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“No One Warned Me”: 84 Times People Bought A House To Realize It Was Actually The Easiest Part
Buying a house is a dream come true for many people. It's the ultimate badge of adulthood. The moment you stop throwing away your hard-earned cash on someone else's mortgage. A place to call your own and decorate or renovate whichever way you want.
But what we often aren’t told is that homeownership doesn't just come with pride and joy. It comes with a long list of surprises, hidden costs, lessons and responsibilities that you might not be prepared for. The things that never crossed your mind, nor kept you up at night, when you were a mere renter.
Someone asked, "What’s the one thing about owning a home that no one warned you about?" and fortunately, many people chose not to gatekeep. From endless water problems, to issues with "digging, chewing and burrowing," they shared the big and small dramas they've faced since buying a house.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the best responses, not to scare you away from signing that mortgage, but rather to prepare you for what might be lurking around the corner. Feel free to add your own homeownership nightmares in the comments section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I wanted to replace a doorknob. Then was like, I should do them all so they match. Then was like, well these doors are old and should get replaced. Then was like, well, now the walls look shabby, and the flooring…and I wanted to get rid of that one wall anyway. And I need a window over here.
So, that’s how you end up with a $70k doorknob.
Nizumi 4 days ago
And this is why the paint remains chipped. The kitchen and bathroom unrenovated. We spent all the money on infrastructure and building envelope. I know painting and little touches make a big difference; I also know I don't bloody care. It's clean. It weather-proof. Everything works. Leave it alone. :)
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
We do this ALL the time. Our new phrase is "Knock down, rebuild!" (ridiculously common in Australia) because ANYTHING we want to do escalates because this, and then that, and what about the other.....
Nicole Weymann 4 days ago
*looking around our somewhat old house*: we have about half a dozen different sets of doorknobs (well, handles, actually), about as many different doors (not matching the aforementioned handles), and never even tried to make everything look new and matching, because ain't nobody got that kinda money for a big, old, inherited house. Once you've finished even one project in the backyard you'll have two new one up front.
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Lisa Wright 3 days ago
I needed to replace a single solitary £3.50 light bulb…. Cost me £75 in the end… had to buy ladders to change the single solitary £3.50 bloody light bulb
Vivian McBride 1 day ago
This reminds me of those old "light bulb" jokes.
Load More Replies... Dr Jimmy 03 3 days ago
We're 30K USD into our house improvements over nine years, and I'm just fine with that. Each expense has been either a serious need, or an upgrade we've wanted. The house was built with "contractor-grade cheapest c**p" fixtures and materials, as my wife puts it. Each change makes the house less generic and more Our Home. Light fixtures with three different bulb bases. Three different styles of interior door knobs. None of the five ceiling fans match. We'll change `em when we feel like it.
Karen Horchak 4 days ago
Replacing our doorknobs was soooo much harder than I'd ever have imagined! We had to add shims and a wood block, etc etc... It was an entire day!!
Mike F 4 days ago
And ignored the drip in the basement, "it's not that bad". Moron. I'll bet I have spotted a dozen or more instances of people planting small buckets under a drip in the basement, but the kitchen sports stone countertops. Unless you paid cash for the home it was inspected and you can/should make a set of plans for upcoming work based on the results of the inspection.
JL 4 days ago
Plan out your limits. My new house had all mismatched worn out doorknobs. The doors were old and eventually need replacing, but phase one was to replace all the knobs and bring them in sync. Sometime later I'll start replacing doors, and I already have the knobs that will move to the new doors.
Being able to finally buy your own home is a big deal, but it's no easy feat. CNBC reported last year that the typical homebuyer would need to save for seven years - just to be able to make a down payment on a house. And then there are the monthly mortgage payments...
Experts say that 2026 is expected to be a "transitional" year in the housing market.
"Home prices are expected to rise slowly, and mortgage rates might dip modestly, although borrowing costs will still make buying expensive for many households," explains CNBC.
As it stands, around 65.1% of American homes are owned by their occupants. That's according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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#2
That a good, honest handyman is worth his weight in gold.
howdylee 4 days ago
Marry a handyman... and everyone else's houses will be fixed gloriously... your own house, well let's just say projects get neglected...
KatWitch57 3 days ago
When I told my Dad that I'd gotten engaged., he bought my to-be-husband an expensive drill and a how-to book (this was the 70s). When Dad met my fiancee he took one look and gave both book and drill set to me. I've been doing my own DIY ever since.
#3
No matter how strong something is built, nature is stronger.
Or if you prefer: “ life uhhhhh finds a way”.
Rosecrucian Roeth 4 days ago
No, you will never fool Mother Nature..............you may try, but you will not succeed!
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keyboardtek 4 days ago
And after the building next to the river in a flood zone has been destroyed, people will rebuild there again.
Tropical Tarot 3 days ago
Or on the beach in a hurricane-prone state. Multiple times
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Redfin has labeled 2026 as the year of the "Great Housing Reset" but don't expect changes to happen overnight.
"The Great Housing Reset will be a yearslong period of gradual increases in home sales and normalization of prices as affordability gradually improves," explains the finance site. "It will start [in 2026], with incomes rising faster than home prices for a prolonged period for the first time since the Great Recession era."
#4
That you hope every unexplainable noise is a ghost, and not something you’re going to have to spend hundreds of dollars on to fix.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
We know it's not a ghost. We normally don't know what it is at all, and sometimes it's big and on our roof! I'd welcome ghosts instead....
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
Same. At least so far it has been rats rather than possums, so we have been able to set traps for them, otherwise it will cost a lot to get them removed.
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Nicola Roberts 4 days ago
And, whatever that was, I'll check in the morning.
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Taibhse Sealgair 4 days ago
Two days after we bought our first house 30+ years ago, we had some very strong thunderstorms move through. The wind made the house creak like heck. Was up all night wondering if it was gonna suffer some sort of structural damage/collapse. Still standing!
ROSESARERED 1 day ago
My house came with its own ghosts. I have metal Sade blinds, from the 70s, on the front windows. When it is windy the go whhhoooo, whhoooo, whhoooo....scared me the first night I heard it...woke up thinking what the hell is that...now...ah, my ghosts are singing
#5
All creatures of the earth both great and small make it their life's mission to destroy your house via digging, chewing, and burrowing.
HarmonicasAndHisses:
Last night a raccoon broke into my completely enclosed vegetable garden. On the Ring cam, I watched this fat demon rip open my mesh fence with his [jerk] raccoon hands, trounce all over my radishes for funzees, then dig up all the carrots trying to figure out how to escape. He finally settled on simply tearing apart a second part of the mesh. He didn’t even eat anything, he just wanted to destroy!
Lotan:
We bought a beautiful house that’s in the woods. I always say, “The thing about living in the woods is that everything in the woods wants to live with you.”
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
“The thing about living in the woods is that everything in the woods wants to live with you.” Ain't that the truth! Same in the Australian bush, mate! Toads when it's wet, snakes when it's cold.... Spiders whenever they feel like it!
BeesEelsAndPups 4 days ago
There are places I've lived where mosquito netting is required. You'd wake up in the middle of the night and the net would be covered with bugs. Some of them were little mosquitos. But you'd also get big boys the size of your forearm. Living in the jungle, I shared my house with bats, coati, iguanas, monkeys, even the occasional bird. The worst were the rats.
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Geoffrey Scott 4 days ago
Squirrels, mice, ladybugs(Japanese beetles), bees, chipmunks, crickets. ALL have taken up residence in various parts of our house.
Rinso The Red 4 days ago
I've spent more time than I care to admit stalking crickets in my basement. A field of crickets = peaceful, relaxing. A single cricket at 1am = maddening, near sadistic
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Daniel Atkins 4 days ago
Gophers are the worse they have dirt piles under my house at one point it was up to the floor joist. They will dig in the garden and pull the vegetable down into the hole. I have watched them pull a green bean plant into the ground. They will dig into an ornamental flowerbed pushing the dirt on top of the mulch. making it look bad.
Nikki Sevven 1 day ago
For the garden issue: If you plant a few things outside the fence, the animals will be happy. We've never had animals breaking through into our multiple gardens.
keyboardtek 4 days ago
We moved to a small mountain town. Get to see possums, skunks, raccoons, groundhogs, deer, and the actual worst predator, feral cats.
#6
Water is satan’s handyman and is out to destroy your home.
TACO Don's Authentic TexMex 4 days ago
Not cardboard, rock powder sandwiched between sheets of cardboard
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TMTMTMTM 3 days ago
For my place: the fruit in the Garden of Eden was just Satan's warmup for practice. His real evil was flat roofs. Water puddles there and rots the asphalt and lurks waiting to pounce.
Forrest Hobbs 2 days ago
TMTMTMTM: I hear you. We had a bitumen sealed flat roof (on the extension - the rest of the house has decent tiles). It leaked. Now it's got a synthetic rubber top to it - 25 year warranty, as I recall, and apparently probably good for at least 40 years.
Load More Replies... #7
The cast iron and copper pipes in your home have lasted for 80 years with no issues but have never emotionally matured. If you give them a slightly suspect glance they will self destruct and spring leaks like a tween being told to clean their room and wailing how everyone is picking on them.
Sandy Jones 4 days ago
Have a leaky faucet in the bathroom & you're replacing the pipes all the way to the meter
BookFanatic 4 days ago
My parents' home was built in 1908. Original cast iron plumbing. The main wastewater pipe was pretty badly rusted out and decided to give up while I was standing next to it.
Brian Droste 4 days ago (edited)
When I first bought my house, the pipes leading from the water meter were lead pipes I believe. within a few years they end up leaking. The first time I end up able to come up with the money to pay for it. The second time I did not have the money. I end up borrowing it from a friend to pay for the repair. The second time the company I hired suggested that the lead pipes be replaced with plastic pipe. That is what I went with. Never had that problem again.
WubiDubi 2 days ago (edited)
A had a plumber 'hot' move a radiator (move it to change bracket size) without draining or depressurising) and just rotated it 90 degrees on the pipe ends as a hinge. Looked impressive but ancient heating system was not a fan. Ended up with two micro fractures in one pipe 2 feet away under a concrete floor. Plumber claimed coincidence to pressure loss and literally ran away. Pipes were in raw concrete without protection which meant concrete had weakened the copper. and he was the final stress. They are now wrapped, in a gentle bed of sand, then something else and then reconcreted. Spare tiles were a nice surprise.
Tim Douglass 2 days ago
My in-laws built a house in the 1950s. The water in their well is so hard you can walk on it without being particularly religious. In the 90s my wife and I lived in that house. I pulled out 3/4" galvanized pipe that was so full of mineral deposits that it was only about a 1/8" clear hole. Every fixture was red and black from the minerals. We put in a sophisticated filter/softener system and plastic pipe. It was better.
keyboardtek 4 days ago
We recently bought a house built in 1951. The basement had a bad odor. Turned out the home inspector was too lazy to look in the service access room behind the basement bathroom shower where we had a leaking rusted cast iron sewage drain pipe.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My grandad built copper (iirec) pipes into the slab for under floor heating when he built the place in the 70s. He was told they would last forever. When we moved in in the 90s, the pipes were fine, but some rooms didn't heat and we found out (from flushing the system) that the joins, which weren't copper, had degraded. By the time my mum sold, in 2020, the whole thing had stopped working a few years before. No way could she justify digging up the whole slab to fix it.
#8
How much like wack-a-mole it is... I NEVER can catch up on projects and repairs. Now that I am tight on money it's worse, and I feel like my house is slowly decaying around me. =(.
Geoffrey Scott 4 days ago
But it's generally true that prevention is far cheaper than if you don't. During Covid, we got the 'stimulus' check/payout. To wife: .."So, wanna do the bathroom?"..how old is our furnace?".."20 years.(d**n)". Bathroom remains untouched.
Load More Replies... Nichole Harris 4 days ago
OMG this this this!!!!! Own a home built in 1950....1 addition in'78..... It's an inherited home and we've always got something falling apart
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
One of the first things I wanted to get done was paint the outside of the house, as the previous owners had done up the inside then run out of steam. Three years later, it's still not done, partly because I was using money for IVF. I feel so sad every time I pull up in front of the house and see the state it's in. At least I got some of the other little jobs done (eventually).
#9
Neighborhoods change. I bought this place partially because of all the kids running around. It seemed vibrant and alive.
Now 20 years later the kids have moved out and no young families have moved in. It's all old people. Like me I suppose.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 4 days ago
My mum's road is like that. When I was growing up there, there were loads of children a similar age to me. We used to spend summer evenings playing 40-40 in and other games. Now when I visit, there's just one family with children. Mostly it's because all the same people still live there, only 30 years older.
BeesEelsAndPups 4 days ago
My parents neighborhood has a similar issue but it's mostly because young families are priced out. My parents bought their house for $90K. Today is valued at $950K. Most of the people buying homes there are older, or they are multigenerational families. Another big group are investors. They buy a place, tear it down and build a place twice the size of the original, then sell it for $1,5 - $2 million.
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Billo66 4 days ago
We built our house in 1980, we had 40 acres and it cost 30,000 USD in materials. 5 Bedrooms, living, dining, office, full basement apartment, 2 bath. 2 car heated garage. Everything has been paid for for years, we used to farm but crops are way to risky and beef and pork are a lot of work, not much profit. My great-uncle passed leaving his acreage to Grandpa, he passed and it went to my Dad. 600 acres now. We just sell hay. No neighbors, no noise. No mortgage. It's well over our initial investment but it's not an investment. It's home. :)
The Short Lady 4 days ago
That's what happens. The young grow up and move away because the old won't downsize when the kids are gone.
Sue User 2 days ago
Not easy to find low square footage houses these days. Everything is 2000+.
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Chrystina Sumpter 4 days ago
That happened to our neighborhood but over the last few years older residents have either passed away or moved to retirement communities and young families have moved in. It’s lovely. I used to help out an older neighbor whose husband had built their home and together they raised four children there. After a long illness she passed away and the house was sold to a nice couple with a baby daughter. I an so very happy that a new family will make memories in that house.
R Dennis 4 days ago
We bought where there were some kids and they built a new high school. Then it slowly started to only have a couple kids in the neighborhood. We are starting to see the amount of kids come back up, but with the cost of housing more than doubling, families can't afford to buy as much.
Learner Panda 2 days ago
My home is in an area of bungalows and so attracts elder folk. Our neighbours more commonly die than move away.
#10
Another thing: it’s REALLY important to know a guy. You’ve gotta know a guy who does this or that. A contractor friend. A plumber. Someone who services the furnace. You NEED to have good close contacts you trust for emergencies.
Janissary35680 4 days ago
For years I've worked with a handyman who can fix just about anything and if he can't, he straight up tells me so but also knows someone who can fix it and who I can trust because he does.
WubiDubi 2 days ago
Plumber recommending locksmith on Christmas Eve. Name dropped plumber and resulted in no call out fee and 60% of normal price. D**n.
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UnclePanda 4 days ago
For hardware stores, every department has one person who knows the trade and a bunch of other people wearing the same shirt. Find that person and cultivate that relationship.
Brian Droste 4 days ago
I hired a handyman last year to do some work on my house. Do to some personal issues he end up abandoned me. Found another handyman to finish up what the first handyman didn't. Because of work issues he end up abandoned me also. I am not sure if I want o trust any handyman again. Plus I was disappointed with both of them in some ways. Looks like I am going b to hire professional people/person to do my work from now on. It lis going to cost me more to do the work.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
Much as I detest social media, Facebook does help in such situations, with reviews too.
BarfyCat 4 days ago
This is the best/only reason to use social media: "Help, my roof is leaking! Does anyone know a guy?"
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I bought a place in an unfamiliar area, far from anywhere I lived before, so this was a challenge. I did coincidentally find one friend who lived a few streets away, so when I described some problems she said 'don't you know a guy' but of course I didn't. She couldn't help much either. Now after three years I know a really good electrician, who was just beginning to take on jobs after maternity leave, and my parents found a good plumber at their place 15 minutes away who they referred me to so I could have drains re-dug. I thought my stepdad would be able to help me more for small handyman jobs, but he is enjoying retirement too much to actually follow through on things he agreed to.
#11
That the list of things to do to keep it up is endless. I knew there was some work, yeah, but until it became real I didn't realize how much of a part-time job home ownership truly is.
The other thing I was oblivious to is how much WATER WANTS TO DESTROY MY HOUSE. A spring thunderstorm used to be relaxing. No longer.
Betty Spaghetti 4 days ago
A spring thunderstorm is only relaxing with a sturdy roof, adequate ventilation in the right places, sealing where water or air pressure could force water in, a foundation that slopes away from the property, clear sewage lines and storm drains around the property…
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Betty Spaghetti: here in the UK, houses don't mind thunderstorms. We mostly do have sturdy roofs, adequate provision for drainage, and so on. Of course things are sealed against the rain getting in or we'd all be soaked through half the time. Although... I'd not trust any house younger than I am.
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Nikki Sevven 1 day ago
The thunderstorms are fine. It's the high winds that worry me, since my house is on a largely forested property. We never used to have high winds year round, but now it seems to be the norm.
keyboardtek 4 days ago
As someone who grew up with a dad and older brother who were into using tools and fixing everything, I actually enjoy home repair projects, but not if it is the A/C failing during the hottest week of summer or the washer leaking in the middle of a load of laundry.
#12
Finding a competent, affordable pro for repairs or improvements is nearly impossible.
StrangeOne 4 days ago
When my mom bought her home, it's been neighbours around her offering various home repair and maintenance services for her, at lower cost, or trying to hook her up with contractors they know. So far, she's not been impressed and at times ripped off.
Chich the witch 4 days ago
We called the previous owner for the name of the handyman she had used so we could be sure to avoid him.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
At my place, it was the previous owners who did it themselves. Four brothers had bought it as an investment property and renovated the whole inside. One was a carpenter or something, the others were meant to be following his lead. Then one by one their health started failing and it was left to just one to finish up and he was not the carpenter. I had to get my whole fusebox rewired because they had really messed it up and there are base boards that don't sit flush and many other little things they got wrong!
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Krd 3 days ago
Not true. I'm telling you, find a local father/son/family business that's been around for a long time, ask some people who used them, and you can find a good repairer. Avoid most major companies, especially chains like Home Depot/Lowes. These people tend to have good experience, and take pride in their work since the business is part of the family. Their reputation/name is on the line.
keyboardtek 4 days ago
I graduated from high school back in 1972 and even back then guidance counselors were pushing every kid to go to college. Recently in the small rural town I retired to, they opened a trades school to train electricians, plumbers, HVAC and carpenters. Much needed in this age when most kids just want to sit in front of a computer.
Brian Droste 4 days ago
I posted my experience of hiring a couple of handyman last year. Look under number 11 right now under my name.
#13
I actually bought my 100 year old house to keep me busy in retirement. I learned that everything cannot be a DIY project. Like the surprise $10,000 replace the water pipes cuz the cold was blocked right after I moved in. But I am good at replacing electric now and used shark bite to replumb my kitchen sink. So many surprises, but the taxes, insurance and mortgage is less than rent and nobody can kick me out so that makes me happy. And you can paint any color you want!
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My parents also bought their house (nowhere near 100 years old) as a retirement project. They have had to get their plumbing fixed twice, once meant rerouting it completely, which they couldn't do it themselves. Moreso, it was the grounds that they wanted to work on. 13 acres, with all except 1-2 acres bushland. They managed to get veggie patches and a small orchard on those 1-2 acres in the last 5 years and attempted to raise sheep, but found the ground stayed too damp and this caused foot rot. The biggest issue though is their driveway. It is about 1km, winding down/uphill, including a hairpin turn. It is all unsealed, though there were a couple of patches where the previous owners tried to concrete, but this has completely washed away in two huge storms. It was always a challenge to drive up, but now it has deteriorated so much that only 4WDs can drive up all of it. I have to park my car halfway up if I visit, and get them to take me the rest of the way.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
They have had quotes to fix/seal it from at least four different companies, and a couple that didn't even give them a quote because it was a bigger job than they were willing to take on. Quotes have all been $20 000+. Even getting gravel to fill some areas that are most uneven has cost thousands, as has digging drains alongside to try and prevent more damage. About a year and a half after they moved in my mum admitted 'we might have taken on more than we can handle' but they love the place so much they will be there for as long as they can.
Load More Replies... #14
That practically everything requires a permit! (Caveat: We live in a city, so this may be different elsewhere.)
I wanted to fence in our front yard because we have small dogs.
That translated to navigating a maze of city websites and ordinances to learn it could be no more than 3.5’ and the spacing between slats had to be a certain width, etc.
Then, I had to draw it on a map of our plot and submit it for approval.
Which required a fee, of course.
sbj 4 days ago
These rules are partly in place to stop you neighbours from building a 6ft brick wall aound theirs
Janissary35680 4 days ago
AND give you legal grounds for having the wall removed after they build it anyhow.
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BrownEyedGrrl 4 days ago
We put in an offer on a house last year. Found out a fence couldn't be more than 3 feet tall. We have 2 big dogs who are family. We bought a house in a different town so we could have a taller fence.
Papa 4 days ago
OP is correct about it possibly being different elsewhere. I live in a rural area, and the septic system is the only thing that requires a permit or inspection.
Sue User 1 day ago
After 20 years with a rural property, I found out last month you are required to get permit on outbuildings. Knew I should have built that barn years ago
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 4 days ago (edited)
It also helps from you or your neighbors encroaching upon each other's property. I read here or on the internet too many times one person or another encroached upon someone's property and there end up being consequences from the neighbor encouraged upon the other neighbors property.
raine spencer 3 days ago
we lived in the suburbs, and we had to submit architectural drawings of the fence, pay a review fee, and still had neighbors measuring the fence to see if it was "too tall"
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I am okay with most things that need permits, but if I want to build a deck without getting one, there are conditions like it can't be connected to other structures (understandable), and it can't have a solid top (understandable for wood etc, but I can't even put clear laser light material on top).
#15
We just spent the past couple of weekends replacing our aging kitchen cabinets ourselves. Yesterday Spouse stood on a step ladder for almost 4 hour fitting in the last cabinets above the refrigerator. After admiring our hard work, we sat down on the sofa with a cup of coffee for a well-deserved rest.
Not five minutes after sitting down, we heard a huge crash, and lots of small crashes from our garage. Ran out to find that a 12 foot wire rack tore its bolts out of the concrete wall and fell to the ground, with everything we had on it.
This is a prime example of home ownership. You're never finished.
Mike F 4 days ago
And the OP learned, hopefully, that heavy items go on lower shelves. Gravity always wins.
#16
How much maintenance needs to happen regularly in order to keep it nice. Like right now I need a new deck because the old one is literally rotting away. I need new carpet upstairs. I need new windows or at least have some of the windows resealed because of it rains hard and the wind blows the rain into the windows hard enough some of them will leak.
Also, don't use your insurance unless you really have to. We had 2 water damage claims in less than 5 years and our insurance dropped us for using the service we pay for too much. The first claim could have just been a plumber call and been the same as our deductible, but it was a claim because we didn't know we would get cancelled. The second one was needed. We ended up having to redo one of the bathrooms, new tub, subfloor, floor, vanity. But if we didn't have the first one we wouldn't have been dropped. Now our insurance is like triple because we are high risk.
Λjvo 4 days ago
“our insurance dropped us for using the service we pay for too much” Twice is too much? What kind of s****y dystopian fuckery is this s**t?
tameson 4 days ago
There are many people in the US who can't get home owners insurance at all because they live in areas vulnerable to forest fires.
StrangeOne 4 days ago
Even though I rent, I still see how much repairs I need regularly just from living there. Much of the repairs is from years, or decades, of going unreported or unnoticed from previous tenants not checking and cleaning every nook and cranny. Trying to get repairs to happen is a whole other feat.
BrownEyedGrrl 4 days ago
Our insurance dropped us after 2 water damage claims where they paid out a total of $1500. Our premium was $7500/year & was paid in full. Now the only company that will insure us wants $15000/year. Guess we'll just keep our fingers crossed.
Betty Spaghetti 4 days ago
Might as well just sock that $7500 away in a high-yield rainy day savings account.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 4 days ago
This reminds me of an ad that I keep seeing at the moment for an insurance company. Their big sell is how much they have already paid out in the last five years, which makes me think 'so they will be trying not to pay out as much in the next few years?'
April Pickett 1 day ago
They want your money with no committment on their part. It used to be mostly profit for them. Now they are having to pay out million/billions of dollars for claims. Reality check, everything is more expensive. When they figure rates based on 1980s costs, you, the property owner, lose.
#17
Every project inspires another project. This has been my life since January:
1. Heater started to go. Hm. Better look into that.
2. Heater broken. Btw, your central air isn’t rated to a house this size. You’re going to fry in the summer. (It was true. I thought it was me not knowing how to use it correctly.)
3. Energy efficiency tests needed to be done to get state rebates for the work.
4. Nothing in the basement is sealed properly.
5. During sealing, discovered French drains aren’t working, neither is sump pump. Basement demo!
6. Btw, the insulation that was in the attic and the finished part of the basement is the wrong kind and needs waterproofing and replacing. Basement Reno!
7. Window in the bathroom rotted off the wall. Probably mold back there. Bathroom Reno!
UnclePanda 4 days ago (edited)
I just wanted to replace a leaky water filter holder. Even though I was using the correct tools for steel pipe and all the forces were isolated in the joint, 3' of steel pipe a few feet away broke into spiral fractures, revealing an interior that looked like badly a clogged artery. And that's when I learned how to do PEX plumbing and accidentally installed a whole house water system.
keyboardtek 4 days ago
If that house was a recent purchase, then you should have had a home inspection before the purchase. Although lazy inspectors do miss things.
Billo66 4 days ago
I don't know about inspired but it seems that when I try to do a small task, there are 15 other little "side quests" I guess you would call them, before I can begin the simple thing.
#18
No one thinks about closet space until they don't have it.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
In Australia it normal to have built in wardrobes in all rooms now. I like it.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
Unfortunately not everywhere, only newer builds. It took me ages to find an affordable large wardrobe when I bought my house. My area is mostly old housing commission/SEC mining workers houses.
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keyboardtek 4 days ago
We retired to a house built in 1951. People must have only owned a few things back then because the four closets are skinny. We had a custom closet built all along one wall.
#19
Of all the sounds I worry about, water is the worst. Plumbing, gutters, shingles. Heavy rain. Standing water at the foundation. Basements flooding, sump pumps failing. Ice damming in the winter, backing up into the attic. Impossible-to-find roof leaks (I SWEAR the water must be going UP the shingles! 3 roofers couldn't find it). Shutoff valves in the vanity not shutting off. Water heaters and washing machines spontaneously failing, dumping gallons of water.
Many of these can be mitigated by inspection, replacement, quality work and quality materials.
So, no, you're not alone. Feel better now! LOL.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
I don't have mains water, so if I hear water dripping I'm on it like white on rice. I can lose an entire tank in a week from drips, and it costs me $400 to even half fill it! (25k litres)
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I recently found a wet patch on the carpet in the bedroom of the granny flat on my property. I don't know if it came from under the house or through the windows. It has dried in the 30c days we have had recently, but now I have to check the window seals etc.
Linda Souza 4 days ago
Roof leaks usually do start higher up than where you see evidence of water. Once water finds a place to penetrate, gravity causes it to run down the slope of your roof and either pool at the bottom (along the edges and in corners inside your attic) or, if there are holes or cracks higher up, it'll exit there. So you may be right that the point of water entry is much higher up on the roof than where you're seeing the damage! (Source: I work in roofing.)
#20
How grout would become the bane of my existence in every house I've owned, forever and ever, amen. I hate it with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. Why humans have decided to put an absorbent material that cracks in SHOWERS is something I will never understand.
WindySwede 4 days ago
same! Must be Big-Bacteria that have tricked us in to water absorbent material? 😅🦠🧫
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago (edited)
WindySwede: plenty of modern grout is properly waterproof. Correctly applied to sound tiling it's great.
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Kabuki Kitsune 3 days ago
I have the distinct feeling the OP purchased or lived in a home... where the previous owner had failed to SEAL the grout. That's a step you're supposed to take once the tile is in place. You put a waterproof sealant over the grout, to prevent problems.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I am very pleased that my shower is one of those stalls with glass and plastic sides, rather than tiles, so no grout to worry about. The tiles in my mum's old house were disgusting, because there was so much moisture that didn't clear by the fan alone. The ceiling above the toilet was completely destroyed by the time she moved out and unsurprisingly the house was pulled down. A good cautionary tale!
#21
Homeowners insurance is a scam.
Calling maintenance is a luxury that you’ll never have again. You are the maintenance person. But at least you don’t steal your own stuff when you have to fix your broken dryer.
JL 4 days ago
"Homeowners insurance is a scam." If you lost your house to a fire and insurance paid for rebuilding instead of you, I doubt you would feel that way,.
Miss Ann Thrope 1 day ago
I suspect them mean once you need it, you have to fight like hell with the insurance company.
Load More Replies... Kelly Scott 4 days ago
ALL insurance is a scam. I just found out yesterday my yearly car insurance is now more than my car is worth. I paid it but told the insurance agent that when the insurance got to be higher than a ticket from driving with no insurance, I was going to cancel in a 2 seconds flat and go without.
ChugChug 4 days ago
Car insurance is there to protect you. In case you crash into an expensive car, your insurance will pay the damage, so you dont have to pay from your pocket
Load More Replies... RomanceRadish 4 days ago
I would not call it a scam. It is like gambling however. Also, homeowners insurance is required when you have a mortgage.
#22
That every home you buy has some problem(s) that weren't found in the inspection, and once you close on the property, the problems are yours to address.
One of my properties had a gas leak that was nigh impossible to locate. It took about a year to find it, and several nights I went to bed thinking "I sure hope my home doesn't [end] me tonight!" (I called the local gas utility several times during the first year; they weren't able to locate the leak, either).
Another place had water leakage around the basement windows and the sump pump was failing, so in the first heavy rain I had a small mess to deal with. But it was only a small mess, thankfully.
At my current place, the previous owner installed bluetooth speakers in the bathroom ceilings and there is no way to turn them off except to go into the not-finished attic and physically disconnect them; or to go the circuit breaker panel and turn off the circuits, which also turns off power to the bathrooms. I learned of the problem one night when an unknown neighbor accidentally connected to my speakers and the noise abruptly woke me at around 2 AM.
BookFanatic 4 days ago
I bought a house that was flipped. Never again. Sure, it looked great on the walk-thru but I've been here 3 years now and so much of that was just a Band-Aid over bigger problems.
Mike F 4 days ago
Oh yeah. Bubble gum, kite string, spackle and paint, white (or gray). The cheapest "laminate" flooring available which turns out to be paper on pressboard. I have been house shopping for 3 years and I've seen nearly everything that can be half@ssed.
Load More Replies... Chich the witch 4 days ago
I show up to look at a house with coveralls, flashlight etc. I really don't care about the 'fabulous' master bedroom as I'd rather go look at the crawlspace and attic.
BrownEyedGrrl 4 days ago (edited)
Inspectors don't tell you everything. Mine didn't tell me that my 2 heat & air units were 50 years old. And it's a good idea to spend a little extra on a structural engineer before you buy. They can tell you if there's any foundation damage. We found out the hard way.
Tim Douglass 2 days ago
Those are absolute basics, age and condition of all appliances. That's just a totally incompetent inspector who should have their license pulled. Our realtor (one reason to use a realtor as a buyer) recommended an inspector who was incredibly thorough. Buyer's agent wants to find issues before the sale, so they tend to have inspectors who do a good job. Never, ever, trust the seller's inspection report.
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Jeff Peiffer 1 day ago
I had an AC go out. It was under warranty. Warranty guys came out. They said there was no leak and the issue was in (insert non-covered part here). I called BS and demanded they send a second tech. Second tech comes out, actually puts coolant in the system, and suddenly his leak detector went absolutely nuts. The first tech didn't find a leak because the leak was so bad that there was no coolant left to detect! Of course, they then tried to fight every single part of the warranty claim. It seems they "lost" my paperwork proving I had a 10yr parts AND labor. Thankfully, I'm a digital pack rat who had that scanned into my Google Drive, reprinted it, told him he could take it back to his office as proof. Only then did they actually fix everything at their cost.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I wasn't able to view the granny flat on my property before I bought it, because it had a tenant who didn't give permission. I was living 1.5 hrs away and went up once because he had said it was fine, then cancelled as soon as we got there. It was also during covid, so when his tenancy was up it was a lockdown and I couldn't get there. Once settlement was up and I could get there to begin moving, I could see why he didn't want anyone seeing it. Cat pee and cigarette smoke had completely ruined the carpet and I still can't get all the stains off the windows after three washes and I haven't been able to face cleaning the oven. The place stank so bad, I could only go in for a couple of minutes! Thankfully after ripping up the carpet and replacing one of the boards underneath and cleaning as much as possible, it is much better.
#23
That my amount I pay every month is going to go up. My property tax has doubled and my home insurance is going up. You can easily be priced out of the house the bank told you that you can afford. I making 30k more than I did when I was approved and it’s still a lot.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
I gather that property tax in America can be huge. The latest Stephen King book I read mentioned about $80k year or something horrific for a house worth several hundreds of thousands. Is that right? We don't have anything like this in the UK or Australia.
nomnomborkbork 4 days ago
No, that's not correct. It does vary by state, but in a $750k house in Maryland the tax is $11k a year. Still a lot, but nothing like that.
Load More Replies... BookFanatic 4 days ago
The only way I can afford my townhome was because I inherited my parents' ancient Victorian wreck. Sold it and was lucky enough to turn around and buy the townhouse outright. Between HOA fees and property taxes...I never would have been able to carry a mortgage.
Nizumi 4 days ago
The bank will tell you that you can afford way more than you actually can just to get you in a position where you are in debt to them, because that's where they make their money.
Sue User 1 day ago
Bought in 2006 at high of oversell I had been living abroad so had foreign tax documents. Asked if they translate or us. That's when I learned about " stated income" loans. We only had 10% down which they said was fine. Then they wanted to know if I wanted to add 30000 on a 120000 loan because I might like to buy new furniture. Anyone who says the crash in 2008 was unforseen is lying.
Load More Replies... No one 3 days ago
California passed prop 13 to limit property tax increase to protect retirees. The problem is the loophole that let businesses in on it. Now Disneyland pays nearly nothing for all of its land, since it was so cheap when it was acquired. Meanwhile, they keep raising prices and it costs a fortune for a ticket. The Anaheim School district should be the beneficiary.
#24
As soon as one thing breaks, gets repaired, then paid off then something else will break. I just had to replace a well pump and toilet. The woodstove almost burned down our house us because the pipe wasn’t connected in the attic. We are going to have to hire someone to do major brush clearing and remove 20 trees. Now the fridge is making a weird noise and I’m scared of it going out too. We’ve owned this home for 5 months.
It never ends.
WubiDubi 2 days ago
My neoghbour had previous owner install some weird water heating coil around the flu pipe. All very illegal for safety.
Load More Replies... Billo66 4 days ago
I wonder if that appliance insurance is any good. We have replaced the furnace, central air, stovetop, dishwasher and microwave in the last 2 years. The fridge is next, icemaker already died.
Mike F 4 days ago
It's great, if you can get them to come out. I was paying nearly $40 a month to cover the furnace, fridge, and water heater. I woke up one morning and it was like 42° inside the house, the furnace had been out all night. The outside temperature was under 20 and windy. I called the number and the person who answered said MAYBE the next day. I had been paying for 2+ years and I'm supposed to sit without heat during a Michigan cold snap for over 24 hours after paying that $. I started poking around the furnace and figured out that the thermocouple was bad. I replaced it and I had heat. I also canceled the "insurance" the next day.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I had to replace a toilet and make sure to flush it every so often (it's in a granny flat I mainly use for storage) so it keeps working. At the moment none of the taps out there work because they haven't been used for so long, which is a problem because my sister is staying out there at the moment. Thought I could just run them for a while but looks like I will have to get the plumber out instead.
#25
I really hate cleaning and the bigger the house, the more cleaning is supposed to be done.
I sometimes wish for the days of my studio apartments. Cozy, easy to clean, can't have too much stuff….
keyboardtek 3 days ago
I think the best thing about getting rich would be hiring cleaning people to come in every week.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
My wish is to win the lottery and DOWNSIZE for exactly that reason... I'd love to be able to self-build an eco home on a nice piece of property overlooking a lake or the sea.
#26
No one told me that as soon as you buy the house, all the most expensive things in said house will break about a month after closing. Also like the owners Jerry-rigged everything to work during walk thru’s knowing that [something] was gonna break as any minute.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
Trust me. I'm in the process of selling. Everything I can patch up'to be 'good enough' is being patched. Not because I'm stingy, but because everyone does it, and the new owner will possibly rebuild or renovate most of the house anyway. Previous owners left me with a lovely fine gravel driveway. On a hill. In the tropics. Looked and felt wonderful. Until the first wet season. It's got worse every year since. I'm at least going to replace that PROPERLY for the next owner, at about $20k..
UnclePanda 4 days ago (edited)
I found that the irony in getting a place ready to sell was that I finally completed all those projects that were supposed to benefit me.
Load More Replies... R Dennis 4 days ago
I fix everything right or I don't fix it. "Everybody does it" is just a race to the bottom. If we sell our house, it has the best well & pump available, a high end engineered septic system, professionally restored walkways, decks, and brickwork... high end central air & furnace, and eventually 30 year architectural shingles and quality gutters. Could I half-a*s a bunch of this stuff and made it the next person's problem? Absolutely! Would I want to be that kind of person? I'd rather be broke than sell my integrity.
Betty Spaghetti 4 days ago
The current owner of my last unit should be singing my praises: repaired fridge, new microwave & stove, repaired front door, repaired dishwasher drain hose, new garbage disposal, overhauled central HVAC, etc., etc. You’re welcome, Jeremy!
#27
Everything is in a constant state of decay, including us.
#28
We learned that we needed to cap our chimney to keep out the FLYING SQUIRRELS, which we didn't even know lived here in New England.
Scott Rackley 4 days ago
set up some bat boxes and they'll leave your chimney alone
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I just get rats in my chimney, that also come in from the roof. We thought we sealed it enough but I guess not.
#29
That there is a honeymoon period with the home that ends too soon, and then buyers remorse sets in. You think you found your forever home, it gives you warm fuzzies just to see it, you can’t wait to get back to it every day. And then you find the previously unknown and very expensive plumbing, electrical, pest, …problem.
Life tip: Never love with something that doesn’t love you back.
#30
That we have to redo caulking every 5-10 years?? Everyone was acting like it was common knowledge!
R Dennis 4 days ago
I remember having some tiles come off their grout at work.This one manager was being a manly man (He always made a big deal about how masculine he was - he was a really good guy, but this was his one annoying quality.) and said he would fix it. Came in the next day and he had caulked it like this. I looked at our boss and said I would take care of it. I used petty cash to buy supplies and brought tools from home. I cleaned up his disaster, took out a few more tiles to make sure there wasn't any water infiltration, and reattached all the tiles and grouped them in... you couldn't tell where the tiles had been replaced. Our boss teased him about it and they asked how I knew how to do that. I said you have to learn how to do a lot of things when you grow up with no money.
GalPalAl 4 days ago
I have to change a car battery every 2 to 3 years now. Manufacturers and retailers are greedy and design things to fail so you have to buy them again
keyboardtek 3 days ago
The last house we owned for 18 years and not a single line of caulk went bad. My wife was a stickler for wiping down the bath and shower walls after every use to dry up the standing moisture.
Brian Droste 4 days ago
Who done thst caulking job? I am not real experience at caulking but I am sure I could do a better job than that.
#31
Tile and stone must be re-sealed every year. Sweep, mop, steam, deepclean, steam again, open all the windows and respirator up, seal with extra-deadly industrial bad chems, wait 24 hours.
Yeah I know how to do it, no I'm not doing it.
I swear the next time I do a kitchen it'll be with industrial open equipment and one singular wet wall with access panels on the back. Stainless and linoleum and a floor drain.
Unnecessary maintenance can lick my toes.
wowbagger 4 days ago
Good old sheet linoleum doesn't get enough respect. In a commercial kitchen, that stuff can be walked on by dozens of people all day, mopped with sanitizer every night, and still look decent after years of use.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
Still immortal, mate? Yeah, we had proper lino (not cheap tiles) in our kitchen in our nursing home. It lasted decades, was easy to clean and non-slip. People only usually know of the cheap stuff, though, so think it's awful.
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Pernille 4 days ago
What kind of c**p tile and stone do you have in your houses? I wash both stone, baked , and glazed tiles with black soap once in a while, and I haven't had to do anything else in the last 6years, and I'll wager that the previous owners did absolutely nothing.
Sue User 1 day ago
Resealed ? Does he mean the grout ? I too have various kinds of tile and I am not sealing every year. I am on year 14.
Load More Replies... Jeff Peiffer 1 day ago
Stone, yes. Tile, depends on the type. Ceramic, which are the cheapest and most common, last d**n near forever and don't need any sealing. Another good choice is modern engineered wood as those have been "lifetime" sealed and need almost no maintenance too.
#32
How much damage a bad owner can do.
Ours was completely renoed in 2009 and one bad owner from 2015-2023 destroyed it all. I'll be spending the next decade on repairs. I'm just glad they took a $265,000 bath on the sale.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
Sure they do... So long as they don't hoodwink buyers and swallow the losses of their neglect etc.
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 4 days ago
Before the last owners of my house, it sat abandoned for I don't know how long, and was used as a squat. I have photos of what it looked like when the last owners took it over and it's horrendous! Thankfully they renovated a lot, but there are still spray paint marks on the paint on the outside and other things they didn't get to fixing.
#33
Spend the money on an inspection. It’s so much better than the surprises. House surprises are NOT like birthday surprises.
ROSESARERED 1 day ago
My inspector found one thing that I didn't see walking around the property...waste of money. Ge didn't find the roof leaks, the leaking gas in the hot water system, the leaking shower...the list goes on. He had so many disclaimer and recommendations to hire other trades to check this, that and the other, I couldn't do anything but carry on carrying on. His mate the pest inspector did a half a*s job too, just walked around and said I may have mice....wow, stop the press....every house I rented over 30 years gad mice at one time or another. Waste of money and the paper the report was printed on was more valuable going into the compost.
BookFanatic 4 days ago
Follow the inspector around and ask questions. Don't just trust him/her to be honest. (Yes, I was rather naive)
Malor Brycington 4 days ago
Also always make sure to get a second inspection to make sure all the work they found on the first inspection was done and done properly and show you the paperwork to prove it. If a second inspection is missed and you have already signed off because the previous owner claimed they had fixed the issues, now the problems are yours to fix and pay for. Definitely not a first time buyer speaking from experience. Always double check, even if your agent says everything was taken care of.
David Paterson 4 days ago
Only inspect before you buy the house. If an inspector doing a yearly inspection can't find anything wrong then they'll invent something, and that something will cost.
#34
That you have to supervise those lower cost contractors.
Betty Spaghetti 4 days ago
Can’t stand the ones that promise to come back to redo the work if anything goes wrong. I’ve had two so far and they did slipshod work they DID have to come back for. I don’t want you to come back; that’s why I hired you!!
Sue User 1 day ago
Or the ones that do part of job and ghost you for weeks.
Load More Replies... #35
...yard work just never ends...
Jeff Peiffer 1 day ago
And worse, good landscapers are hard to find, and all but impossible to keep because the good ones you loved moved on and suddenly you're being serviced by the third string team from the same company.
#36
The trees. I have so many trees, and trees are nice, right? Until 6 of them, that we didn't even realize were; technically on our property and [not alive], came down partially into the street during a storm. That was a fun $2k the first winter we were in our house. Keep an eye on your trees, make sure they are healthy, said no one.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
Try palm trees. They drop massive fronds so regularly and often, people who have them make huge piles to burn in the wet season (when bushfire isn't a risk). Then gum trees just abandon their limbs for no obvious reasons....
ROSESARERED 1 day ago
Just don't plant yukkas, I have a plantation of them to remove that an owner 6 years ago planted...some are taller than the house, and have 20+ ' branches' coming off them...don't plant yukkas
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I have an apple tree way too close to my house. I have managed to cut some of the limbs, but really want the whole thing gone, when I can afford it. It already drops apples (no idea what type, small green ones, but I can't eat apples anyway) but I am really surprised no limbs have come off in the bad storms we have had already. When I lived with my parents, there was a large gum tree that dropped large branches that missed the house by centimetres.
BookFanatic 4 days ago
Wow! Where I live, it would be AT LEAST $2K-$3K PER TREE. Learned that the hard way. Never trust a pine tree in a windstorm.
#37
How often SOMETHING leaks! In the past year, I’ve had leaks at dishwasher, washing machine, bathroom sink, main line, roof vent, water heater, and a roommate spill. I have monitored water alarms which give me a heads up before any damage happens. But I’ve been surprised how many alarms I’ve had and how those water alarms have paid for themselves.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 4 days ago
Yup. Tiny leak from kitchen tap that wasn’t noticeable until I realised the worktop around the sink had rotted under its laminate top…
Brian Droste 4 days ago
When I first moved into my home, about 24 years ago. My kitchen faucet was leaking. I had to hire a professional plumber to replace it.
Load More Replies... #38
We have 10 acres. I didn't realize how much work this was going to be as I was getting older. Maintaining yard and home, then any out buildings you may have. I'm in my 50s now, and my husband is in his 60s. I didn't think it would get this hard this soon. Sometimes, it feels like there is just no end to the money it takes to maintain.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago (edited)
My parents bought 13 acres when they retired. They had all these plans but really their bodies aren't up to the constant work (though my mum tries and it makes her health worse). They have a guy in his 30s living with them at the moment and he helps when he can, but also has health conditions that mean he can't manage it all the time. This place was their dream, but they aren't even able to do everything they should be to prepare for bushfires, which I really worry about (especially this week, when there are lots of fires across the state, though not too close at the moment).
Brian Droste 4 days ago
Could OP plant a bunch of trees and let that part of land go wild? You won't have to maintain as much as you have to now. Or sell the property and move into something smaller. Yes, I know properties are expemsive.
CaliPanda 3 days ago (edited)
We have acreage and lots of trees. “Going wild” requires maintenance as well, especially if you’re in a fire-prone area.
Load More Replies... #39
Your options in dealing with bad neighbors is extremely limited. The cops rarely help if at all and it seems like more often sides with [jerks].
Always check out the neighborhood and neighbors. It can make or break any situation.
ChuckEweFarley:
Bad neighbors you can’t escape from.
DeElDeAye:
We’ve been here 30 years. I expected nonstop yardwork, maintenance, repairs, and replacements. But what no one really warned us about is how seriously damaging bad neighbors can be.
Other people can ruin the emotional enjoyment of being in your own home or yard. Other people can absolutely destroy your property value when it comes time to sell like we want to do right now.
Neighbors across the street don’t maintain things and elderly man right next door to us just had his house painted bright royal blue to match the huge US and US Navy flags he put up. I have no complaints about his patriotism or his flags. But the formerly classic cream house-paint now looks like the Cookie Monster lives there.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 days ago
When I was a little kid, I thought we had terrible neighbors. Turns out my MOTHER is the terrible neighbor, but was telling us that everyone ELSE was an a-hole. Now I'm an adult and I'm friends with most of the neighbors. The ones who are still around from my childhood, I've apologized to (not FOR her, but BECAUSE of her) and made sure to let them know that I'm nothing like my mother XD And yes, my mother is still an a-hole, just slightly less active of one because she's 82 now.
Austzn 4 days ago
We said something similar about my MIL when she got a bit older. She just doesn't have the fight in her anymore to be AS horrible to those around her. HAHA, sad but true.
Load More Replies... Janissary35680 4 days ago
Turkish has a proverb along the lines of "Don't look for a house, look for neighbors."
StrangeOne 4 days ago
You could be fine with your neighbours until new ones move into the area.
R Dennis 4 days ago
Had a Peeping Tom that lived next door. Apparently, he would come over at night and peep at my wife or 8 year old stepdaughter in the bathroom whenever I was gone. I set a sting and caught him standing on the central air unit when he thought I was gone. But I was waiting in the backyard with an aluminum bat. If he hadn't opened the gate before sneaking into the yard, he would have never made it out of there. Police arrested him, but the prosecutor never contacted us and let him plead out. He was caught peeping at a 16 year old and they let him plead out again! Then, in the winter, there were tracks in the snow to our windows. I called the cops, they had him put a print in the snow... it matched and they just took his shoes. I then decided to make his life hell for as long as we lived there: flood lights pointed at his house, strolling my driveway with a bat or rifle, yelling at him or going after him if he wasn't on his property. I wanted him afraid every second of every day.
Jeff Peiffer 1 day ago
Even if you have decent neighbors, a bad dog ruins your life. We have neighbors who are pretty decent overall, but they got a doberman for security as he was about to get deployed via the military. Barks almost nonstop the moment anyone enters our yard, uses our pool, or our outdoor kitchen.
ROSESARERED 1 day ago
I had lovely neighbours on both side, older couples, been here for years. Then over a year both the husbands died, and the wives decided to downsize. Now one of my neighbours screams day and night like he's going to rip your throat out, and if he's not screaming, he's swearing, no other words, just swearing, yelling for the whole town to hear. ...occasionally he plays club music, and sings along, out of key, really loud , with a microphone and amplifier to help him be louder, with his own unique additions of blood curdling screams and swearing. The other side has just sold, new neighbours soon.....I hope the are nice....I really do.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
The day I moved in, a guy got attacked on the other side of the street, which wasn't a good sign! (Even worse, my mum ran over to try and stop it!) I have had numerous loud arguments going on at various times, including the other day when some guys tried to get into a neighbours house and kept yelling a***e, coming back multiple times. One guy was stabbed in the next street over, by a guy from the street on the other side of my house. A pipe b**b was found in the shed of the house behind mine, cops had to access it from my backyard at one point, then made us stay inside and away from the back windows for hours as they delt with it. Unfortunately, even if you know the reputation of an area, you often have to buy there anyway, because that is where you can afford. It is only as bad as the suburb I was renting in, and I know there are worse places, including the town I work in.
#40
You *need* a good wet/dry canister vacuum far more than you need any other vacuum.
You may need a special tool to turn your water off.
Vinyl windows have channel drains that need cleaning.
High vaulted ceilings may require tall step ladders to access lights, fans, smoke alarms.
Water heaters require regular service and maintenance.
Foundation drains need cleaning.
When you replace your roof you should have fall protection anchors installed.
There are old skin mags hidden under the insulation in the attic.
keyboardtek 3 days ago
Ha! This 1951 built hose we bought for our retirement had holes cut in the basement paneling to access the main water shut off. Unfortunately it was rusted. Had to have it all rerouted to an accessible location.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I have regular ceiling and still need a large stepladder to access anything! I still haven't check the ceiling insulation situation after three years, because I don't have the energy to get the full sized ladder out to climb through the manhole.
Daniel Atkins 4 days ago
As for the Water shut off have a quarter turn valve installed in an accessible space. Your local town or city usually frowns upon using the shut off at the meter. and may fine you.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
This confuses me, as all the water meters/shutoffs in Australian properties I've been to have a regular tap s***w on top and are usually on the front lawn (one was inside the front door because it used to be a shop front). They need to be easily seen so meter readers can check them, even though many meters also have computer checks now.
Load More Replies... #41
Suddenly Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards are a lot more fun to walk through.
#42
SO. MUCH. DUST.
RomanceRadish 4 days ago
Yes, a good filter is worth the few extra dollars.
Load More Replies... #43
Mice.
Brian Droste 4 days ago (edited)
When I first moved into my house at night I could hear mice in my ceiling. I got a broom and when I heard them scurrying around above me, I would take that broom and bang on my ceiling. It would quiet them down for a while. I end up getting a cat from a friend. At first I didn't noticed that I wasn't hearing any more mice for awhile. Then one night I was sitting on my couch, I happened to look down and seen a mouse scurrying along a wall. My cat was sitting on my lap. My cat seen that mouse and she took off after the mouse. That is when I realized I wasn't hearing any more mice. She was taking care of the mouse problem.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
Exactly. When you have a mouse problem, get a cat. Then the mice have the problem!
Load More Replies... #44
The number of conversations I’d have with other homeowners about lawn care. I used to be fun.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 days ago
My mom replaced all the grass in all of her houses (she owns three in a row in this neighborhood) with artificial turf. Sounds great, except that we live in Southern California, and on a sunny day in the summer, that artificial grass can get as hot as 155F/68C. You can't walk on it barefoot or sit on it or anything; it's hotter than the asphalt in the street. Plus it LOOKS like artificial turf (crappy and sad.) At least it's better than the travesty she did to the backyards - cemented them over entirely except for small patches of artificial turf. I grow a lot of dwarf fruit trees, berry plants, and other veggies, but I have to grow them all in containers :(
Nicola Roberts 4 days ago
I'm not a lover of artificial turf, but each to their own. Everytime my neighbours cut down a tree I plant one. In about 10 years I shoud have a couple of lovely cherry trees and a big Buddleia shrub (and hopefully new neighbours).
Load More Replies... CaliPanda 3 days ago
We had a big lawn in our front yard, but we couldn’t maintain it during the drought years here in Northern California. We ripped it out and went with xeriscaping. Built paver patios with a pergola, added native, drought-tolerant plants, and pollinator-friendly plants. It’s our little oasis now, with bonus of so much more low maintenance required.
Scott Rackley 4 days ago
Dad lives next to a guy who is a golf course super. He figured he'd just copy whatever that guy did. He's got a nice lawn.
ROSESARERED 1 day ago
Hate lawn, hate mowing it, make me sneeze and itch from head to toe. Gardens are nice...im putting garden beds in everywhere...im on ½ acre, so it will take a while.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I have only spoken to my neighbour once, when he came over to warn that the electric company hadn't sealed a hole on the nature strip next to my driveway. My mum did have a couple of convos with the ones on the other side, because she can't stop talking to everyone she sees, even though she doesn't live here :)
#45
A cautionary tale:
What is that seeping from under the house? What do you mean we have to have the interior slab dug up because of a sewage line disintegrating? What do you mean there’s a sink-hole of sewage under the house that must be excavated and backfilled? What do you mean it’s not covered by our insurance??? It’s going to cost how much!!? Why no payment plan? WTH!!
This was our experience 25 yrs ago and is not uncommon. We will never again buy a home without having a sewer line inspection first.
Snackmachine 2 days ago
I've actually had this experience. Don't know exactly how deep the sinkhole got because we were unknowingly spewing raw sewage into it for 6 months and never once smelled it. Thank God the structure never fell.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My house is on stumps, so thankfully no slab to dig up, but tree roots destroyed my sewerage line. Thankfully my plumber was able to just dig one at a shallower point because the first was deeper than it needed to be, which cost a lot less than it could have otherwise. Once I found a plumber, he was great, though I can only base that on results as I was laid up after keyhole surgery while he was working. He managed a similar work around when my parent's hot water system wasn't working. Was able to take the line over the roof (or something, I don't remember exactly) instead of having to dig pipes out of their mud brick walls.
#46
That there is no standard and everything is basically "good enough" lol.
SnootWaggling Fox 4 days ago
I thought complying with code was the minimum I could expect. Boy was I wrong
#47
You have to drain your water heater and check the anode rod every year. Your washing machine probably has a secondary lint filter that you need to check regularly. 90% of maintaining a home is keeping water where it should be and away from where it shouldn’t be.
ƒιѕн 4 days ago (edited)
Not one single person I have met (except my plumber) knows about that anode rod.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Water heater anode rod? Say what? Okay, I've searched on-line and it turns out it's a useful sacrificial anti-corrosion element of an electric water heater, if it uses a steel or steel-lined tank. I've only ever known copper hot water cylinders. In any case, my current water heater certainly hasn't got one - it's a rather new condensing gas boiler (yes, we did look at a heat pump - but oh boy! The cost and the massive installation issues, including the need for a really HUGE water tank put us off.)
CaliPanda 3 days ago
When your hot water from the tap begins to small of rotten eggs, it’s time to check and clean that rod. It will involve draining the tank.
Load More Replies... ROSESARERED 1 day ago
Agree, the first year all my problems were from water...thankfully I have a friend who's husband is a plumber, for small jobs he's happy with a cake, fruit cake is his favourite. 😄
David Goins 3 days ago
I've been a homeowner for 30 years (three separate homes). I've replaced two water heaters, but have never drained and checked a water heater annually. I have no idea what this means, but obviously you don't "have to" do it. Your water heaters will wear out and need replaced eventually, so I think two in 30 years is par for the course.
Brian Droste 4 days ago
When I first bought my house more than twenty years ago, I thin within the first year my water heater quit working. I shut the breaker off, took the outside control panel off. One ofvthe heating units had burnt out. I replaced the burnt out heating unit and it worked fine for over twenty years. I was having a handyman to some work for me. The bottom of the water heater was rusting out. So I bought a bew water heater and have him replaced it for me.
Daniel Atkins 4 days ago
A good rule is replacing the water heater about every ten years. It will differ depending on the water hardness.
#48
Winter heating bills.
Nizumi 4 days ago
Plastic on the windows. Curtains over doorways. Draft blockers under/around doors. Felt booties for slippers. Interlocking mats on the floor (those don't help with heat, but at least you don't feel like your feet are being slapped with paddles when you walk into the kitchen.) Wear a light cotton beanie in the house (you'd be mazed how much warmer you feel with something on your head).
Brian Droste 4 days ago
I have what I call I lounge wear I wear during the day. They seem better at helping me keep warm than regular jeans or pants.
Load More Replies... BookFanatic 4 days ago
I am grateful I live alone. I can keep it at 65F (18C) and just throw on another sweatshirt/blanket/cat. :)
Jeff Peiffer 1 day ago
I live in FL. I love winter bills... Summer cooling bills is our issue.
#49
I wanted property. Yall think a home is bad!!. Try owning 5 acres! 😆 🤣 poison oak, English ivy, broken branches, making wildfire piles, blackberries, hornets nests, snow and ice is scary with all the trees around, gravel for the driveway every few years, keep it mowed, trim the fruit trees, put up a perimeter fence, buy a brush cutter, buy a chainsaw, buy a pole saw, buy a dr mower walk behind, buy a weed torch, buy weed killer and stump killer, on and on and on. . . i have a creek fed deep pond though that's so dope. Built a floating dock and makes it all worth it.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
Mate, try 10 acres of mostly bush, in the tropics! It makes gardening an extreme sport. The wildlife is fantastic, though! During covid I was the happiest of everyone I knew because of my ability to bush walk daily.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My parents have 13 acres of mostly bush in Victoria and I agree about it being an extreme sport! Even getting access to parts is a problem because they are in a valley. My mum has fallen down the hill multiple times! The blackberries, thistles and agapanthus are the most major problems at the moment. They have two resident wallabies and often kangaroos (though this means putting a higher fence on the orchard as they were eating everything) and multiple wombats. I love walking through the property, though I have learned to wear appropriate footwear, as there are red bellied black snakes and brown snakes.
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 4 days ago
I wouldn't mind ths blackberry bushe's I think. Yes, I know they have thorns.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
Where I live (Australia) they are an invasive pest that kills native plants, so you have to have them controlled. My mum has a lot on her 13 acres and it has been really difficult to get them removed, though in the meantime we have had access to lots of fruit. The native raspberries and currents are much better to have around, so we have cleared as many blackberries as possible around them.
Load More Replies... #50
Replacing everything! I’ve got a list of stuff that needs to be done taped to the fridge. Rotting deck that’s a safety hazard and your insurance wants to drop you over if? 11-20k. Front porch roof needs to be replaced? 3-4K for materials and build. Kitchen sink sprung a leak and ruined the oak cabinets underneath. You learn to treat and sand yourself so they don’t charge you $500 to put in a new false bottom. Squirl gets in your attack and chews up AC drain lines😡.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 days ago
The sink in my childhood home leaked when my mom and sister were on vacation at one of the local tribal casinos one weekend. I live next door and I was taking their mail inside when I heard dripping and noticed the kitchen floor had a huge puddle. Luckily my dad taught me a lot about basic home repairs before his accident (which happened when I was 18.) I was able to fix the leak myself and pulled the metric fúck-ton of useless c**p out from the under-sink cabinet. I toweled up as much water as I could from the cabinet and let it air/fan-dry. I caught it in time before it could do serious damage to the cabinet. If it had gone unchecked until my family came back from their vacation, it could have been REALLY bad XD I've also repaired/replaced the hot water heater in that house and have gotten the pilot light back on dozens of times. Actually, I'm starting to think my mother and sister have some sort of appliance-curse aura.
#51
One thing I didn’t expect before buying a 90 year old house is how many random noises you hear at night. I’m the most pragmatic person I know, but I’ve definitely laid in bed at like 2 or 3 in the morning and wondered if my house is haunted or if someone secretly lives in a hidden room and comes out at night. Also, when I bought my first house, I did not expect the deluge of junk mail you receive that reference your home loan. Like PILES of it.
#52
We've been in our house for 2 years now. The other night while my wife was showering, I heard a ticking coming from the walls. I was walking around with my ear up against all the walls trying to figure out where it was coming from and was setting up a ladder to get into the attic when my wife got out of the shower to ask me wth I was doing. Turns out our pipes just make noise when the shower is running - I never knew that.
That you've got to pour bleach (like a cap full) down the drain pipe of your AC. Didn't know that was a thing and it got clogged up, causing the AC to not work. We learned this during the summer while living in Alabama. (Also you should spray off your exterior unit once a year at least).
Huddo's sister 4 days ago (edited)
I heard the ticking the first time my dad had a shower. At first I thought it was something on our roof or someone at our front door, because it comes from there, even though the shower is in the opposite direction. Then I realized it only happened when the bathroom taps were on. I knew pipes made noise, but this was different to any I had heard before.
#53
The day we got possession of the house, my dad told me that one skill to develop is to learn what you can ignore. This was in response to me commenting on the huge amount of mushrooms in the front yard but still. That would have been nice to start working on earlier!
Brian Droste 4 days ago
Vines in my yard. I hate them with a passion. Been fightingt them for over 20 years.
#54
Trash. In an apartment, you have a giant dumpster that you can use at your disposal (pun intended).
In a SFH, you have your one weekly bin.
Christmas tree? Gotta pay extra or cut it up into small pieces
New floors? Make a giant pile and either slowly throw it away or pay extra
Pulled out some hedges? Pay someone to come grab it
Large cardboard boxes? Gotta cut them up into tiny pieces
I feel like I spend so much time managing garbage!
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
I found out recently goats love Christmas trees, so in my area people reach out to those who have goats to give them to. Mind you, half the population has plastic trees like me (I'm allergic to pine anyway). My council used to give everyone tip vouchers for two free loads when you pay your rates, but now they do a yearly hard waste pick up for free (which is what previous councils I lived in did). They don't take things over a certain size/weight though, as they have to be able to be lifted by two people.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
All very odd. Here in the UK, every local authority runs what everyone calls "tips" but are generally officially called "waste/recycling reception centres" or somesuch where any householder can get rid of most sorts of domestic waste without charge. You do need to check about asbestos and other hazardous materials, though. If you can't get your excess rubbish to the tip yourself, my local council will pick up large items (washing machines, furniture, that sort of thing) for a small charge
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
In Australia the tip costs a lot now (costs keep going up). My area used to give you vouchers for two free loads per year but now does an annual hard waste collection instead. Anything outside of that costs.
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#55
It’s the homeowners insurance going up every year. Surprises us every time. You’d think we would get used to it.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My home insurance, car insurance and registration bills all come in within four weeks, I really wish I could change that, but it's one of the reasons I have a buffer amount in my bank account at all times.
#56
The purchase price of your home is a fraction of the actual dollars you will pay on a 30 year note.
Oskar vanZandt 4 days ago
That is why you need an open mortgage where you can pay in extra if you have it to reduce the repayment p3riod and the interest... but it's always best to pay off high interest debt (credit cards) first.
#57
Dealing with something now that hadn't occurred to me. Built a house 10 years ago. Smoke/CO2 detectors expire after 10 years. They are not super cheap. Just replaced 12 detectors at a little over $600.
On the plus side, I'm now really good at swapping a detector. (Which required in my case, to replace the pig tail wiring for the plug for each one).
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Oh my! Seriously? I can buy battery powered smoke alarms with a ten year life for about £12 each. That's ten years on the installed battery. $600 for 12? $50 per alarm? Is that US dollars? If so, I do wonder what's going on.
Tostones 3 days ago
Poster wrote smoke/CO2 but meant CO - carbon monoxide. The combo detectors cost more. You need both if you have any gas appliances in your home.
Load More Replies... #58
The amount of filters I have to clean/replace. Like I knew about some, but the discovery there is a filter in my washing machine AND my dishwasher? And I'm supposed to clean out the washing machine one once a month? No one warned me, never once did I see my parents cleaning out a filter in the washing machine, but maybe it is a front loader thing.
Jrog 4 days ago
Cleaning the filter once a month? That's the BS we write on the appliance manual under advice of the legal department in order to limit liability. Washing machine, clean it once every year or so, it's fine. Dishwasher, every few months, but you will notice it is dirty anyway so...
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
We can't even locate the filter on our washing machine, despite reading the manual and watching you tube videos. Even when I was renting I knew about cleaning the dishwasher filter though, as it meant less chance of having to call the agent to fix problems with it.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago
My parents didn't know there was a filter on the washing machine and didn't have a dishwasher until long after I moved out. They were good at teaching me some home maintenance, but they lacked skills and knowledge for others.
Load More Replies... #59
That utility companies can basically can come in and do whatever to your property in the name of the “public good.” Our local electric company just came and destroyed every single yard in my neighborhood because they’re putting in underground wires. And as the homeowner we have to pay to fix it.
CaliPanda 3 days ago
We’re living through that now. I understand the greater good of undergrounding for fire safety purposes. Our neighbors just had their driveways / yards dug up and we’re next. The promise is that they will restore our yard to previous standards. I don’t believe that. We’ve spent 20+ years building our garden (vegetable, rose, decorative, etc.) and I’m not looking forward to the destruction.
#60
Doing it alone financially is very difficult, things break have, savings. Having a double income would make a massive difference in my life.
#61
I honestly thought it would be around $2,800. I found out real quick that wasn’t the case more like $10K to $15K where I live. Total sticker shock.
It’s my first home, and I’d always lived in military housing after high school, so I had no idea what stuff like that actually costs. Definitely one of those “welcome to homeownership” moments.
#62
My cat caught a mouse in the kitchen. After crawling around the floor with my iPhone flashlight I discovered the creature had chewed through wood moulding behind the bathroom pedestal sink. I got to change things up and crawled around the moulding stuffing steel wool and filling the space between wall and floor with caulk. Ah, the joys of homeownership.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
Your cat should be working harder. We had the same problems. Got a couple of kittens from a local farmer. No mouse problems any more! Now the mice have the problems. We get a few as presents occasionally....
Pernille 4 days ago
I have five lazy house cats and if they were my only defence against mice I would be invaded. Luckily I have the terrible twins, two voids my local rescue couldn't place because they were feral, they now live in my barn, and no mice get near my house, they do however like to swap dead mice for the good canned stuff.
Load More Replies... StrangeOne 4 days ago
Problem is, the mice will make new ways to get in. You need to bring in pest control and monitor your electrical, and water pipes.
#63
Moles and squirrels.
Love/hate relationship with the oaks.
Learn to fix things yourself to save money.
Property taxes.
Sorry, that's four... in no particular order.
#64
That if you have a dryer connected to ductwork, you should clear it out with a brush or hook up a leaf blower and blast the residual lint outside every few months. I found about 5 gallons worth of lint and messed up our ductwork trying to clear it out, ended up having to cut open the wall. What a headache. Start with one project and find three more!
#65
You never know if your house is on the sinkhole and it's not covered under insurance.
Billo66 4 days ago
That happens to other people. I'm over the Mississippi Valley cave system. There couldn't possib.....................
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
I always thought they were really rare, but people in Melbourne are finding them come up a bit recently. Apparently no connection to the tunnelling being done for trains in the area...
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Mmm. As far as I know, I'm on clay, gravel, and most likely ancient sandstone underneath all that - possibly some coal somewhere? A sinkhole does not seem likely here.
#66
That your escrow will change from year to year.
Huddo's sister 4 days ago (edited)
I thought escrow was the US term for property settlement, but now I'm confused. Once settlement occurs, isn't that it as far as cost?
Sue User 1 day ago
Escrow is the amount over and beyond the mortgage. They tack on a little extra each month, then pay your property taxes and/ or insurance with it. This way they know you have insurance and the county won't take house due to unpaid taxes.
Load More Replies... RomanceRadish 4 days ago
It changes because your insurance and property taxes change each year.
Load More Replies... #67
That you'll spend a lot of time thinking about how poorly HVAC systems are set up. Just so much common sense tossed straight out the window.
#68
One that I've embraced - being up to "code" isn't really that devastating.
I'm not talking about that 2nd floor balcony that the PO made with scrap lumber and chewing gum, im talking about things that are old and outdated. My house was built in 54, and it still has the Union Pacific breaker box, as well as the genius wiring. So many people would freak out about it, but it hasn't failed in 71 years.
....just annoying to find out that not all outlets in the same room are on the same breaker.
BookFanatic 4 days ago (edited)
Lol I rented a house from the 1800s and it still had k**b and tube wiring. I had to do a lot of Googling to figure out what was going on. EDIT: Fine, BP, kn0b.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
BookFanatic: strange thing about that old kn0b and tube wiring - if it was done properly, it's probably just as good as new (which isn't to say it's remotely safe by modern standards). If you had newer rubber insulated wiring from, say, the 1940s, it'd be falling apart and desperately in need of replacing.
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Pferdchen 3 days ago (edited)
Federal Pacific breaker boxes can work decades without problems, but the circuit breakers may not trip if there is a short circuit, leading to fires. On the bright side, your breakers never trip 🤣 There really hasn't been much talk about electrical issues, like aluminum branch wiring and old cloth-insulated wiring without a ground wire.
Brian Droste 4 days ago
My house was built in 1920. I am sure my current electric box is not the original box. But it doesn't have up to date breaker switches. It has the old push breakers. Plus I am pretty sue it is only a hundred Amp box. I live in a small house so it is adequate.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
Brian Droste: my 1967 house still has old-fashioned fuse wire protection in the main electrical distribution box. "Old" push breakers are a newer innovation. I think we've got a 100A main fuse, but that's adequate when you're on 230V.
Load More Replies... David Paterson 4 days ago (edited)
This is why it is necessary to not have frequent inspections.
#69
I was prepared to have to spend lots of money on home maintenance. I was NOT prepared for the fact that home maintenance expenses are not a consistent & predictable expense.
In an apartment, you know from month to month almost exactly what your living expenses are. But when I got the house, I had to save one month, then shell out hundreds of dollars to fix or improve something the next. A lot of big ups & downs. It's weird to adapt to thinking of saving/spending in a whole new way.
Jrog 4 days ago
Put some money on the side every month, you will have some leftover money at the end. In an apartment, you are paying the maintenance AND the fees of the administrator.
nicholas nolan 4 days ago
Rent and mortgage are nearly equivalent now, for the same square footage. The math on this doesn't work like it used to.
Load More Replies... Brian Droste 4 days ago
OP is only paying hundreds in repairs? Something is wrong here. Now a days it costs thousands of dollars to have things repaired.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
That's because you typically have some common fund for structural issues. It's often large. I will not buy an apartment again because of these ridiculous costs, and 'management fees' that pile up every quarter. I prefer to manage my own problems, and it's not more expensive, just less predictable. I assure you that if you put away the equivalent of those costs and 'fees' every quarter, you'd have enough.
#70
My #1 Mission is to keep water away from house or coming in….. always setbacks- concrete crumbling, gutter cleaning, caulking. Begging workers to do smaller jobs.
#71
Property taxes, mortgages,house repairs, daily upkeep. I was led to believe that owning a house was the American dream.
#72
I never knew until getting a mortgage how much goes to interest in the first years of paying it off. I always thought it was a set amount going toward the interest the entire time. I actually kind of like this, though, because it's satisfying seeing the amount that goes to principal go up every month.
Other than that, I can't really think of anything, and nothing was really unexpected about owning itself. Homeowner 5 years now.
#73
Visitors. I didn't know I'd become a free AirBnB. I live in a tourist destination. with over 150,000 hotel rooms but they all charge to stay.
Janissary35680 4 days ago
The house we bought is in a tourist destination and we put a stop to that VERY early after moving in.
#74
That good monthly mortgage payment will not be there anymore when the first year's property taxes hit that next year.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago (edited)
How much are these property taxes? I have read that they are insanely high. Edit, worked it out. Mine is about 0.4%. In America it works out at between 0.18% and 1.9%. Not insanely high in general, but some are high. I think American houses are cheaper than in most developed countries, however.
Nicky 22 hours ago
A beater 100 year old one story 1000 sq foot 2 bedroom house is a million dollars in Berkeley CA and my property taxes are about $10,000 a year, 25% of my school teacher income.
Load More Replies... #75
Put a dehumidifier in your basement if you have one. Maybe put two.
Billo66 4 days ago
Don't confuse it with a humidifier and place it directly under a 65" 4k TV. Just sayin.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 days ago
Very few/almost no basements here in Southern California XD I've always wondered what it's like to hang out in one!
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
Same in Australia. When I was a kid I either wanted a basement or attic, but we didn't even have an 'upstairs'. Closest we got was when we used the garage as a rumpus room, with a pool table, futon and N64, though a lot of the space was still used for storage.
Load More Replies... #76
[Stuff] NO ONE TELLS YOU:
1. New home builds seem to need 2x years of taxes paid within the first 12-14 months, otherwise your escrow balance will have a shortage and your monthly payment will increase by a few hundred per month until that balance is paid down.
2. Home warranty work isn't prioritized. Once you close on your home, it's not a high priority to take care of your little fixes.
3. Plumbing fixed cost a lot of money. Pay extra for thorough plumbing inspections before buying a home. Seriously, I will always spend $500-$1000 for a solid plumbing only inspection before buying my next home. Much less expensive than finding major problems later that aren't disclosed.
Billo66 4 days ago (edited)
It's a pain in the ass when you have to do it, but it's nice knowing how to repair most all of your stuff. TBF it's a big plus having welders, backhoes, and a bobcat at your disposal. Having the right tools is 90% of the battle. I've just been a mechanic and farmer all my life so i take that stuff for granted I suppose.
Betty Spaghetti 4 days ago
Some of us live in cities, Billo (I get what you’re saying though and also DIY a lot).
Load More Replies... #77
No one warned me that each problem you fix is one less you have to worry about in the future. The first several years can be tough but then it's easy mode while rents climb.
David Paterson 4 days ago
Not true, unfortunately. That's like claiming that you only have to mow the lawn once and from then on never having to mow the lawn again. A myth.
S Bow 4 days ago
True. Once you think you have everything under control something else will fail. It's the law of home ownership.
Load More Replies... #78
Raccoons are a menace & I no longer find them cute. They are much stronger than you'd think & they can climb very well. They will pull siding & fascia down, burrow inside you roof or anywhere really. They're also incredibly smart & once you trap one, the rest of their clan will now know to avoid even the most tempting of traps!😂.
BookFanatic 4 days ago
We had a momma and three babies in our attic when I still rented. Upstairs neighbor got out his BB gun and his girlfriend and I threatened him with all sorts of dire repercussions if he shot the babies. Landlord ended up getting a live trap.
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
Sounds like the possums in Australia. Will always find holes into your roof that you can't! When we had a flat roof, so no cavity between the ceiling and the roof it was much better. We would hear them on the tin roof, but that's all. Now I worry about them peeing on the ceiling and having to replace it.
Daniel Atkins 4 days ago
My father is always telling me how many he has trapped. They live in a rural area and my mom has fruit trees and a vegetable garden that draws them in.
#79
You’re supposed to drain your hot water tank every couple of years to flush sediment…UNLESS YOUVE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE, in which case DONT drain because the sediment could be holding it together.
If you’ve recently purchased your home and don’t know whether the previous owners maintained their water tank, then you’re shot outta luck. .
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
I would have no idea where to start with this. Never mentioned when I bought the hot water service when I moved in.
#80
If you have A/C, learn about your coil drain pan(s), and how it interacts with your house plumbing!
#81
Updating plumbing, electric & sealing doors & windows. All the constant expenses.
That's why I'm selling & moving into an apartment. Yes, an apartment will cost $300 extra each month, but I won't have to worry about all those d**n home ownership bills.
#82
When you need repairs done you need to get multiple quotes and ask them what materials are they using to fix. I recently needed a new roof so I asked roofer my neighbor was using he gave me a piece of paper written tear off and replace roof 28,500. Never specified what roofing material he was using or what leak guarantee is. To make matters worse my neighbor said he charges him 19k for his roof mine was not much different same age etc.
#83
Even if you live in the woods you have to rake all of the yard or else it messes up your drainage then washes the dirt from around your foundation and cause your house to flood.
We are old enough to know better!
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago
"you have to rake all of the yard"? Nope, and we've got a lot of shrubs and trees around and about. I doubt any of the previous occupants did either. Drains are fine, foundations solid, house doesn't flood, and I live somewhere with much - much! - more rain than most of the USA. I have occasionally raked the lawn, but only after I've turned a big pile of tree and shrub prunings into chippings leaving a horrible mess all over the place.
#84
It's more expensive than renting.
Jrog 4 days ago (edited)
It absolutely isn't. Buying involves maintenance expenses, property taxes, immobilized capital, mortgage interests, but also the monthly cost sharply decreases once the assed is paid fore and you are left with significant value on an appreciating asset. Renting has smaller upfront costs, recurring costs increasing over time, must account for a cost quota to address the inherent instability of the accommodation (periodic moving) and all the capital is lost without retaining any value. Long story short, depending on the specific location's conditions the break even for buying over renting is typically 5 to 10 years.
ƒιѕн 4 days ago (edited)
Just paid my mortgage off 4 years early on a 20 year mortgage on my house, built new in 2011. Now all that extra cash gets puts into a savings account for projects I want to do around here sometime. Luckily any upkeep/repairs cost me basically zero as I can do all the work myself.
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meeeeeeeeeeee 4 days ago
I have to pay £700 a month to rent a house worth no more than 110K. I know the previous tenant lived here for about 5 years, I've lived here 5 years, and it was worth about 80k 10 years ago. I've paid about 35k in 5 years and own nothing, plus they'll be trying to raise the rent in 3 months, yay.
Nizumi 4 days ago (edited)
Depends what you buy. If you buy a house with land and outbuildings, yes, it can get expensive. If you buy a condo with rent-like monthly fees, it can get expensive. I'm guessing this person hasn't seen the meme about how banks won't lend you money for a mortgage of $700 a month even though they can see you're regularly paying rent of $1200. By this I mean I recognize people are locked in a loop where they can't build savings because of high rents, but the mere fact that they make that rent payment every month should be enough for banks to look past the lack of down payment. Yes - I live in a fantasy world.
nicholas nolan 4 days ago
Everyone that thinks it's cheaper to buy isn't factroring in the barrier to entry that is being unable to secure financing. I decided to quit on it and take a couple rad trips every year instead of wasting my time saving to buy a decent house with prices having long-since galloped away. Similarly, my retirement plan is a car chase spanning three states and shouting "you'll never take me alive!"
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 3 days ago
Even if it is, the money you are putting in is for your benefit only, not another owner.
Forrest Hobbs 4 days ago (edited)
"more expensive than renting"? Absolutely not here in the UK, especially not once you've paid off your mortgage. 😄 Landlords often operate on a "buy to rent" basis, which means they have to charge tenants more than the mortgage repayments. Back when council housing was done properly, things were different, but a certain Mrs T put a stop to all that "affordable housing for the masses" nonsense. It's all about benefiting private landlords these days.
StrangeOne 4 days ago
My mom has been telling me all about the costs and upkeep she's been having to do. I'm good with renting.
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What do you think ?
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
Oh,yeah, guys. I forgot about termites. They will eat your house while you are sitting in it. And you need full perimeter protection annually....
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
My pop's house had termites! It was a couple of years before he went into nursing home so we did what we could but ultimately didn't solve the problem. The new owners either completely rebuilt or at least replaced the cement sheet fake brick and wooden studs (from what I can tell by google pictures). I was about 10 at the time and it made me worried about our house, but my parents reassured me that our concrete slab and brick walls limited the likelihood. I also got my lifelong fear of mice crawling over me when I slept from his house as there were so many running around.
Load More Replies... RomanceRadish 4 days ago
I didn't see this on the list: keeping the furnace exhaust pipes (sorry I don't know the technical term) free of ice and snow and critters.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
People complain that they can't buy a house. Then they complain when they do have a house!
whiterabbit 3 days ago
I'm 100% happy with both house purchases I've done. I've moved many times to rural locations, small and medium towns, and major cities and had many rentals over the years (apartments, duplexes, trailers, houses), I've been infinitely happier owning a home than renting.
Paul C 3 days ago
Amazing how many of these say you need to know someone. My father basically left school at 14 (in the 1940s), yet he could fix nearly everything in the house and on the car, despite working in a completely different skilled trade. He gave up on much of the car when electronics got too complex for him about 20 years ago (but put in a new kitchen in his 70s). I wish I had learned 1% of what he knew, but I've been learning and doing as much as I can myself. I can manage almost anything but plumbing now, after owning houses for around 40 years. Plumbing just seems to be my blind spot. My tiling is better than a professional (but at less than 10% of the speed). I try to do jobs really well, as I'm lazy and don't want to do them twice. Less than the best I can do would irritate me seeing it everyday.
keyboardtek 3 days ago
Sadly all of the negative comments about tradesmen doing shoddy work is an indication of the major decline of this country. Too many people do not care anymore about doing quality work.
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
I haven't had tradesmen doing shoddy work, mostly because it's so hard to get someone out in the first place!
Load More Replies... Kelly Scott 4 days ago
I think I'm glad about living in a trailer and I plan on buying a larger and newer trailer in a couple of years. For the cost of putting a new roof on a house, you can get a 42ft trailer with an Arctic package that sits on wheels and has a solid vinyl roof to stop leaks. Every two years I buy a 10'x20' canopy instead of replacing a porch and my property taxes on an acre of my own land are less than $400 a year. Forget the house, forget the apartment, forget the trailer park. I'm doing all right where I am right now.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
Oh,yeah, guys. I forgot about termites. They will eat your house while you are sitting in it. And you need full perimeter protection annually....
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
My pop's house had termites! It was a couple of years before he went into nursing home so we did what we could but ultimately didn't solve the problem. The new owners either completely rebuilt or at least replaced the cement sheet fake brick and wooden studs (from what I can tell by google pictures). I was about 10 at the time and it made me worried about our house, but my parents reassured me that our concrete slab and brick walls limited the likelihood. I also got my lifelong fear of mice crawling over me when I slept from his house as there were so many running around.
Load More Replies... RomanceRadish 4 days ago
I didn't see this on the list: keeping the furnace exhaust pipes (sorry I don't know the technical term) free of ice and snow and critters.
Zig Zag Wanderer 4 days ago
People complain that they can't buy a house. Then they complain when they do have a house!
whiterabbit 3 days ago
I'm 100% happy with both house purchases I've done. I've moved many times to rural locations, small and medium towns, and major cities and had many rentals over the years (apartments, duplexes, trailers, houses), I've been infinitely happier owning a home than renting.
Paul C 3 days ago
Amazing how many of these say you need to know someone. My father basically left school at 14 (in the 1940s), yet he could fix nearly everything in the house and on the car, despite working in a completely different skilled trade. He gave up on much of the car when electronics got too complex for him about 20 years ago (but put in a new kitchen in his 70s). I wish I had learned 1% of what he knew, but I've been learning and doing as much as I can myself. I can manage almost anything but plumbing now, after owning houses for around 40 years. Plumbing just seems to be my blind spot. My tiling is better than a professional (but at less than 10% of the speed). I try to do jobs really well, as I'm lazy and don't want to do them twice. Less than the best I can do would irritate me seeing it everyday.
keyboardtek 3 days ago
Sadly all of the negative comments about tradesmen doing shoddy work is an indication of the major decline of this country. Too many people do not care anymore about doing quality work.
Huddo's sister 3 days ago
I haven't had tradesmen doing shoddy work, mostly because it's so hard to get someone out in the first place!
Load More Replies... Kelly Scott 4 days ago
I think I'm glad about living in a trailer and I plan on buying a larger and newer trailer in a couple of years. For the cost of putting a new roof on a house, you can get a 42ft trailer with an Arctic package that sits on wheels and has a solid vinyl roof to stop leaks. Every two years I buy a 10'x20' canopy instead of replacing a porch and my property taxes on an acre of my own land are less than $400 a year. Forget the house, forget the apartment, forget the trailer park. I'm doing all right where I am right now.
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