Your own personal tips for first-time homeowners, post 'em here!

[BlueIris]

Aside from snarky-ass comments like "Don't do it." Assume the potential homeowners in question are committed to doing it. For the official record, they are both gainfully employed professionals in their late '20s who have been married several years. One had homeowners as parents, the other had long-term renters. Both have rented apartments before, but never purchased property.

P.S. They already know some of the basics like "budget for home maintenance fees, repairs and remodeling," and "expect to spend a lot on those things, especially in the first year." But feel free to post whatever tips you want, particularly those you wish someone had told you before you purchased your first home.

[Swede]

1. Lift with your legs,not your back.

:shrug:

[Gormy Cuss]

2. A couple of things.

1)Don't buy a house just because you like it. Even though it will be your home it's also an investment.
Look at it critically in the context of its "bones" (how well it's built, whether the room layout and placement on the lot make sense, etc.) and how it fits in the surrounding community. Houses/condos that are much larger or much smaller than is typical tend to have longer resale times just because they aren't what buyers expect in that community/building. A good way to do both of the above is to use a buyer's agent or to bring along friends or relatives with more experience at buying and selling real estate.

2)Expect to have buyers' remorse. It's very common. You'll notice a thousand little things AFTER you move in that you didn't see before closing. Just remember -- you bought it, it's now yours to change to suit your desires.

[Dora]

3. Ask for an option period and hire an outside professional inspector.

When making an offer, ask for a 5-10 business day option period and offer a fee you'd be willing to lose if you change your mind during the option period. Hire an outside inspector. Do not accept the seller's or the seller's agent's disclosure statement as the final arbiter of truth.

[BlueIris]

8. Thanks for bringing up the need for a professional inspector.

That was my first suggestion to them.

[laylah]

26. That was my mistake,

NOT asking for one. My realtor convinced me it would be too expensive and the house was just fine. Like an IDIOT, I went along with her. Now, I have a house that could easily be condemned from the foundation up. Get the inspection if you do nothing else!

[we can do it]

39. If Your Realtor Doesn't Have An Inspection Release In Contract, Get Rid of Em

you should always have the home inspected by a LICENSED (not cousin Joe) Inspector and the ability to void contract if not satified with inspection.

[we can do it]

40. Have Your Own Agent Who Works For YOU- Not the Seller's Agent

the seller pays the commission- go to some open houses, find an agent you like and trust (or ask friends who've had a good experience)

[azmouse]

4. Don't feel that every room needs to be fully furnished immediately.

Don't go into more debt to buy lots of furniture that you don't need right away. Wait to see how the bills go for the first year and think about how you'll use the various rooms, then start looking at furniture.

We spent the money on a nice house. The furnishings came gradually. As long as you have a bed, a sofa, and a table and chairs in the kitchen you've got enough furniture to get started.

[BlueIris]

7. Good tip! (They're stressed out about finding the right furniture for them.)

They have radically different tastes in interior decorating.

[we can do it]

41. Check Out Estate Sales

[Captain Hilts]

38. VERY good advice. nt

[Kali]

5. buy a few good tools

and some do-it-yourself repair manuals, but learn what jobs you need to hire help for and get that lined up BEFORE the inevitable emergency

[BlueIris]

9. Oh, good call. nt

[Broken_Hero]

42. Ditto, and

also be surprised at how much junk your friends/family will give you to furnish your house. And if you they don't do so, always check out garage/yard sales for beds/couches/tables and other things you need. On another note, also watch out for folks who want to use your extra space for storage.....

My wife and I are adopting, and I had to get our house ready for a Home Inspection, and I literally threw away/gave away 8 truck loads of stuff that others dumped on me for storage, basically things they sorta/kinda wanted but was stuck in my garage/shed/closets for years. :)

Also check out yard sales for tools, when you start buying the basics like hammers/screwdrivers and what not, you notice just how expensive it is to have "the basics"

[Capn Sunshine]

43. That includes tools to shut off gas and water

Every homeowner should have the tools on hand and know how to shut off gas, water and electricity at the point where they enter the home.

[pitohui]

6. some years you'll be surprised how LITTLE you spend

congratulations to your friends!!!! home ownership is a great feeling and a great experience

i waited too long to buy my first home, having heard all the "money pit" scare stories

in the event, for me, and many others, home ownership has been MUCH cheaper than renting, even after having the dubious joys of experiencing two natural disasters in this home

some years you really don't have anything to spend at all on repairs/remodeling -- remodeling is probably something you shouldn't really do more than once in a lifetime anyway -- however in those years you do decide on the big expensive remodel, it costs more than you think -- i say when you plan the budget for maintainence/repair/remodel have a separate savings account somewhere not to easy to get to, such as maybe an indirect.com savings account -- you can put a separate account just for house stuff and in the years where nothing happens just let the money accumulate -- DON'T take it out for routine "emergencies" like the swine flu or a new car, that's your house repair money -- and it's ready when you do need the big repair or the deductible on your homeowner's insurance

also even if they say you don't need it, get the federal flood insurance, it's cheap at the price and they tell too many people "oh you're zone C you don't need that honey" and then the unexpected happens -- well unless they're buying the home in question in nevada i guess but even they have had the odd flood

but my other advice is pretty basic -- don't move often, don't move "up," instead do little things to stay in your home longer such as planting a good fruit tree and getting rid of junk/clutter that makes you imagine you need a bigger home -- the longer you stay in your home, esp. a smaller "starter" home in a quiet safe neighborhood with lots of retirees etc. then the more money you save

also don't let renter friends store large objects in your home -- they never pick up these items and it's a hassle to get them eventually hauled off

[Auggie]

10. Talk to the neighbors before you buy

They can give you inside dirt on the neighborhood -- and it might help you spot any potential psychos before you buy.

You can always improve the house, but you can't improve the neighborhood or enlarge the lot.

Don't pay for someone else's remodeling unless you really like what they did.

[pitohui]

11. there's two schools of thought on this and your suggestion is a good one

however i actually go the other route and just don't engage the neighbors at all

don't try to make neighbors into friends, let your friends be your friends, and be polite but distant to neighbors

if you get entangled w. neighbors and have a problem, it's a pretty big hassle, but psycho neighbors are unlikely to focus on the neighbor they never see...they don't get that drama reward from you
if you keep a polite cordial distance

also it's a real good idea to avoid all busybodies, there is a class of person who would take up all your time when you're home if it becomes known that you're willing to answer the door and "chat" -- i don't open the door unless someone calls me and lets me know they're coming -- it might seem snotty probably DOES seem snotty -- but i don't have to buy anybody's fucking girl scout cookies either and i don't have to serve on any associations/committees !

that reminds me of one last piece of advice -- never buy candy etc. from any kid ever -- once it is known you bought from one you're going to be approached from all of them -- just let it be known you're diabetic or broke or whatever it takes so that you're not constantly hassled in your own home for money

[Auggie]

14. Totally agree on the friend issue

I think you can tell if someone has a screw loose after talking to them for a few minutes, and that's what I refer to.

[BlueIris]

12. When you say "don't pay for someone else's remodeling," what do you mean?

Don't just leave the interior the way it is unless you really love it? Don't let another person remodel your house "for you" (after you move in)? Something else?

[Auggie]

17. We looked at a lot homes that had been newly remodeled...

kitchens, baths, etc. While the remodeling was okay, it wasn't our taste. We'd have to pay for those home improvements even though we would likely be changing many of them when we moved in. The house we eventually bought was much the way it was when built in 1972. We got a better deal on it because we didn't have to pay for someone else's cosmetic improvements.

If you like the remodeling it becomes moot. By all means, go for it.

BTW, "Home Buying for Dummies was a great help." I suggest it.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

27. and it might help

you spot wing nut neighbors. Having neighbors you like or at least get along with , is invaluable.............

[old mark]

13. If you don't REALLY LOVE the house, don't buy it - it will eventually

become a pain in the ass, and if you don't love it, you will begin to hate it.

Guess what - even if you hate it, you still have to pay for it.

Buy a house that makes YOU feel good, and feel at home and you won't regret it.

Also, don't worry too much about bad neighbors - you will find them no matter where you live, even in the highest priced areas. You just get a higher-income asshole.

Good luck, enjoy your home.

mark

[Ineeda]

15. Don't fall for the hype

of the 'gotta-haves'. As long as existing things function, you don't need: hardwood floors, stainless appliances, granite countertops, walk-in closets, gigantic master suites, double bathroom sinks, five bedrooms when you need two or three; a family room, living room, den and office, or anything else the decorating/home improvement shows tell you are essential. Remember things can be upgraded when and if you can afford to.

[hobbit709]

21. When we first got our house

Donna decided that she didn't like the plain chrome plated bathroom sink fixtures in her bathroom. She picked out a nice brass faucet set at the store and bought it. It was my job to install same. Eight days, 10 trips to various hardware stores and $600 later, she had her new faucet-along with a new sink, new cabinet, new cut-off valves, new hoses from cut-off to faucet, new drain pipes, etc. It seems the 20 year old plumbing connections were not compatible with the new ones.
When I finished, I told her that there had better be water on the floor before she wanted anything else done in there again.

[Auggie]

30. Double the units and triple the cost

I have a friend who uses that phrase to describe do-it-yourself remodels. Been there myself many times.

[taterguy]

16. Surveys are a rip-off

Don't get one if you don't have to.

[BlueIris]

20. Um...(tiny voice)

...what's a survey?

[Lars39]

24. It's somebody who measures, or surveys your property so that you

know *exactly* where your property lines are. Kinda important thing to know.

[dixiegrrrrl]

62. Why are they a rip-off, in your opinion?

when you say below, that they are a good thing to have?

[LynneSin]

18. Lessons learned:

1.) Shop for the right realtor. They all have access to the same houses, but you want to find someone who will actually listen to what you are looking for instead of pushing you into a house that you can't afford.

2.) 'Fix-it-up' is another word for MONEY PIT. Unless one of you happens to have shown years of dedication on doing projects around the house you can assure that your 'fix-it-up' home will never get fixed up.

3.) Think about public transportation. This may sound odd, but if you lost your job tomorrow how limited would you be with finding a new job? I like the fact that if needed I could take the train to Philadelphia for my job opening up the market wide open.

4.) If you find a house you like - check it out at nighttime to see what the neighborhood was like. One house I loved but twice when I drove by it there were kids hanging out on the front porch (and the house was empty).

5.) If the house is priced cheaper than the neighborhood value - figure out why. I saw one home that I loved and was about $30k less than what the neighborhood value was. When I walked out onto the beautiful porch attached to the master bedroom I found out why - it overlooked a graveyard. I tried to convince myself that I could live with a graveyard as my nextdoor neighbors but then when I saw the house was on the market for over 200 days I realized that it would be almost impossible to unload this house should I sell it.

[pitohui]

50. how i would have handled the graveyard

maybe this was a modern ugly graveyard with those easy to mow thingies set in the ground, i dunno, but even if it is was a nice scenic old-fashioned graveyard, seems like the thing to do would be to take the $30K in savings and invest a thousand in nice landscaping that would eventually grow up to screen the graveyard from view and pocket the profit when it's time to sell

unless they're really mowing all the time at the graveyard seems like you can't beat em for quiet neighbors and with the right landscaping the house could be made to be more valuable than the others on the street

also the house i actually bought, kids were using it as a trackway, but all we had to do was spend less than $50 to repair the lock on the gate and that put a sudden stop to anyone walking through our yard other than a few possums from time to time

this is assuming the kids are just kids being kids, agree if the kids were using/selling drugs then it's best to pass that neighborhood by...
but even nice kids can't resist an empty house or yard in the burbs, hell, i was the same way when i was a kid

[LynneSin]

52. I considered that until I saw it was on the market for over 200 days.

I didn't want to be stuck with a house that wouldn't sell even well below market value.

[pitohui]

61. well it was on the market 200 days under current conditions

the home i bought was on the market for 2 years when i bought it because of the time i bought it (during the S&L collapse)

within a year or two, there were no unsold houses left anywhere on the street or in the neighborhood, and until well into the bush 2 disaster, no house on this street stayed unsold for more than a few weeks -- that's a period of about 15 years where my house was actually liquid, and in the aftermath of katrina (esp. october 2005) i could have sold in a few days for triple what i paid (and in fact several of my neighbors did so) -- just because there was once a time when a house was hard to sell doesn't mean the house will always be hard to sell, is what i'm getting at here

not having seen the house w. graveyard overlook, i can't really say, but it's my GUESS that it would be possible for me to landscape it such that the house would sell (in a decent market, of course) at market value -- there is simply no reason why the graveyard needs to be visible with the right planting -- of course i live in the deep south, i can easily imagine a scenario where it's winter 9 mos. of the year and there's really nothing one could do to provide an inexpensive natural "outdoor room" that prevents one from seeing the graves from the house

so it's all speculation on my part

when you're getting a $30K discount, you have a pretty wide margin of experimentation/error in my view but who knows -- at the end of the day -- you were on the scene and had to make the decision and i wasn't

[Taverner]

19. Decide whether you want a big back yard or not

And there are advantages to small backyards

[mikeytherat]

22. Check for any basic classes on plumbing and electrical at the local hardware store or learning annex

mikey_the_rat

[PVnRT]

23. The ritual sacrifice the first night is important

Make sure it's a VIRGIN goat. VIRGIN. If it's not virgin, your homeowner's insurance is fucked.

[BlueIris]

29. Oh, I've got my coven ready and waiting for their Move-In Day. Black cauldron,

virgin goat, (maybe even a virgin Republican if we can find one) the whole nine yards.

[haele]

25. Know where all your utilities inputs are from the street to where they enter the house -

Most water and sewer providers only make repairs before the meter or before the outflow joint going into the provider's system (I'd say municipal sewer line, but you might not be living in a municipality).
Your home-owner's insurance does not cover repairs outside of the structure. So if you have a leak in the water line or sewer line outside your house but still on your property, you pay for it out of pocket. If you have a home-owner's association that provides the landscaping, they may cover the costs of repair on the property, but then again, they might not.
Also, check the purchase date and warranty on your major appliances (water heater, the home heater and AC systems, garage door, etc). Make sure the prior owner left paperwork, or call the manufacturer with the serial numbers to see how old they are.
Make sure you have an idea how old the roof is and for how long the roof is supposed to go before it really needs to be replaced. Roofs are usually good for 20 - 30 years before you need to replace shingles or underlayment due to rot.
All of these things will cost you major coin - far more than a new refrigerator or stove might. It's important to have an idea of how long before you might need to drop $5K - or more - on a repair or critical replacement.
In the bad old days when I bought a house that had undergone a remodel prior to sale, I didn't realize the 30 year old roof had just a "shingle upgrade" instead of replacement, the new water pipes from the city meter had not been backfilled correctly, the new patio "overhang cover" was supposed to have been built to code for it to be covered by my home-owner's insurance policy (and wasn't - nor was it built very well), and the attic heater unit was original and failing.

So, water and sewer line breakages cost me $10K to fix - including re-trenching, re-filling, repair of the sidewalk, etc...
The roof replacement package cost me $8K.
The new heater, duct replacement and repair, and AC unit (got a deal on a energystar "systems upgrade") cost me just over $5K.
I just ignored the garage door opener - put a lock on it and called it a wall. The garage was more for storage and a laundry room rather than a garage, anyway.
The patio cover was pulled down - disposal cost $300 - and I built a trellis structure not attached to the house so I didn't have to worry about "code" to use as a cover to the patio.
All this within the first three years of home ownership - and right after the one year "new home warranty" package the house was sold with ran out. And the house was built in 1975, so it really wasn't "that" old when I bought it in 1995.

Not counting the costs of the utilities when water lines broke or the heater started leaking (probably cost close to $200 and a lot of discomfort waiting on the repairs), that's more than I had bargained for. My tip to you is that you should try to get at least $30K in a money market account set aside strictly for home repairs. Either that, or have your escrow account include a home repair savings account that you add to when you pay your mortgage on a monthly basis.
As for landscaping - make sure everything can be moved easily maintained and replaced. DYI is usually best.

Good luck.

Haele

[uncle ray]

47. bad things really do happen.

within a block or two of my house, within the 3 years i've been here, 4 different neighbors had water supply line problems at the main valve located near the street. this is the homeowners responsibility, and always blows on a hot weekend in august, shutting off water for the whole block. you have to dig a hole 6 feet deep to get to the valve ASAP. not a fun way to spend a sunday, especially if you can't afford a backhoe.

[pitohui]

51. haele makes good points, i use ingdirect.com for that type of account

you put something into the acct every month for the home repairs/disaster budget because ya just never know -- plus even if you do turn out to be covered by insurance or another program, as we all know down here, sometimes it takes a long time to get your money!!! you want to be able to move and make repairs as needed, not let things get worse and worse while you're waiting for a check to be processed

if you can do your own mowing/landscaping, which we do, the money you save on that can be added to the home repair budget

don't let troubled trees get so large that they require a tree service to remove, that's $$$$ !!! keep on top of fast-growing trees/hedges so that they're properly trimmed and something you can safely control yourself with getting involved in arm-wrestling alligators with a chainsaw...

[HamdenRice]

28. Learn as many building trades as possible and learn them well. Plumber: $800. You: $20 no kidding nt

[Missy Vixen]

31. Seconding "don't buy the house unless you really love it."

We bought a brand-new house ten years ago. We will be here for awhile due to the economy and how much we hate moving, but truthfully, there are things I would change if I had it to do over again. The family room is the smallest room in the house, and the room we spend the most time in next to our bedroom. Our bedroom is over the garage (and constantly freezing). Our neighbors really don't talk to each other.

Seriously. Tell them to check out the neighborhood, be sure this is the house they could live with for 10+ years or more if they have to, and don't buy more house than they can afford.

There are some serious headaches in home ownership, but there is nothing like waking up that first morning in your very own house. :woohoo:

[BlueIris]

32. I realize we're all watching Texas at the moment, but...any more homeowning tips?

We've had some great comments in this thread so far.

[Arugula Latte]

33. Don't buy a house on a busy street, no matter what kind of a discount you'd get.

It is unbelievably stressful to have cars and buses screeching by at all hours. Our first house was on a busy street, and our current house is on a tucked away cul de sac, and the difference is unbelievable.

[hatredisnotavalue]

34. I would buy some great land and a mobile home

get the sewer and water stuff done and then build the home of your dreams on the property while living in the trailer, sell off the trailer to pay for your furniture when you move in

[jmowreader]

35. My tips...

1. A Federal Pacific breaker box is a deal-breaker because the breakers are a known fire hazard--sometimes they won't open in response to an overload.

2. Unscrew and pull out one outlet, then look at the wiring. Is it copper-colored, or is it silver? If it's silver, the house is wired with aluminum wiring. This is another deal-breaker because aluminum wiring is a known fire hazard.

3. Find someone who knows roofing really well, and have the roof inspected. Then go up there yourself and walk all over the roof deck. If it feels spongy underfoot, this is a third deal-breaker because a spongy roof deck means you need to replace not only the shingles but also the roof sheathing.

4. Another deal-breaker? Look at every outlet. Some older state electrical codes required grounded outlets only in rooms that had water--laundry room, kitchen and bathrooms. This might have been okay in the era when the only things you wanted to plug in were televisions, radios and lamps--all with two-prong outlets. Today half the things you might want to plug in have grounded plugs.

5. Deal-breaker five: Hardboard siding aka Masonite siding. This rots badly and quickly, so don't get it.

6. Consider looking for homes that don't have any appliances. This does two things for you: it ensures you're getting known-good appliances, and it keeps you from paying for your fridge for 30 years.

[Mopar151]

36. Be careful at HD, Loew's, or Menards

Or your local =. After I bought a house, I would josh those in a similar boat that I ended up in "Home Depot Anonymous" - ("Hi, my name is Mopar. Really, I just wanted to fix up my house a little...") Then, about a month after he & the wife bought a place, my co-worker asked "Hey, what night are those meetin's, anyway? 'Cuz I had a rough weekend at Lowe's"

[spinbaby]

37. Think about how the neighborhood might change

We have a lot more traffic than we did 20 years ago because of housing developments. Also, 20 years ago we were sure utilities would get here soon. They didn't. Utilities stopped at the housing developments that screwed up our traffic.

[dysfunctional press]

44. sign up to pay half your mortgage every two weeks, instead of once a month.

you'll save a bundle over the shortened life of the loan.

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. Important tips about negotiating the mortgage:

And boy are we glad we did this.

The mortgage MUST include the following:

NO prepayment penalty. Must be written into the contract.
This is key.
With no prepayment penalty, you can save 50 K or more on interest if you add some extra money to your house payment.
Bankrate.com has a mortgage tool that will tell you how much faster you can pay off your mortgage by various inputs of payments. Play with the tool. It will surprise you.
By paying even a little extra the first 6 years of a mortgage, you can save a lot of interest payments.
If you get a windfall of money ( hey, it can happen) you can pay off mortgage ahead of time and save a lot interest.

NO Escrow. In order to get no escrow, you have to pay 25% down.
With no escrow YOU pay the required house insurance once a year, YOU pay the taxes.
But it will save you tons of money from having the mortgage company screw up your escrow payments.
And there will be no PPI payments added to your monthly payment.

If your mortgage writer says then cannot write it that way, walk away. They are lying, and you do not want to do business with liars.
Before you sign the contract, have it looked at by someone you trust and make the mortgage company point out where it says you have a FIXED rate loan with NO prepayment, no Escrow.

We got our loan thru the local Countrywide ( before we knew about Countrywide) but the lender person was local and I watched her eyebrows shoot up when I said what i wanted. She did not argue, we got it written our way.
Trust me, please. I have had 2 houses, thus learned this the hard way.

[pitohui]

55. no prepayment penalty is a good one

when i bought my house, "no prepayment penalty" was a standard even though interest rates were much higher, it surprised me a bit when i asked that they didn't want to protect their income but "no prepayment penalty" was already in the contract

always worth checking

our loan was from a federal program that allowed us to make a v. minimal down payment but we were able to pay off our house in less than a decade by sending extra $$$ toward the principal and noting it on the house note form any time we had a "windfall"

the last payment we overpaid and they ended up sending us back a check with the letter letting us know that we had paid in full

what a great feeling!

we could not have rented for all these years, for the same price as what we paid even when you include taxes, insurance, maintanance -- which i guess is logical, rents today shock me, but obviously rent has to cover all these costs plus provide a profit to someone so it's logical that rents would be higher in the long run

[distantearlywarning]

46. Something I just found out this week after 2.5 years of home ownership

Buy the damn gas line insurance that is offered by the gas company. Trust me on this one, it's worth it. :grr:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

48. Here are a few - some might be repeats

1. Have your own agent - a "buyers agent" who wll represent you in the sale.

2. NEVER buy a house without an inspection

3. Location location location is not just a mindless aphorism. Most people decide the area they want to be in before the house. Try to find an area that is holding steady or trending upward in terms of prices. Avoid areas that are trending downward faster than surrounding areas. It's easier to sell in the future if you're in a place where people like to be.

4. Ask your agent questions like - is there anything development wise that could impact this area? - You know, like the new dump that is scheduled to open next year in the undeveloped land behind the house, the proposed throughway that will run next to the side lotline, etc.

5. Visit the neighborhood at different times of the day.

6. Drive to work one day at the actual time you would be commuting from the house and vice versa. This is how you discover that every single day and night there is a forty minute back-up on your new exit.

7. Check out where you would probably shop, closeby restaurants, etc. You have to be happy LIVING in the house.

8. Google the neighborhood or the city to find if it's been in the news for an unfavorable reason

9. http://www.city-data.com/ is an interesting link where you can find out all kinds of stuff about various cities and towns

10. GET AN OWNER'S TITLE POLICY at closing. It will protect and insure YOU, not the bank over any surprise title issues and they do occur, believe it or not.

11. Get the scoop way before close what homeowner's insurance will cost. Do this early on and not at the last minute.

12. After you have gotten mortgage approval (which is one of the FIRST things you do - even before you look at any actual houses) DO NOT BUY anything or do anything that could negatively impact your credit score. DO NOT BUY A HOUSE FULL OF FURNITURE BEFORE THE CLOSE!!!

13. Someone else mentioned the cheap insurance the utilities offer for things like water and gas lines. Do it. it is literally a couple dollars a month and it can save you THOUSANDS of dollars.

14. Check out the Home Owners Association's stuff throughly (if this applies) and decide if you're ok with having your Christmas decorations, house paint, acceptable plantings, etc. dictated to you by a group of sheeplike, conformist neighbors (just kidding!)
but seriously, think about this.

15. In some newer construction I would definitely be concerned about the whole Chinese drywall issue. This could even be a factor in older homes that have been remodeled.

16. Water quality and pressure - often overlooked. Critical if well water is involved. There is a whole host of issues with well and septic systems if you do not have public utilities.


Ok, I'll stop for now.

[BlueIris]

49. Great advice. Especially about the water pressure issue. nt

[Phentex]

53. one more...live in it a while before remodeling...

you may walk in and think about the kinds of changes you want to make but sometimes after living there, you change your mind about what you want or need.

Have fun! :hi:

[pitohui]

57. even better don't remodel at all

if you sit down and let the feeling pass, after awhile, you may decide to blow off the whole idea of remodeling altogether

i just don't think major remodels are worth the money and hassle

one thing we did do was slowly remove all carpets and replace them with hardwood/pergo type floors or else ceramic/tiles floor but this is for health reasons (i have allergies, and carpets are not good for people w. allergies) but when you're talking about tearing out walls/enlarging kitchens and other remodels people seem to do just because they're bored --- at the end of the day you can save a fortune by being more organized and learning to cook just fine in a smaller kitchen, like people used to do in the olden days -- they cooked for bigger families in smaller kitches, it just ain't necessary to have every piece of nuisance cooking equipment every invented -- a microwave, a slow cooker, and a coffee machine are all you need -- if someone gives you a bunch of space-consuming kitchen equipment wait until they're not looking and sell it on craigslist -- WAY cheaper than remodeling your kitchen to accommodate a bunch of salad cutting islands and other nonsense

[la_chupa]

54. don't bother with the home warranty

Well maybe, you should weigh your options there, but really think about it.

When we bought our house we got the home warranty. I don't remember what it cost but the deal was that anything that went wrong and we'd only have to pay $75. It sounds like a good idea and it is for small things that we didn't know how to fix ourselves.

The problems come in when it's something major like a totally blown A/C. They agreed that it had to be replaced, but they put in one that was too small for the house. We live in Charlotte. Take a gander at our average Aug temperatures, yea well this A/C they put in ran nonstop all summer and didn't really cool the house. If we were "in charge" of the repair sure it would have cost a darn sight more than $75 but we would have done it right.

Same issue with the plumbing. We had a leak, they patched it. We had a leak, they patched it. etc

After we gave up on the warranty thing we had the entire plumbing system replaced and bought a new A/C.

cha ching you know but at least now our pipes don't spring a leak on a monthly basis and it is nice and comfy in the house during the summer.

[BlueIris]

56. Good call. They live in California so A/C is a big issue. Plumbing, I guess, is always an issue.

Le sigh.

[midnight armadillo]

58. Put their money in a pile and light it on fire

That's what home ownership has felt like so far.

I love it, but goddam the $ just goes out the door like nobody's business...especially when you've got a fixerupper!

[BlueIris]

59. Post more about how you can "love" it, despite the massive hemorrhage of cash.

Have you broken one hundred grand on the "fixing-upping" yet?

[midnight armadillo]

60. Here's what we've done

Our move-in renovations included 8 new double-hung windows, sanding the floors (I applied the finish, ugh, never again floors are too stressful), stripping all wallpaper, priming everything with shellac (to seal in cigarette smoke), painting everything with zero VOC paint, rebuilding the cellar stairs, and some minor outdoor fixes. Oh, and a pair of used Toto low-flush toilets were installed.

That's just round 1. The house is livable and I will turn to the exterior work in the spring. The kitchen floor is falling apart, the bathrooms need re-tiling, and we have a room to re-paint. Not too bad, really. Considering how filthy and nasty it was when we moved in I think we spent our budget pretty wisely.

I do love it. There are no beige walls anywhere, I'd had enough of that with 16 years of apartment living. The kids have some yard to run in, we can store bikes in the garage instead of the 4th floor attic, it's modest but plenty for us. I just need to double my salary so I can really re-work the house the way we'd love to :)

It's really the minor crises that have caught us un-awares. Like how the oil company just shows up, tops off the tank, and leaves a bill for $300, the flying squirrel we needed evicted from our attic, the price of tree trimming that we need to do, that sort of thing.

[TrogL]

63. Don't buy a fix-er-upper unless you are actually capable of the job

And fix one thing at a time.

[BlueIris]

64. One thing at a time. Gotcha. nt

[Darth_Kitten]

65. Take your water meter reading regularly.

:)