Homeowner tips n tricks?? Buying a house, have only ever lived in apartments. What do you wish you knew? (Can include things to buy but please not expensive bc all my savings are going towards House)

Question

Hannah · Answer

Buy the expensive paint…: When I bought my house painting felt within reach of my DIY capabilities. At the hardware store I was convinced to save a few bucks and buy a can of primer and the middle tier paint… What I didn’t think about at the time is that meant at a minimum I would have to do 2 coats of paint in every room. Looking back I wish I passed on the primer & bought the most expensive paint because often you’ll only need one coat of it and in rare cases 2 coats max to cover a dark color. So save yourself a lot of time and spend the extra money on the nice paint. I’m also a Benjamin Moore loyalist, they have the most even and durable paint imo.

Margo · Answer

Don’t listen to people who do this all the time unless they’re really breaking it down for you: We had a great broker who was also a contractor so she had a lot of knowledge, but she also made doing renovation work sound easy breezy. And for her, I think it would have been, because she does it all the time. But as people who had never owned and knew nothing about permits and pipes and amperage, and already had full time jobs, it really screwed up our expectations. Suffice to say, if I had any kind of timeline by which I needed to move in and couldn’t afford to pay mortgage on the new place plus rent on the old place at the same time easily, I would not buy a place that needs any work before you move in. You don’t know what you don’t know—-and it’s a lot!

ARG · Answer

Learn where your line is between “pay a professional” and “DIY”: It took me some time to figure out what home repair/maintenance stuff I’m comfortable learning/doing myself and what I really just want to pay someone to do. This was hard as a first time homeowner who didn’t fix anything in my prior rentals and spent all my money on the purchase. But once I could sort things into the right category I could get straight to getting it done! Also, budget ~1% of your purchase price per year for maintenance/repairs.

Rachel Sundstrom · Answer

Have some money set aside: If you can, try to keep some money set aside or work with a financial advisor on how best to deal with the unplanned situations that arise. Something will come up eventually and you won’t be able to call a landlord to deal with it. We have found that working with a financial advisor to be a huge help to manage all aspects of our life but especially our home!

ZZ · Answer

Ask around!!!: Ask around locally for recommendations about realtors (especially ones that are good at supporting first time buyers). Ask around locally for recs for loan servicers (compare prices & consider credit unions too). Ask around locally for recs for home inspectors. Find people you really trust who you feel are taking it seriously and not rushing you. If you know any handy people, ask them to come look at houses with you bc they may notice something you don’t.

After you buy, embrace empty house vibes! Like own it… consider how you’re not caving into fast fashion/ fast home decor and make that your identity! Get to know your neighbors! Bring them cookies! Get local recs for any repairs and get lots of quotes. Seriously. I’ve gotten quotes $15k apart. And remember, cheaper isn’t always better.

Jennifer · Answer

Get the good Recs: If you find a service person (plumber, contractor, roofer, real estate person) you like and is good at their job, ask them for recommendations of other people they like. Good folks know who's good in the game so if you find one person who's excellent, chances are they know other people who are also excellent at their job. There's a lot of people who are pretty shitty at their jobs but this is one way to weed them out without paying (literal money) to find out.