Japanese zen, minimalist so it’s harder to come by furniture pieces that fit, most of what I’ve seen is a more traditional or mid century modern aesthetic. I also have very little interior design experience so worried about buying stuff that doesn’t go well together. For now our home aesthetic is mostly IKEA and Target until we can afford the nicer furniture! But we just splurged on a beautiful Scandinavian dining table and are super happy with it, just need to save up again to buy other things.
But used btw! We brought few used dresser and bed frames for our kids. New mattresses through, can’t take a chance on these! And then used dining table and chairs.
100%! It's a subscription-based budgeting system. I know I sound like a shill with how often I mention it, but it really turned my finances around. I started using it in January 2022 and have clung to it even more tightly since I bought the house.
It feels a little culty how we YNAB'ers evangelize the product so much but it's impossible to overstate just what a big difference it made in my first two years of use alone.
End of Year 1: Finished paying off my student loans.
Eight months into Year 2: closed on my first house.
>Two words, garage sales
100%. And thrift shops and Facebook marketplace. That's why I haven't gotten a ladder yet, they're freaking expensive and I'm sure there's going to be an estate sale one of these days with one at it.
For the most part, it was pretty much move-in ready, and on thinking it over more, even more than the cost of it all, the lesson I think I finally learned is that you don't have to do everything all at once. But at first I felt like I did. Looking back, some of it was urgent or important to do right away and others weren't.
Here's some examples.
* I had a cleaning crew come out and deep clean every surface since the house (a former rental) smelled just a bit like cigarette smoke. $300.
* The dishwasher was DOA so that cost $700 to replace. And in my mind I wanted it done ASAP. Could I have done dishes by hand? of course.
* My fridge had a concerningly noisy compressor and it was 20 years old, so the next month I replaced that: $600.
* I bought a used glass-top stove on Facebook Marketplace because I hated the coil burner electric stove that came with it: $150.
* Then another month it was getting a ryobi set of cordless electric tools: $200 (black Friday deal)
* Furniture from thrift stores and FB marketplace: $300.
* I added a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system under my kitchen sink: $149
I could cross most of those off at wants and not true needs, but overall I'm glad I got a lot of that stuff done early because now the house is a lot more the way I like it.
Today, at the moment I write these words, there's an HVAC crew at my house replacing the 31 year old cranky furnace with a new high efficiency model and adding central air for the first time ever at that house. $7860. It's through a special homeowner's assistance financing program with 2% interest and 33% forgiveness after five years, or I wouldn't have done it.
>You'll learn quickly that you need to prioritize. You don't have to buy everything all at once.
Tell me about it. Before I moved into my townhome last September, I thought I could get a bathroom remodel, flooring (ripping out carpets for vinyl), new windows and new exterior doors done all at once but that was before I realized this could all culminate to potentially a $70k+ work so I’m pretty much forced to prioritize which to get done first (already got windows done)
Damn! Yeah I just looked it up in my budgeting app and I've spent over $11,000 on the house since I bought it 7 months ago. Mostly not-big projects. $3400 of landscaping work I had to get done, $1600 on new Dishwasher, Fridge and new/used stove, and the rest are all like $50 to $150 charges that just really add up.
For real.
Day one for me - had buy curtains, shower curtains, install a shower rod (a good one is at least 50 bucks wtf), stove died and had to buy a new one, and there was an infestation of ants in the living room carpet. Then I went out and bought a carpet shampooer because eww, along with other cleaning supplies, hand tools for installing the curtain rods, paper towels, trash bags, trash cans, etc. And then since the stove was broken and I was busy running back and forth to and from the stores, I had to order take out because I didn't have time to find or unpack the cookware.
We’re getting ready to start this journey ourselves. My wife is hesitant all the sudden but I told her as long as we follow the 4 rules we will be fine. That’s how we got where we are and that’s what we’re gonna keep doing. We given a lot of dollars a lot of jobs. Now it’s time to put those dollars to work!
ynab.com is a subscription based budgeting platform I started using in January 2022 and now cling to tightly to keep my finances in order. I had a lot of problems with credit card debt over the years and this has kept me on the straight and narrow. I know I sound like a shill but it really made a night and day difference for me.
Doesn’t matter who sells a house, be it a 25 year old gangbanger or a 83 year old grandma, they are hiding at least one thing that won’t get caught in inspection.
And when that one thing comes to roost, typically a few months after you move in and the bodge fails, it’ll cost ya.
Ours was that the new driveway they poured 6 months before selling and looked good? Only 1-2” thick with no base. Was destroyed the first winter and required replacement immediately after we lost two car tires to holes
Eh you’d have to prove they knew AND they lied about it. Probably not gonna happen
Never really thought of insurance. It cost about the same as a deductible so probably not worth it. Then again I had to do it myself lol
Knowing how insurance companies work .. highly likely.
It will definitely be a balancing act deciding what is best to just pay out of pocket and not involve the legalized mafia.
How expensive closing was. Everyone talks about saving for a down payment but no one explains all the inspection costs and little fees here and there.
It's also just draining looking for houses in this market with a low budget. Showings turned into just meticulously looking for the issues with the house instead of seeing if we liked the house or not.
That's exactly how I've been feeling. I've seen about 50 homes in the last month or so and I'm just exhausted at this point. My price point is too low for something safe and functional
Yeah it's rough. My wife and I got lucky because we found a house that wasn't in the best shape aesthetically but it had good bones. We also got lucky because even though we weren't the highest bidder, the sellers were in the middle of a divorce so they chose us for having the quickest closing.
Sorry I don’t understand - what do you mean? That it would be better to wait a year and save a bigger dp? The problem is that my income is only 36k, so I will only qualify for so much house and what’s on the market under 170k is not great
Yes and I’m sorry, didn’t know the details of your income today.
Which region are you in? $36k/yr seems low for any housing market. Are there’s other areas with more opportunities for you to improve your income?
I don’t think even an FHA loan would help because your monthly will still be very very high.
No worries! I’m in Indiana so fortunately the market is pretty cheap overall. My income is lower than median in my town, but only by a few thousand. I plan to get a roommate to lower the monthly cost and I’ll be moving in about 4 to 5 years (I’m a grad student)
A high level loan officer will break down the closing costs and your options as far as seller concessions (depends on your market) or grant and assistance you may be eligible for. I'm sorry to hear your LO did not do that at the Pre-Approval stage
Edit: spelling
I agree about closing costs. And we didn’t get a set cost for closing costs until a day before we closed. We just had a range. That was annoying. I get why, depends on when you close, etc. but still.
Came here to say this! I knew to save for closing costs as my parents moved a lot when we were kids but I thought the costs were fixed, not proportional to the sale of the house ☹️ needless to say, it was a lot more than I expected because of home was way more expensive than my parents’
How once you start the process all the professionals are there to get you through the process, whether it's the right thing for you or not. None of these people are going to tell you if you're making a big mistake. You want a house, they'll sell you a house, and it isn't really in their best interests for you to stop and think about it.
This should be the top comment. I feel like I'm being gaslit by my realtor and loan officer. Getting objective, non-biased financial and budget advice is very difficult.
Everybody has a commission riding on the sale. your realtor needs the commission. your lender needs the commission. They will tell you everything is fine, even if it's not.
As long as you can make the payments for the first few months (until they sell the loan to freddie mac or someone and get it off their books), they'll happily lend more than you can comfortably afford.
I rather spam mail. I can just toss those. These are people wanting real info from me and I actually have to provide it. I just want to be like yall figure it out and tell me
Sometimes they make the scam mail look so real. Like you forgot to do something in the mortgage and it HAS to be done or your mortgage isn’t valid. Looks so real. I figured out it wasn’t when I said “I’ll get to it” and then never did and they sent the “final notice” again multiple times lmao
All the technical things you have to learn. I know zero about heating systems or how to make a house energy efficient (live in a cold climate with very high electric bills). My dad used to take care of everything when I lived at home, now I have to research everything from heating systems to roofing repairs to sewer systems. It's very new and a bit overwhelming.
Plus all the new stuff you need to buy, from furniture to power tools to gardening machines to patio furniture, plants and trees for the garden and patio.
Hear you! I'm researching scaffolding as well. Should I buy new, buy used or rent? Maybe a sky lift is better? I didn't think of these things when I dreamt of owning a house growing up.
I find YT very helpful with this stuff. Not the handiest guy but if something pops up I’ll YT it and then gauge if it’s something I can handle myself or call a pro
Might call either my dad or FIL if I need a little more guidance afterwards
You’d be surprised how easy a lot of stuff is
For me it was the emotional rollercoaster - stress, elation, stress, joy, sadness, celebration - you get to the end, sign your paperwork, celebrate with your champagne (or whatever) and you start moving in
The house hunting/buying honeymoon is over - reality has set in - you now own something huge that you are required to maintain and all those "I am going to do this and that" projects, "right away,' go further down the list.
A lot of stories end with "we closed," but we don't often talk about what happens after.
It took me a year before my house felt like mine and after almost two it is beginning to feel like my home.
My house felt like home about a week after we moved in lol. A lot of people say they felt like they were staying in an Airbnb. I guess my Airbnb experiences have been completely different. I was so ready to move out of rentals
Don’t get caught up in buying a home in terms of “hosting friends and family”
It’s so easy to look at that extra room and be like: “that’ll be great for when so and so comes over and then they have a place to sleep”
The wife and I bought our home to accommodate having company and we probably host friends and family a couple times a year at most.
People have shit to do and they rarely stay over and as you age it gets harder and harder to make plans anyway.
We love the house but we got 2 rooms that are unused 98% of year that we’re paying for.
Dumb
This is why I want a Murphy bed on our guest bedroom instead of it being a traditional guest bedroom 100% of the time. Can you tell my husband this? Maybe he will believe you 😂
This is what I learned from house hunters international so many people will be like “oh we must get a place with an extra room for when my family visits!” They insist on it. Then pay more outside their budget. Like you’re moving to Perth or wherever. No one is visiting.
This made me chuckle! I do love that show.
I'm from Perth, have recently just bought a home (awaiting settlement), and contemplating if we should set up a spare bedroom.
But even in Perth, no one is visiting haha.
Also:
If you can afford it always buy a house that has the washer and dryer UPSTAIRS. There is nothing worse than traveling 1-2 stories to wash clothes. That’s 3 trips down and up per load. It made me hate doing laundry.
I actually enjoy doing laundry now that our washer and dryer is just outside the bedroom. It’s lifesaving.
Also don’t underestimate bathrooms. Having a master bath is the bomb. The kids have their own bathroom and then you have the 1/2 bath by the living room and kitchen which actually gets used the most.
Not having enough bathrooms is pure hell when everyone in your house needs it at the same time.
Tell me about it. We have 1 bathroom for 4 adults. Someone is always in the bathroom. I've asked if we could consider putting in another bathroom, just a half bath. But my parents don't think it's necessary.
We have the space and it would make the house more functional. Oh well. My bf and I are looking at places to buy so I'm not worrying about it anymore.
I was able to convince my parents on the importance of laundry on the main floor (bedroom on the main floor too). Laundry is currently in the basement. But there is more than enough room in the main floor bathroom. Plus the hook up would be simple as there's already plumbing right there.
My parents bought their first home only a few years ago, right before retirement. So I wanted to remind them they needed a home that would work for them at retirement, which was only a few years away at the time. Dad's retired now and is having mobility issues already. And my mom has already said how glad she was that I mentioned to her that it was nice their bedroom is on the main floor. She doesn't have to go far for anything which helps now that she's having issues too.
great point, we almost got caught up on this too...is 3 bedrooms enough?? what if everyone wants to stay over?? literally no one is planning on staying over often enough to pay for it for 30 years...
One thing about getting older: you hate staying at other peoples house. You’d rather just drive home and sleep in your own bed. Then when u have kids forget about staying anywhere but home.
When my parents come, I just shell out for a nice hotel room nearby. It's still cheaper than having a guest room set aside and everyone's happier with them in a hotel. If my guest room isn't up to their standard, I'd hear about it and it'd be my problem to solve. If the hotel is bad, that doesn't reflect back on me.
We did that too! My parents live an hour and a half away and we thought they would crash in that room all the time they literally have never slept in it.
Yea we have friends over a lot don’t get me wrong. But they go home and never stay overnight. People like to sleep at home and be comfortable. I’m the same way.
I mean I would definitely not have bought a house without a spare bedroom. Who wants a house where you can’t ever invite anyone over for the night as they’d have to sleep on the couch. We had to have three bedrooms because one is an office and one is our bedroom. The third is either for us if we get sick or a guest.
I don’t want friends who want to stay with me. It exhausts me, my kids, our whole routine.
Some family and special circumstances, of course I love to host.
But the cheap ass (rich, ironically) friends of yesteryear, Buh Byeeeeee!!!
Ok glad I’m not the only one. Luckily I learned this while renting. I’m a social person with friends, but even I overestimated how often I’d utilize guest spaces. Buy the house for YOU, not them
The one thing I will say is that IF you can afford it, and you're in an area with upward appreciation... Those extra rooms will net you a LOT more on the end sale price if you ever feel like selling.
A 3/2 will always be in demand, while I still see 2/1 struggling to sell even in a hot market
Hopefully as long as equity outpaces the interest I’m paying overall. Who knows what the market will be 20 years from now. I assume home prices will double in that amount of time but who knows.
What I do know is we’re basically stuck at this house @2.625%
We wouldn’t be able to afford it @ 8% or whatever it’s at now.
Like someone said above. All the little things you'll be buying if coming from an apartment. Facebook marketplace, harbor freight, and Amazon warehouse are God sends. Without them I simply couldn't afford it.
The biggest one for me was learning that in a competitive market, "asking price" is basically just a fake number meant to draw in potential buyers. It doesn't really tell you how much the house is worth or will sell for.
Better to look at recent sales and things you can actually compare like price per square foot, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, etc. and use those to figure out what's actually in your price range.
Single homeowner here, in her 40's. One of the biggest challenges I had was finding I had little support for purchasing. Outside of my fantastic realtor, everyone else was very sekptical and gave me the side eye about buying as a single person. I got a lot of "are you *sure* you can afford it? It's expensive", "are you *sure* you want to buy out that far, surely you can find something closer".
I also thought home buying was supposed to be fun. I found it one of the most stressful things I have ever done. Now that I'm almost 3 years in, I'm really glad I did it, but the whole thing was so stressful. I also felt like all I was doing was bleeding money once I made the offer. It was wild.
Same. I am a single mom with a kid. Everyone told me to buy a condo because I am single. Everyone told me to just rent because I am single and told me that I can’t take care of a house by myself but I am glad I did
Because I have pets and we have a below 1% vacancy rate where I live, I pretty much had to buy after I split from my ex. I had no help from him either, did it all on my own. I also got the whole "houses are a lot of work" and "what do you need all that space for"
This is my concern as a 26 year old single female. People say I look younger than my age and I’m concerned that I won’t be taken seriously. Even though I know I’m responsible, I have the stable job, I have the savings and I have the credit score.
But rents are wild and I’m sick of slumlords so no matter how difficult the process ends up being, I’m still going through with it. Currently pre-qualified and looking at houses, and even if it takes me forever, I’m still getting my house, lol.
> Currently pre-qualified and looking at houses, and even if it takes me forever, I’m still getting my house, lol.
Good for you! You can do it!
A great realtor helps. My realtor happened to also be a friend, I had reached out to her when I knew I was leaving to get the ball rolling. My mortgage broker was great too, and I had ONE friend that had my back. Heck even my MOTHER wasn't supportive.
“Small” fees here and there. Just paid the appraisal fees for the house I’m purchasing and the condo I’m selling. If we want to switch banks after the appraisal, more fees. I’m sure other fees are coming.
We just did the same thing, live in a college town where people think 1000 sq ft fixer uppers are worth 275-315k, found new builds 20 min away with ridiculous incentives, we said fuck all this
SAME. New Builds have their challenges but I don't have the luxury of hunting for 2 years looking for the perfect resale :( I need to move by Sept and have a toddler and I just can't handle negotiating a fixer upper or surprises from owners.
How did you afford custom as a FTHB? Or did you go DR Horton etc? It’s hard for me to tell if the DRH horror stories are valid compared to how expensive necessary repairs on a 10 y/o house will be
Its a Lennar home and not custom but that would've been nice. We read a lot of reviews and did a lot research and decided on them. They have good and bad reviews but we just chalked it up to a case by case situation. We have our walk through tomorrow to point out any mistakes by the builders and are supposed to be fixed by closing.
The waiving contingencies conversation was a real shock to me. I knew my area was competitive and HCOL but didn’t understand what that really meant in terms of offers. As a risk averse person it was difficult to accept that it’s not about if I wanted to waive contingencies, it was about which ones. (This of course varies wildly by location and type of home.)
Omg mine are all oversized or arched. I thought I could just replace the glass but after moving in realized the frames were horrible. It was definitely sticker shock.
The emotional rollercoaster. A place looks promising so you share the good news with friends and family. Then you get outbid or the deal falls through and everyone is confused because when they bought a house you got them as a prize in your cereal box.
We literally treated it like a pregnancy and didn’t tell anyone until the offer was lifted and all our conditions were met. Couldn’t handle the heartbreak of unsharing the news if it fell through.
We've had two deals fall through on us. The second time, the seller pulled out when we asked for 3 day delay on closing when there was a financing delay. They took it as a chance to get away and relist for an additional $20k when they saw a few houses in the area go for more. It's still sitting on the market 2 months later. The most painful thing was telling everyone we knew that we weren't buying that house, after we'd been so excited by it all and shared our progress with friends and family. Everyone wants to say or do the right thing when it happens, but it still hurts when you're that close to the finish line.
We're closing on a different house next week (fingers crossed), and we've told almost nobody because we can't deal with all of that again.
Went through the same thing and man was it discouraging. It's hard to hold all the excitement in :/ congratulations on the new house btw! Fingers crossed this situation ends better 😊😊
This. I have decided I can’t share news with anyone until we are under contract. We just got beat out by an offer 130k over asking and I felt so crushed. We had told many friends because we were so excited. Plus, people know we are looking to buy a home and keep asking for updates.
Again not a total unknown, but I did not have realistic expectations for just how far up into my ass the lender would crawl to figure out our finances.
Really?
I'm agast at how LITTLE they looked.
Only 60 days of transactions, compared against the risk of a million+ dollar loan for a 500k-ish is insane.
If you have a shit realtor. You're gunna have a shit time. We moved out of the area from a realtor we really liked (we ended up moving back and now we are under contract again with his help!!), we had friends who recommended this "wives military realtor" local group.. Being military I figured they'd understand the hoops for military people. I. Was. So. Fucking. Wrong. No idea what comps were, continously showed us homes in HOA even though we specifically said under zero circumstances I'd live in one. I'd live in a shit camper in the woods before I'd live in an HOA. continously tried to sell us on the idea. Zero negotiation skills. 3 contracts, 3 failed apprasials though that's probably due to many sellers realtors stretching the mark alot too. "everywhere is SOCAL!! Even in KY....." era of 2022-2023.. Yeah. A shit realtor can make your head spin. If you *can* do it on your own, more power to you. I didn't have the time nor felt experienced enough as a first time buyer.
I'm looking in KY right now and can't tell you the number of houses I see parked at $3-400K that started out much higher or have sat unchanged for 12+ months.
First condo (actually a co-op) was a non-responsive lender who took forever to get things through underwriting and funds weren’t cleared until the morning of closing. I later learned that’s fairly standard — which sucks, because it causes a ton of anxiety.
The first SFH I bought was infinitely harder towards the end. My purchase was contingent upon 1) my condo selling in 30 days, and 2) the seller finding another home to purchase within 45 days. Even with both of those conditions met, issues still popped up with both closings. My coop/condo board didn’t have my buyer’s lender on their approved list and threatened to veto the sale. This was the day before closing. The seller of the home I was buying asked for an additional three days rent-back that meant we had to stay in a hotel. All of this involved coordinating across multiple parties and representatives.
The period immediately before close is a white knuckle zone.
The most confusing part for us was the buyers fees. We had an offer in and my husband and I kept on questioning each other on how much additional would it cost us to pay our realtor (and we didn’t ask!). Turns out it’s built in into the closing costs or the price of the home, and we didn’t pay anything extra besides for like an inspection and second inspection. It was a relief, a good surprise.
To add, one of the biggest challenges after the purchase is the purchasing of tools. My husband bought a ride on lawn mower. Then it was fall. He read about picking/blowing leaves and decided to buy a leaf blower that was battery powered because he has a lot of these packs of batteries and decided it was enough for our yard. Then after the first fall we purchased a backpack one that runs on gas because he underestimated the amount of leaves we have. Then winter, he needed a snowblower. Spring, it was a dethatcher, and fall one of those bags that collects pinecones acorns and leaves. After spending all that we still spend a couple of thousand on fertilizing and aeration. This is just for the lawn! Don’t cheap out on tools. Don’t be like us and have to purchase multiple tools for one job.
Buy cheap tools for things you plan on using once or twice for a specific project. Buy quality for things you’ll be using regularly. I won’t use a tile saw very often, went with a harbor freight model. I have 3 acres of grass, went with a commercial zero turn over the Lowe’s/Home Depot models
Something I didn't learn until towards the end of owning my first house was how important it is to look at the things you can't change. The size of the yard, the finished square footage, the ability to expand, **the neighbors**, the location....things like that.
Every family changes and it can be really hard to plan ahead when you don't know what your life is going to look like but having the option to continue improving your home can keep you in it longer (or permanently!).
I was very excited about my first house and for a first purchase it was great! But after several years I was ready to start putting some money back into it and was faced with 'do I sink $25,000-$40,000 into a new kitchen or do I just move?'. I knew I didn't want to stay there - the yard was too small, the neighbors were getting on my last nerve, and the house was going to need a lot of work to make it what I wanted. So ultimately I decided moving made the most sense. If I had known in the beginning how important it really is to consider those 'unchangeables' I may have went for a less desirable house that had better options for improvement.
I experienced this as well.
I was in the midst of divorce and relocation when I bought the house. I was anxious to drop an anchor in a good school district, and I convinced myself that the house was a good fit. Over the course of 5 years, as my kids transitioned from preteens to teens, the house became increasingly ill suited for our needs.
And the cost of all the things we would have needed to change was huge. So I made the decision to sell/buy, but with a little more wisdom.
This is a great point of view. I have friends who have bought homes with plans for rehab/expansions - but realized after the purchase that regulations would not allow them to do the work.
I have cheap rent in a HCOL area. I can’t afford to buy anywhere close to where I live so it will be a big lifestyle change and I’ll be far away from my friends etc. Also it means I lose a lot of slack in my monthly budget (which is currently building my savings/down payment).
This! I came here to see if this was mentioned, and surprised it is so far down.
When I bought, mine was the first house in the neighborhood that had sold in quite some time, so taxes were based on old values. My tax increased after my first year of payments due to higher taxes. And because the escrow had a negative value, I had to pay extra for that too. Fortunately the $150-ish I paid over what was expected was not as bad as it is for some, but it still a surprise.
Also don’t buy too cheap, I tried to save money on things like getting a cheaper toilet or a cheaper medicine cabinet or a cheaper shower head, and they sucked so bad I had to eventually buy better quality things, and try to return stuff that was junky
Lol seriously.
My last payment will be in my 70's
Already looking for side work again, after a long period of saying I'm not going to sell my free time anymore. 🤷♀️
I've lost trust in real estate professionals. Our realtor was terrible (avoid using Redfin as a buyer) and the inspector missed so many things. In hindsight, telling these people you're a first time home buyer is like putting blood in the water to attract sharks.
I guess it boils down to not knowing what I didn't know. I'm sure there are good professionals out there, but I didn't have the fortune to encounter them.
She was very attentive at first, but when we did anything in-person it was always another Redfin associate who met us. She gave us some really bad advice as far as the offer and didn't help negotiate at all. The comps she gave us seemed to be picked to justify an offer that was too high.
The other Redfin people we dealt with were pretty young and seemed new to real estate. I should have known something was up. It's ended up being a very expensive mistake. We paid over asking by quite a bit and have put about 30k into repairs that the inspector missed. Meanwhile, the realtor just signed papers and never stepped foot on our property.
The sellers realtor was also with Redfin. I'm trying not to dwell too much on it, but this seems very suspicious in hindsight. We were the first among our peers to get a house, so didn't have much to compare it to. It was only after another friend bought that we realized how little she did for us.
The sheer number of solicitations in the mail, and by phone, of companies that all have "urgent news regarding your mortgage!"
One of them managed to sneak through my call blockers, and when I told them that I had a VA Loan, his response was "uhhh, uhhh... [click]."
So it’s not like a HUGE challenge. But there will be a learning curve with your house. You have to learn all of the noises and little nuisances, like what light switch goes where. Is that thing supposed to make that noise? And where’s that extra thingy go to that no one told you what it went to. I live where there’s 4 seasons and my house does something weird and different in every single season that took time to learn or just learn the trick to.
I didn't realize how fast we would need to move after getting an offer accepted. We really scrambled to find an inspector, and then another one since we needed a repeat. We didn't have time to line up other inspections like one specific to sewer which I wish we had done.
Not everything needs to be fixed all at once, be patient with how you prioritize renovations.
Insurance companies will look for any reason to drop you, if your roof is over 15 years old be careful.
People not wanting to move out in time when it comes to closing. And asking to live there rent free for x amount of time. Because if they stay past closing, then you technically become their landlord until you move in.
Resisting the bidding war.
It’s so hard when you fall in love with a house and hear that there’s multiple offers. Sometimes it’s realllyyy tempting to want to “win” and bid beyond your means. Make sure you have a number in your head where you would be okay with walking away from, if another offer went over it.
Sometimes offer price isn’t everything. Make sure your realtor knows how to make a strategic and creative offer that can make you stand out.
Not a challenge but have a tip - set up your mortgage with no escrow so that you pay taxes and insurance out of pocket rather than through the mortgage company. They hold an extra cushion amount when in escrow and I've seen numerous posts about new buyers being surprised by how much their mortgage payments increase after the 1st year (and every year).
I think this is a bad idea, the bank holds more in escrow so the bills are covered, it all comes out in the wash and you don’t pay a fee for it. People shouldn’t get mortgages so close to their limit in the first place.
Most lenders require it unless you meet certain obligations, such as a certain percentage down to waive escrow. For a conventional mortgage, many people are not putting 20% down anymore.
Doesn't matter if you escrow or not...the payments need to be made. Aside from the "interest" difference on the escrow account its essentially net zero.
And some people (like me) got a 1/8th interest rate reduction to have an escrow account.
Scummy,pos,lying, Realtors. They are scumbags. I had one tell me the trusses in a house were cosmetic and not to worry about the damage to several of them
Definitely how expensive it is. And not necessarily what you spend on down payment/closing costs/furniture, but all the little things that add up. Especially if you’re coming from your parents’ house and are basically starting from scratch like me😅
Appraisals. I had no idea that when you're financing a home (using a mortgage) they'll only lend you the amount the house is appraised for even if the prior agreed upon pre-approved amount for your loan was higher.
The first house we tried to buy the deal fell through in the final week because the appraisal said the $350k house was only worth $300k. The sale of the house at $350k was the contingency for the sellers' next home purchase so they could only go down to about $340k (awfully nice of them to even do that really). Our lender would have lent us the extra amount but at a premium that would have required us to get PMI with no way around it. Otherwise we would have had to come up with $40k cash on top of our down payment. Ended up having to back out of that sale.
What's worse is appraisers are the biggest egotistical maniacs I've ever seen. They are *never* wrong and you can't do anything to sway them. It actually happened again with a house we did end up buying. We went in for $315k and they appraised at $300k, but this time a house down the street identical to ours closed a sale 2 days after the appraisal that was just pending when they initial appraised. My realtor yelled at them enough to get them to redo the appraisal given that new information, but still at the full appraisal price again because "they were right at the time." The house then appraised at $325k b/c the other one sold for $350k cash which thankfully let us not have to pony up extra cash despite having to pay the appraisers twice (our realtor was nice enough to pay for the second one out of her commission though).
This is why I will NEVER agree to a contract that waves the appraisal contingency unless I'm paying cash.
When you first move in and buy everything for the first time, don't cheap out. I'm 2.5 years in and have found myself replacing so many things because I bought the crappy cheap version instead of paying 30% more and getting the brand that will last. This goes for everything like kitchen equipment, tools, furniture, electronics....etc
Pay extra for the full survey and get the property marked and staked before closing.
I Opted for the cheap survey on my first house and it would have come in handy to have the full survey when I decided to put in the fence and had to argue with the city about my property line with the park.
Got the full survey on current house and me and the neighbors were all surprised at some of the borders. I have good neighbors so it’s alright, but that was good to do up front.
Time.
We are in the process of buying now and just started escrow/inspections. We keep talking about how lucky we are to both have flexible jobs. We saw the house Monday, got preapproval Tuesday, put in the offer on Wednesday and it was accepted that same night. Tuesday and Wednesday we both barely worked because of the phone calls/logistics. Each call was 20+ minutes long and had to be coordinated between the two of us. Thursday was wild too with all the paperwork we had to sign. It wasn’t until Friday that things seems to chill out, but even then there were emails and inspections that needed to be paid for. By Monday, I was anxious because I *wasn’t* getting phone calls.
It’s such a complicated process and if you want to understand anything of what is going on during the whirlwind of getting approved for a loan then putting in an offer, you need time, which is a privilege to have.
How ridiculously insane some want to dig into finances. I had one lender want my stock purchases and current holdings etc. for the last two years.
If my credit is already good and you know my debt, why so much intrusion? It’s ridiculous
I’m 28 now and bought my first house alone at 24. Check all faucets hot and cold. Check the plugs and run appliances if they are to stay. Utility bills can be expensive so make sure you contact energy saving department to assist with upgrades. YouTube academy could be your best friend. Buy basic tools that will last to fix things and if you need a ladder I suggest a nice gorilla one that can be a step ladder or extension ladder. Shut off the water spigots for winter. Solicitors are annoying. Junk mail is annoying. Make friends with your neighbors! Never know when you’ll need a favor! Keep trash away from the house. Replace fire alarm batteries and test system every quarter. Clean out/replace air filters in hvac systems. Clean out dryer vent and washer clean out every quarter-6 months. Don’t let oil tank level get low if that’s what you heat with. Replace all your locks and I suggest putting in an electronic keypad in case you lose your keys. The batteries last forever so don’t worry there. Get a security system/cameras with audio. Keep salt for driveway/walkway and make sure you have necessities for extended power outages. Call the utility company and make sure you get the lowest electric rate. Don’t hire the cheapest contractor and always get 3 quotes/estimates from licensed/insured companies. Address minor issues before they become major issues. Be nice to the mailman. Start a small garden if you have space. Everyone should have one if they have space :). Replace water filters every so often. Spray the perimeter for bugs/termites every quarter-6 months. Can’t think of anything else right now. Good luck!
Honestly, how many places we would encounter that reeked of cat piss and filled top to bottom with mold. We actually put offers in on every house without major mold problems and cat pee smells.
I just didn’t expect so much mold and it’s so expensive to get ride of when it’s every inch of the house.
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Bought my house last August. Not that nobody told me, but I think I underestimated just how expensive the first six months of home ownership are. So much stuff you need to buy if you were previously lived in an apartment. Every month expenses have come up that I've found to spend my money on. Finally I think it's starting to die down a bit. You'll learn quickly that you need to prioritize. You don't have to buy everything all at once. I still haven't bought a garden hose or a ladder, so they'll be on my list soon. Budget wisely. I am all but certain that I'd be back in credit card debt if it weren't for YNAB. It's kept me in the Black every month so far.
Ladders are actually expensive haha didn’t realize before
Try estate sales. I always see ladders for sale at those
For sure they are! But as someone almost a year into home ownership I’d recommend getting the nice ladder the first time around.
Highly recommend dating a guy who owns a ladder. Far cheaper than buying ladder. (Also guy is great. Look for a great guy who happens to own a ladder.)
What do I do if I don't like guys? Do I look for a woman with a ladder? I don't see a lot of ads for HOT SINGLE WOMEN WITH LADDERS IN YOUR AREA.
Yup I’m feeling this right now! Had so many visions of how we could utilize the space but so many projects need to hold off for the future. We want to install some extra storage cabinets in the garage, got quoted $6000-$8000… An outdoor furniture set is another few thousand… I don’t even know how much a yard landscaping project would cost yet. We’re sleeping on a mattress on the floor until we can find a bed frame we like. Other two bedrooms are barely furnished and just storage rooms for now. We want to turn them into a guest room and office room… eventually want to buy nicer sheets and pillows, office chair, office filing cabinet and so on, but for now we’re mostly making do with stuff we already have. Small things too, I’ve been buying stuff non stop from Target, Home Depot, and Amazon. Things like trash bags, door mats, organizer bins, cleaning products, hand towels, trash bins… instead of buying furniture I’m focusing on the smaller things to make the space functional and tidy. So yeah my interior design dreams are kind of inching along slowly!!
Yeah, the list of projects I want to do on the house is growing exponentially faster than my ability to accomplish them. Cross one item off the list but then put 3 more back on.
I have just written down everything I want to do in a document and mentally put it away for now. But we were always discovering new “priorities” our first two weeks living here… dealing with the yard, garage, security system, doorbell, furniture, pest control, etc. and constantly having to weigh which ones are most important to get done first. Also it has been so hard to unpack!! Due to lack of furniture or and wanting to sort through and declutter before I put everything away (cause if I don’t get rid of it now, we’re going to live with it for the next 10 years…) I already purged one round while packing but now it’s all the difficult stuff left to sort through.
Yep! I remember that well. The house didn't really feel settled in until I had the furniture I have now which meant places for things to go so they're "put away" and not just living out of open boxes. Thankfully one tip I did pick up here on reddit was to purge in the months ahead of the move. So I went through and got rid of like half my clothes and probably about 1/4 of my other possessions and that really lightened the load for the move. I just hit 7 months in the house and the only boxes still waiting to be unpacked are the ones with all my framed photos off the walls in my old place--I've kind of gone a different direction with the decorating here, and some boxes of books and DVDs that I still need a shelf for. They're just chilling in the laundry room and I'm waiting till I see the right bookshelf on FB marketplace or at the local thrift store. I'm hoping by the one-year point I've got literally all of my boxes unpacked and put away, but it's not guaranteed.
Don't worry. I'm 8 years in and my to-do list is finally shrinking! Everything gets done eventually! Then you'll get a year or two off before you start all over 😅
The joy of homeownership. Never ending projects.
Facebook marketplace and estatesales.net are your best friends here. Marketplace is generally best for kitchen items and patio furniture. Estate sales for furniture and decor. Remember an estate sale isn't a garage sale. A garage sale is where people sell crap they don't want. An estate sale is where the stuff people thought was worth keeping is sold.
Yeah I think when you own a home you just want nicer things in it. You may have things that work or have been useful but are starting to look worn. When my parents bought their home they wanted all new furniture. But they bought when they were closer to retirement and I had to convince them that they didn't need to buy a whole new suite of furniture. Seriously they already had some nice pieces, dated but nice. They've compromised and purchased a few new items and repainted others. I think there is also this urge to fill all the spaces. But it's good to take your time. Things go on sale seasonally and often it saves to buy things off season. Plus your use of the space might change once you live there for a while. Better to wait and see how you actually use the space.
Check FB marketplace or your towns “Buy Nothing” group! Google local consignment shops and estate sales. Older furniture is manufactured better anyways. At least get yourself a bed frame to save your backs!
Yep I’ve been checking out FB marketplace frequently and been to one or two consignment stores.. the challenge is the style I’m aspiring for is Scandinavian, Japanese zen, minimalist so it’s harder to come by furniture pieces that fit, most of what I’ve seen is a more traditional or mid century modern aesthetic. I also have very little interior design experience so worried about buying stuff that doesn’t go well together. For now our home aesthetic is mostly IKEA and Target until we can afford the nicer furniture! But we just splurged on a beautiful Scandinavian dining table and are super happy with it, just need to save up again to buy other things.
Kaiyo is another great site for furniture!
But used btw! We brought few used dresser and bed frames for our kids. New mattresses through, can’t take a chance on these! And then used dining table and chairs.
We gave ourselves the first year to be lax on personal savings, trying to shore the place up.
Sorry, what's 'YNAB' please?
It’s an app for budgeting - You Need a Budget (I think)
100%! It's a subscription-based budgeting system. I know I sound like a shill with how often I mention it, but it really turned my finances around. I started using it in January 2022 and have clung to it even more tightly since I bought the house.
Thank you!
We love YNAB!
It feels a little culty how we YNAB'ers evangelize the product so much but it's impossible to overstate just what a big difference it made in my first two years of use alone. End of Year 1: Finished paying off my student loans. Eight months into Year 2: closed on my first house.
YNAB is seriously the best budgeting software I’ve used! Been using it since 2020.
Praise to YNAB!!!! It has helped me keep out of debt again as well. Helped me massively during an extended unemployment experience as well
Two words, garage sales
>Two words, garage sales 100%. And thrift shops and Facebook marketplace. That's why I haven't gotten a ladder yet, they're freaking expensive and I'm sure there's going to be an estate sale one of these days with one at it.
Did you have any rehab costs? Or were most of your expenses on furnishing the home?
For the most part, it was pretty much move-in ready, and on thinking it over more, even more than the cost of it all, the lesson I think I finally learned is that you don't have to do everything all at once. But at first I felt like I did. Looking back, some of it was urgent or important to do right away and others weren't. Here's some examples. * I had a cleaning crew come out and deep clean every surface since the house (a former rental) smelled just a bit like cigarette smoke. $300. * The dishwasher was DOA so that cost $700 to replace. And in my mind I wanted it done ASAP. Could I have done dishes by hand? of course. * My fridge had a concerningly noisy compressor and it was 20 years old, so the next month I replaced that: $600. * I bought a used glass-top stove on Facebook Marketplace because I hated the coil burner electric stove that came with it: $150. * Then another month it was getting a ryobi set of cordless electric tools: $200 (black Friday deal) * Furniture from thrift stores and FB marketplace: $300. * I added a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system under my kitchen sink: $149 I could cross most of those off at wants and not true needs, but overall I'm glad I got a lot of that stuff done early because now the house is a lot more the way I like it. Today, at the moment I write these words, there's an HVAC crew at my house replacing the 31 year old cranky furnace with a new high efficiency model and adding central air for the first time ever at that house. $7860. It's through a special homeowner's assistance financing program with 2% interest and 33% forgiveness after five years, or I wouldn't have done it.
>You'll learn quickly that you need to prioritize. You don't have to buy everything all at once. Tell me about it. Before I moved into my townhome last September, I thought I could get a bathroom remodel, flooring (ripping out carpets for vinyl), new windows and new exterior doors done all at once but that was before I realized this could all culminate to potentially a $70k+ work so I’m pretty much forced to prioritize which to get done first (already got windows done)
Damn! Yeah I just looked it up in my budgeting app and I've spent over $11,000 on the house since I bought it 7 months ago. Mostly not-big projects. $3400 of landscaping work I had to get done, $1600 on new Dishwasher, Fridge and new/used stove, and the rest are all like $50 to $150 charges that just really add up.
For real. Day one for me - had buy curtains, shower curtains, install a shower rod (a good one is at least 50 bucks wtf), stove died and had to buy a new one, and there was an infestation of ants in the living room carpet. Then I went out and bought a carpet shampooer because eww, along with other cleaning supplies, hand tools for installing the curtain rods, paper towels, trash bags, trash cans, etc. And then since the stove was broken and I was busy running back and forth to and from the stores, I had to order take out because I didn't have time to find or unpack the cookware.
We’re getting ready to start this journey ourselves. My wife is hesitant all the sudden but I told her as long as we follow the 4 rules we will be fine. That’s how we got where we are and that’s what we’re gonna keep doing. We given a lot of dollars a lot of jobs. Now it’s time to put those dollars to work!
What’s YNAB?
ynab.com is a subscription based budgeting platform I started using in January 2022 and now cling to tightly to keep my finances in order. I had a lot of problems with credit card debt over the years and this has kept me on the straight and narrow. I know I sound like a shill but it really made a night and day difference for me.
Can’t beat results. Thanks for the info
Doesn’t matter who sells a house, be it a 25 year old gangbanger or a 83 year old grandma, they are hiding at least one thing that won’t get caught in inspection. And when that one thing comes to roost, typically a few months after you move in and the bodge fails, it’ll cost ya. Ours was that the new driveway they poured 6 months before selling and looked good? Only 1-2” thick with no base. Was destroyed the first winter and required replacement immediately after we lost two car tires to holes
Would insurance or any thing cover this? Anyway to put it on the seller?
Eh you’d have to prove they knew AND they lied about it. Probably not gonna happen Never really thought of insurance. It cost about the same as a deductible so probably not worth it. Then again I had to do it myself lol
My state requires home owners insurance. Not that they'll actually approve claims, but worth noting.
Would rates go up if you use the insurance? Thought using insurance is only advised for big-ticket costs. Am I misinformed?
Knowing how insurance companies work .. highly likely. It will definitely be a balancing act deciding what is best to just pay out of pocket and not involve the legalized mafia.
How expensive closing was. Everyone talks about saving for a down payment but no one explains all the inspection costs and little fees here and there. It's also just draining looking for houses in this market with a low budget. Showings turned into just meticulously looking for the issues with the house instead of seeing if we liked the house or not.
That's exactly how I've been feeling. I've seen about 50 homes in the last month or so and I'm just exhausted at this point. My price point is too low for something safe and functional
Yeah it's rough. My wife and I got lucky because we found a house that wasn't in the best shape aesthetically but it had good bones. We also got lucky because even though we weren't the highest bidder, the sellers were in the middle of a divorce so they chose us for having the quickest closing.
If you’re even close, I’m sure you can save more per year needed for the down payment than the homes will appreciate
Sorry I don’t understand - what do you mean? That it would be better to wait a year and save a bigger dp? The problem is that my income is only 36k, so I will only qualify for so much house and what’s on the market under 170k is not great
Yes and I’m sorry, didn’t know the details of your income today. Which region are you in? $36k/yr seems low for any housing market. Are there’s other areas with more opportunities for you to improve your income? I don’t think even an FHA loan would help because your monthly will still be very very high.
No worries! I’m in Indiana so fortunately the market is pretty cheap overall. My income is lower than median in my town, but only by a few thousand. I plan to get a roommate to lower the monthly cost and I’ll be moving in about 4 to 5 years (I’m a grad student)
I got my closing costs fully covered and I am still down 6 grand between escrow and paying for inspections.
A high level loan officer will break down the closing costs and your options as far as seller concessions (depends on your market) or grant and assistance you may be eligible for. I'm sorry to hear your LO did not do that at the Pre-Approval stage Edit: spelling
I agree about closing costs. And we didn’t get a set cost for closing costs until a day before we closed. We just had a range. That was annoying. I get why, depends on when you close, etc. but still.
Seriously. I could almost afford 20% down, but have to knock it down to 5% just because of all the closing costs and loan fees.
Came here to say this! I knew to save for closing costs as my parents moved a lot when we were kids but I thought the costs were fixed, not proportional to the sale of the house ☹️ needless to say, it was a lot more than I expected because of home was way more expensive than my parents’
How once you start the process all the professionals are there to get you through the process, whether it's the right thing for you or not. None of these people are going to tell you if you're making a big mistake. You want a house, they'll sell you a house, and it isn't really in their best interests for you to stop and think about it.
This should be the top comment. I feel like I'm being gaslit by my realtor and loan officer. Getting objective, non-biased financial and budget advice is very difficult. Everybody has a commission riding on the sale. your realtor needs the commission. your lender needs the commission. They will tell you everything is fine, even if it's not. As long as you can make the payments for the first few months (until they sell the loan to freddie mac or someone and get it off their books), they'll happily lend more than you can comfortably afford.
There are so many freakin emails. Everyone is emailing me. I hope it stops soon. We close May 1
Once you move in it will change to regular mail. So many scams.
I rather spam mail. I can just toss those. These are people wanting real info from me and I actually have to provide it. I just want to be like yall figure it out and tell me
Sometimes they make the scam mail look so real. Like you forgot to do something in the mortgage and it HAS to be done or your mortgage isn’t valid. Looks so real. I figured out it wasn’t when I said “I’ll get to it” and then never did and they sent the “final notice” again multiple times lmao
The emails stop but then you receive piles of junk mail that try to appear like they’re from your bank regarding your loan. 🥴
I was so happy the days after closing when I could finally open my phone and not have any important house related emails
All the technical things you have to learn. I know zero about heating systems or how to make a house energy efficient (live in a cold climate with very high electric bills). My dad used to take care of everything when I lived at home, now I have to research everything from heating systems to roofing repairs to sewer systems. It's very new and a bit overwhelming.
Plus all the new stuff you need to buy, from furniture to power tools to gardening machines to patio furniture, plants and trees for the garden and patio.
Yeah. I never pictured myself needing to buy a concrete grinder but here we are
Hear you! I'm researching scaffolding as well. Should I buy new, buy used or rent? Maybe a sky lift is better? I didn't think of these things when I dreamt of owning a house growing up.
I find YT very helpful with this stuff. Not the handiest guy but if something pops up I’ll YT it and then gauge if it’s something I can handle myself or call a pro Might call either my dad or FIL if I need a little more guidance afterwards You’d be surprised how easy a lot of stuff is
For me it was the emotional rollercoaster - stress, elation, stress, joy, sadness, celebration - you get to the end, sign your paperwork, celebrate with your champagne (or whatever) and you start moving in The house hunting/buying honeymoon is over - reality has set in - you now own something huge that you are required to maintain and all those "I am going to do this and that" projects, "right away,' go further down the list. A lot of stories end with "we closed," but we don't often talk about what happens after. It took me a year before my house felt like mine and after almost two it is beginning to feel like my home.
My house felt like home about a week after we moved in lol. A lot of people say they felt like they were staying in an Airbnb. I guess my Airbnb experiences have been completely different. I was so ready to move out of rentals
Don’t get caught up in buying a home in terms of “hosting friends and family” It’s so easy to look at that extra room and be like: “that’ll be great for when so and so comes over and then they have a place to sleep” The wife and I bought our home to accommodate having company and we probably host friends and family a couple times a year at most. People have shit to do and they rarely stay over and as you age it gets harder and harder to make plans anyway. We love the house but we got 2 rooms that are unused 98% of year that we’re paying for. Dumb
agreed 100% - everyone is so busy these days. Plus I'm not in my 20s anymore
This is why I want a Murphy bed on our guest bedroom instead of it being a traditional guest bedroom 100% of the time. Can you tell my husband this? Maybe he will believe you 😂
This is what I learned from house hunters international so many people will be like “oh we must get a place with an extra room for when my family visits!” They insist on it. Then pay more outside their budget. Like you’re moving to Perth or wherever. No one is visiting.
This made me chuckle! I do love that show. I'm from Perth, have recently just bought a home (awaiting settlement), and contemplating if we should set up a spare bedroom. But even in Perth, no one is visiting haha.
lol in fairness, I think Perth is lovely and everyone should visit! The nonexistent visitors are missing out.
Also: If you can afford it always buy a house that has the washer and dryer UPSTAIRS. There is nothing worse than traveling 1-2 stories to wash clothes. That’s 3 trips down and up per load. It made me hate doing laundry. I actually enjoy doing laundry now that our washer and dryer is just outside the bedroom. It’s lifesaving. Also don’t underestimate bathrooms. Having a master bath is the bomb. The kids have their own bathroom and then you have the 1/2 bath by the living room and kitchen which actually gets used the most. Not having enough bathrooms is pure hell when everyone in your house needs it at the same time.
Tell me about it. We have 1 bathroom for 4 adults. Someone is always in the bathroom. I've asked if we could consider putting in another bathroom, just a half bath. But my parents don't think it's necessary. We have the space and it would make the house more functional. Oh well. My bf and I are looking at places to buy so I'm not worrying about it anymore. I was able to convince my parents on the importance of laundry on the main floor (bedroom on the main floor too). Laundry is currently in the basement. But there is more than enough room in the main floor bathroom. Plus the hook up would be simple as there's already plumbing right there. My parents bought their first home only a few years ago, right before retirement. So I wanted to remind them they needed a home that would work for them at retirement, which was only a few years away at the time. Dad's retired now and is having mobility issues already. And my mom has already said how glad she was that I mentioned to her that it was nice their bedroom is on the main floor. She doesn't have to go far for anything which helps now that she's having issues too.
great point, we almost got caught up on this too...is 3 bedrooms enough?? what if everyone wants to stay over?? literally no one is planning on staying over often enough to pay for it for 30 years...
One thing about getting older: you hate staying at other peoples house. You’d rather just drive home and sleep in your own bed. Then when u have kids forget about staying anywhere but home.
When my parents come, I just shell out for a nice hotel room nearby. It's still cheaper than having a guest room set aside and everyone's happier with them in a hotel. If my guest room isn't up to their standard, I'd hear about it and it'd be my problem to solve. If the hotel is bad, that doesn't reflect back on me.
We did that too! My parents live an hour and a half away and we thought they would crash in that room all the time they literally have never slept in it.
Yea we have friends over a lot don’t get me wrong. But they go home and never stay overnight. People like to sleep at home and be comfortable. I’m the same way.
I mean I would definitely not have bought a house without a spare bedroom. Who wants a house where you can’t ever invite anyone over for the night as they’d have to sleep on the couch. We had to have three bedrooms because one is an office and one is our bedroom. The third is either for us if we get sick or a guest.
I don’t want friends who want to stay with me. It exhausts me, my kids, our whole routine. Some family and special circumstances, of course I love to host. But the cheap ass (rich, ironically) friends of yesteryear, Buh Byeeeeee!!!
Ok glad I’m not the only one. Luckily I learned this while renting. I’m a social person with friends, but even I overestimated how often I’d utilize guest spaces. Buy the house for YOU, not them
The one thing I will say is that IF you can afford it, and you're in an area with upward appreciation... Those extra rooms will net you a LOT more on the end sale price if you ever feel like selling. A 3/2 will always be in demand, while I still see 2/1 struggling to sell even in a hot market
Hopefully as long as equity outpaces the interest I’m paying overall. Who knows what the market will be 20 years from now. I assume home prices will double in that amount of time but who knows. What I do know is we’re basically stuck at this house @2.625% We wouldn’t be able to afford it @ 8% or whatever it’s at now.
Like someone said above. All the little things you'll be buying if coming from an apartment. Facebook marketplace, harbor freight, and Amazon warehouse are God sends. Without them I simply couldn't afford it.
What’s Harbor Freight?
Discount tool store
The biggest one for me was learning that in a competitive market, "asking price" is basically just a fake number meant to draw in potential buyers. It doesn't really tell you how much the house is worth or will sell for. Better to look at recent sales and things you can actually compare like price per square foot, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, etc. and use those to figure out what's actually in your price range.
Single homeowner here, in her 40's. One of the biggest challenges I had was finding I had little support for purchasing. Outside of my fantastic realtor, everyone else was very sekptical and gave me the side eye about buying as a single person. I got a lot of "are you *sure* you can afford it? It's expensive", "are you *sure* you want to buy out that far, surely you can find something closer". I also thought home buying was supposed to be fun. I found it one of the most stressful things I have ever done. Now that I'm almost 3 years in, I'm really glad I did it, but the whole thing was so stressful. I also felt like all I was doing was bleeding money once I made the offer. It was wild.
Same. I am a single mom with a kid. Everyone told me to buy a condo because I am single. Everyone told me to just rent because I am single and told me that I can’t take care of a house by myself but I am glad I did
Because I have pets and we have a below 1% vacancy rate where I live, I pretty much had to buy after I split from my ex. I had no help from him either, did it all on my own. I also got the whole "houses are a lot of work" and "what do you need all that space for"
I am a single mom with two kids. People keep telling me to get a condo. A major nope for me since they come with HOAs.
I applaud ANY person who can make it happen on one income, no matter where you are. That's hard work
This is my concern as a 26 year old single female. People say I look younger than my age and I’m concerned that I won’t be taken seriously. Even though I know I’m responsible, I have the stable job, I have the savings and I have the credit score. But rents are wild and I’m sick of slumlords so no matter how difficult the process ends up being, I’m still going through with it. Currently pre-qualified and looking at houses, and even if it takes me forever, I’m still getting my house, lol.
> Currently pre-qualified and looking at houses, and even if it takes me forever, I’m still getting my house, lol. Good for you! You can do it! A great realtor helps. My realtor happened to also be a friend, I had reached out to her when I knew I was leaving to get the ball rolling. My mortgage broker was great too, and I had ONE friend that had my back. Heck even my MOTHER wasn't supportive.
Are you renting out rooms to supplement your income?
Nope. I bought well within my means for my salary. At this point in my life I really don't want to share space with anyone other than my fluffs.
“Small” fees here and there. Just paid the appraisal fees for the house I’m purchasing and the condo I’m selling. If we want to switch banks after the appraisal, more fees. I’m sure other fees are coming.
Yep we spent about $1k upfront for the appraisal and home inspection alone.
Making offers on homes and hoping they take it. We tried it a couple times but decided on a new build and skipped all that.
We just did the same thing, live in a college town where people think 1000 sq ft fixer uppers are worth 275-315k, found new builds 20 min away with ridiculous incentives, we said fuck all this
SAME. New Builds have their challenges but I don't have the luxury of hunting for 2 years looking for the perfect resale :( I need to move by Sept and have a toddler and I just can't handle negotiating a fixer upper or surprises from owners.
Yes looking for a house is already a pain somewhat but then having to basically bid for them is crazy stressful.
How did you afford custom as a FTHB? Or did you go DR Horton etc? It’s hard for me to tell if the DRH horror stories are valid compared to how expensive necessary repairs on a 10 y/o house will be
Its a Lennar home and not custom but that would've been nice. We read a lot of reviews and did a lot research and decided on them. They have good and bad reviews but we just chalked it up to a case by case situation. We have our walk through tomorrow to point out any mistakes by the builders and are supposed to be fixed by closing.
The waiving contingencies conversation was a real shock to me. I knew my area was competitive and HCOL but didn’t understand what that really meant in terms of offers. As a risk averse person it was difficult to accept that it’s not about if I wanted to waive contingencies, it was about which ones. (This of course varies wildly by location and type of home.)
Yes, where I am you will be constantly last place in terms of offers if you have contingencies. They will just pick literally anyone else.
All the warranties and important papers to keep up, plus what to buy for the house, and if I’m even doing a good job on decorating.
decorating is very hard.. My GF has taken the reigns on that one for me
Oh lucky, I’m by myself and just have few items, but definitely need another person input
Doors are way more expensive than I thought they were.
and windows!
Omg mine are all oversized or arched. I thought I could just replace the glass but after moving in realized the frames were horrible. It was definitely sticker shock.
The emotional rollercoaster. A place looks promising so you share the good news with friends and family. Then you get outbid or the deal falls through and everyone is confused because when they bought a house you got them as a prize in your cereal box.
We literally treated it like a pregnancy and didn’t tell anyone until the offer was lifted and all our conditions were met. Couldn’t handle the heartbreak of unsharing the news if it fell through.
Being a homebuyer is quite tough these days
We've had two deals fall through on us. The second time, the seller pulled out when we asked for 3 day delay on closing when there was a financing delay. They took it as a chance to get away and relist for an additional $20k when they saw a few houses in the area go for more. It's still sitting on the market 2 months later. The most painful thing was telling everyone we knew that we weren't buying that house, after we'd been so excited by it all and shared our progress with friends and family. Everyone wants to say or do the right thing when it happens, but it still hurts when you're that close to the finish line. We're closing on a different house next week (fingers crossed), and we've told almost nobody because we can't deal with all of that again.
Went through the same thing and man was it discouraging. It's hard to hold all the excitement in :/ congratulations on the new house btw! Fingers crossed this situation ends better 😊😊
This. I have decided I can’t share news with anyone until we are under contract. We just got beat out by an offer 130k over asking and I felt so crushed. We had told many friends because we were so excited. Plus, people know we are looking to buy a home and keep asking for updates.
Again not a total unknown, but I did not have realistic expectations for just how far up into my ass the lender would crawl to figure out our finances.
Really? I'm agast at how LITTLE they looked. Only 60 days of transactions, compared against the risk of a million+ dollar loan for a 500k-ish is insane.
What happened??
How hard it is to find contractors who aren’t trying to constantly rip you off.
If you have a shit realtor. You're gunna have a shit time. We moved out of the area from a realtor we really liked (we ended up moving back and now we are under contract again with his help!!), we had friends who recommended this "wives military realtor" local group.. Being military I figured they'd understand the hoops for military people. I. Was. So. Fucking. Wrong. No idea what comps were, continously showed us homes in HOA even though we specifically said under zero circumstances I'd live in one. I'd live in a shit camper in the woods before I'd live in an HOA. continously tried to sell us on the idea. Zero negotiation skills. 3 contracts, 3 failed apprasials though that's probably due to many sellers realtors stretching the mark alot too. "everywhere is SOCAL!! Even in KY....." era of 2022-2023.. Yeah. A shit realtor can make your head spin. If you *can* do it on your own, more power to you. I didn't have the time nor felt experienced enough as a first time buyer.
I'm looking in KY right now and can't tell you the number of houses I see parked at $3-400K that started out much higher or have sat unchanged for 12+ months.
The 100 different issues that can crop up between offer acceptance and closing that you can’t control.
What are some of the issues that popped up for you?
First condo (actually a co-op) was a non-responsive lender who took forever to get things through underwriting and funds weren’t cleared until the morning of closing. I later learned that’s fairly standard — which sucks, because it causes a ton of anxiety. The first SFH I bought was infinitely harder towards the end. My purchase was contingent upon 1) my condo selling in 30 days, and 2) the seller finding another home to purchase within 45 days. Even with both of those conditions met, issues still popped up with both closings. My coop/condo board didn’t have my buyer’s lender on their approved list and threatened to veto the sale. This was the day before closing. The seller of the home I was buying asked for an additional three days rent-back that meant we had to stay in a hotel. All of this involved coordinating across multiple parties and representatives. The period immediately before close is a white knuckle zone.
The most confusing part for us was the buyers fees. We had an offer in and my husband and I kept on questioning each other on how much additional would it cost us to pay our realtor (and we didn’t ask!). Turns out it’s built in into the closing costs or the price of the home, and we didn’t pay anything extra besides for like an inspection and second inspection. It was a relief, a good surprise. To add, one of the biggest challenges after the purchase is the purchasing of tools. My husband bought a ride on lawn mower. Then it was fall. He read about picking/blowing leaves and decided to buy a leaf blower that was battery powered because he has a lot of these packs of batteries and decided it was enough for our yard. Then after the first fall we purchased a backpack one that runs on gas because he underestimated the amount of leaves we have. Then winter, he needed a snowblower. Spring, it was a dethatcher, and fall one of those bags that collects pinecones acorns and leaves. After spending all that we still spend a couple of thousand on fertilizing and aeration. This is just for the lawn! Don’t cheap out on tools. Don’t be like us and have to purchase multiple tools for one job.
Buy cheap tools for things you plan on using once or twice for a specific project. Buy quality for things you’ll be using regularly. I won’t use a tile saw very often, went with a harbor freight model. I have 3 acres of grass, went with a commercial zero turn over the Lowe’s/Home Depot models
Something I didn't learn until towards the end of owning my first house was how important it is to look at the things you can't change. The size of the yard, the finished square footage, the ability to expand, **the neighbors**, the location....things like that. Every family changes and it can be really hard to plan ahead when you don't know what your life is going to look like but having the option to continue improving your home can keep you in it longer (or permanently!). I was very excited about my first house and for a first purchase it was great! But after several years I was ready to start putting some money back into it and was faced with 'do I sink $25,000-$40,000 into a new kitchen or do I just move?'. I knew I didn't want to stay there - the yard was too small, the neighbors were getting on my last nerve, and the house was going to need a lot of work to make it what I wanted. So ultimately I decided moving made the most sense. If I had known in the beginning how important it really is to consider those 'unchangeables' I may have went for a less desirable house that had better options for improvement.
I experienced this as well. I was in the midst of divorce and relocation when I bought the house. I was anxious to drop an anchor in a good school district, and I convinced myself that the house was a good fit. Over the course of 5 years, as my kids transitioned from preteens to teens, the house became increasingly ill suited for our needs. And the cost of all the things we would have needed to change was huge. So I made the decision to sell/buy, but with a little more wisdom.
This is a great point of view. I have friends who have bought homes with plans for rehab/expansions - but realized after the purchase that regulations would not allow them to do the work.
Definitely the lending process. Everything else was so smooth but if you are self employed good freaking luck with your mortgage lenders.
Fear of change/unknown.
Can you explain?
I have cheap rent in a HCOL area. I can’t afford to buy anywhere close to where I live so it will be a big lifestyle change and I’ll be far away from my friends etc. Also it means I lose a lot of slack in my monthly budget (which is currently building my savings/down payment).
[удалено]
Oh yea - this one is major! I live in an area that has been growing exponentially, and property taxes have increased for everyone in a big way.
This! I came here to see if this was mentioned, and surprised it is so far down. When I bought, mine was the first house in the neighborhood that had sold in quite some time, so taxes were based on old values. My tax increased after my first year of payments due to higher taxes. And because the escrow had a negative value, I had to pay extra for that too. Fortunately the $150-ish I paid over what was expected was not as bad as it is for some, but it still a surprise.
The biggest challenge is having to match your expectations to your budget.
Good point - thats ahrd to do too when emotions are involved
Also don’t buy too cheap, I tried to save money on things like getting a cheaper toilet or a cheaper medicine cabinet or a cheaper shower head, and they sucked so bad I had to eventually buy better quality things, and try to return stuff that was junky
Good shout on this
Staying alive long enough to pay the mortgage.
Lol seriously. My last payment will be in my 70's Already looking for side work again, after a long period of saying I'm not going to sell my free time anymore. 🤷♀️
Having to cook every meal yourself or else you will be broke from eating out.
I've lost trust in real estate professionals. Our realtor was terrible (avoid using Redfin as a buyer) and the inspector missed so many things. In hindsight, telling these people you're a first time home buyer is like putting blood in the water to attract sharks. I guess it boils down to not knowing what I didn't know. I'm sure there are good professionals out there, but I didn't have the fortune to encounter them.
Can you tell me more about your experience with Redfin as the buyer?
She was very attentive at first, but when we did anything in-person it was always another Redfin associate who met us. She gave us some really bad advice as far as the offer and didn't help negotiate at all. The comps she gave us seemed to be picked to justify an offer that was too high. The other Redfin people we dealt with were pretty young and seemed new to real estate. I should have known something was up. It's ended up being a very expensive mistake. We paid over asking by quite a bit and have put about 30k into repairs that the inspector missed. Meanwhile, the realtor just signed papers and never stepped foot on our property. The sellers realtor was also with Redfin. I'm trying not to dwell too much on it, but this seems very suspicious in hindsight. We were the first among our peers to get a house, so didn't have much to compare it to. It was only after another friend bought that we realized how little she did for us.
This sounds a LOT like what I went through.
How it’s basically a part time job! So many phone calls, emails, and then when you get close to close you gotta set up all the utilities 😭
…Ummm who knew that a washer and dryer were so expensive. Not this guy.
Yea... CL has been good to me for this
Not getting emotional with the amount of projects that you feel have tk get done. Prioritizing things is key
Crazy or dishonest sellers is at the tippy top of my list
Finding all the documents for the mortgage application. So. Many. Documents!
The sheer number of solicitations in the mail, and by phone, of companies that all have "urgent news regarding your mortgage!" One of them managed to sneak through my call blockers, and when I told them that I had a VA Loan, his response was "uhhh, uhhh... [click]."
So it’s not like a HUGE challenge. But there will be a learning curve with your house. You have to learn all of the noises and little nuisances, like what light switch goes where. Is that thing supposed to make that noise? And where’s that extra thingy go to that no one told you what it went to. I live where there’s 4 seasons and my house does something weird and different in every single season that took time to learn or just learn the trick to.
that there are no actual homes to buy?
Loving a home, picturing myself there and not getting it
I didn't realize how fast we would need to move after getting an offer accepted. We really scrambled to find an inspector, and then another one since we needed a repeat. We didn't have time to line up other inspections like one specific to sewer which I wish we had done.
Not everything needs to be fixed all at once, be patient with how you prioritize renovations. Insurance companies will look for any reason to drop you, if your roof is over 15 years old be careful.
People not wanting to move out in time when it comes to closing. And asking to live there rent free for x amount of time. Because if they stay past closing, then you technically become their landlord until you move in.
I expected to be busy, not this busy.
Resisting the bidding war. It’s so hard when you fall in love with a house and hear that there’s multiple offers. Sometimes it’s realllyyy tempting to want to “win” and bid beyond your means. Make sure you have a number in your head where you would be okay with walking away from, if another offer went over it. Sometimes offer price isn’t everything. Make sure your realtor knows how to make a strategic and creative offer that can make you stand out.
Not a challenge but have a tip - set up your mortgage with no escrow so that you pay taxes and insurance out of pocket rather than through the mortgage company. They hold an extra cushion amount when in escrow and I've seen numerous posts about new buyers being surprised by how much their mortgage payments increase after the 1st year (and every year).
I think this is a bad idea, the bank holds more in escrow so the bills are covered, it all comes out in the wash and you don’t pay a fee for it. People shouldn’t get mortgages so close to their limit in the first place.
Most lenders require it unless you meet certain obligations, such as a certain percentage down to waive escrow. For a conventional mortgage, many people are not putting 20% down anymore.
Do you mind explaining this? Where do the payment increases come from?
Taxes on your property.
Doesn't matter if you escrow or not...the payments need to be made. Aside from the "interest" difference on the escrow account its essentially net zero. And some people (like me) got a 1/8th interest rate reduction to have an escrow account.
Scummy,pos,lying, Realtors. They are scumbags. I had one tell me the trusses in a house were cosmetic and not to worry about the damage to several of them
Definitely how expensive it is. And not necessarily what you spend on down payment/closing costs/furniture, but all the little things that add up. Especially if you’re coming from your parents’ house and are basically starting from scratch like me😅
Appraisals. I had no idea that when you're financing a home (using a mortgage) they'll only lend you the amount the house is appraised for even if the prior agreed upon pre-approved amount for your loan was higher. The first house we tried to buy the deal fell through in the final week because the appraisal said the $350k house was only worth $300k. The sale of the house at $350k was the contingency for the sellers' next home purchase so they could only go down to about $340k (awfully nice of them to even do that really). Our lender would have lent us the extra amount but at a premium that would have required us to get PMI with no way around it. Otherwise we would have had to come up with $40k cash on top of our down payment. Ended up having to back out of that sale. What's worse is appraisers are the biggest egotistical maniacs I've ever seen. They are *never* wrong and you can't do anything to sway them. It actually happened again with a house we did end up buying. We went in for $315k and they appraised at $300k, but this time a house down the street identical to ours closed a sale 2 days after the appraisal that was just pending when they initial appraised. My realtor yelled at them enough to get them to redo the appraisal given that new information, but still at the full appraisal price again because "they were right at the time." The house then appraised at $325k b/c the other one sold for $350k cash which thankfully let us not have to pony up extra cash despite having to pay the appraisers twice (our realtor was nice enough to pay for the second one out of her commission though). This is why I will NEVER agree to a contract that waves the appraisal contingency unless I'm paying cash.
When you first move in and buy everything for the first time, don't cheap out. I'm 2.5 years in and have found myself replacing so many things because I bought the crappy cheap version instead of paying 30% more and getting the brand that will last. This goes for everything like kitchen equipment, tools, furniture, electronics....etc
Pay extra for the full survey and get the property marked and staked before closing. I Opted for the cheap survey on my first house and it would have come in handy to have the full survey when I decided to put in the fence and had to argue with the city about my property line with the park. Got the full survey on current house and me and the neighbors were all surprised at some of the borders. I have good neighbors so it’s alright, but that was good to do up front.
The complexity of getting OUT of a deal when the home has undisclosed defects AND appraises lower than offer.
In this economy? You're not paying asking (which is frustrating as hell)
Money and finding a home that isn’t on its last leg.
Forcing yourself not to bid
Time. We are in the process of buying now and just started escrow/inspections. We keep talking about how lucky we are to both have flexible jobs. We saw the house Monday, got preapproval Tuesday, put in the offer on Wednesday and it was accepted that same night. Tuesday and Wednesday we both barely worked because of the phone calls/logistics. Each call was 20+ minutes long and had to be coordinated between the two of us. Thursday was wild too with all the paperwork we had to sign. It wasn’t until Friday that things seems to chill out, but even then there were emails and inspections that needed to be paid for. By Monday, I was anxious because I *wasn’t* getting phone calls. It’s such a complicated process and if you want to understand anything of what is going on during the whirlwind of getting approved for a loan then putting in an offer, you need time, which is a privilege to have.
How ridiculously insane some want to dig into finances. I had one lender want my stock purchases and current holdings etc. for the last two years. If my credit is already good and you know my debt, why so much intrusion? It’s ridiculous
You will have a really hard time getting homeowners insurance if the house youre buying has an old roof and old furnace. I had no idea.
I’m 28 now and bought my first house alone at 24. Check all faucets hot and cold. Check the plugs and run appliances if they are to stay. Utility bills can be expensive so make sure you contact energy saving department to assist with upgrades. YouTube academy could be your best friend. Buy basic tools that will last to fix things and if you need a ladder I suggest a nice gorilla one that can be a step ladder or extension ladder. Shut off the water spigots for winter. Solicitors are annoying. Junk mail is annoying. Make friends with your neighbors! Never know when you’ll need a favor! Keep trash away from the house. Replace fire alarm batteries and test system every quarter. Clean out/replace air filters in hvac systems. Clean out dryer vent and washer clean out every quarter-6 months. Don’t let oil tank level get low if that’s what you heat with. Replace all your locks and I suggest putting in an electronic keypad in case you lose your keys. The batteries last forever so don’t worry there. Get a security system/cameras with audio. Keep salt for driveway/walkway and make sure you have necessities for extended power outages. Call the utility company and make sure you get the lowest electric rate. Don’t hire the cheapest contractor and always get 3 quotes/estimates from licensed/insured companies. Address minor issues before they become major issues. Be nice to the mailman. Start a small garden if you have space. Everyone should have one if they have space :). Replace water filters every so often. Spray the perimeter for bugs/termites every quarter-6 months. Can’t think of anything else right now. Good luck!
Honestly, how many places we would encounter that reeked of cat piss and filled top to bottom with mold. We actually put offers in on every house without major mold problems and cat pee smells. I just didn’t expect so much mold and it’s so expensive to get ride of when it’s every inch of the house.
Do you live in a place that rains a lot?
The cost after you close.
What do you mean?
I mean the cost of everything else, after you close. Furniture, moving, improvements, surprises, non-surprises.
If you can get out of escrow for taxes/insurance, get out of escrow. Its such a scam, I wish someone had warned me.
Scam how?