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“Never Again”: 30 Homeowners Warn Others About The Mistakes They Made With Their First Houses
Purchasing your first home is an extremely exciting experience. Finally, you won’t need to hear neighbors blasting techno at all hours of the night or fight for a parking spot when you come home after 9pm. You’ll be able to grow a luscious garden of your own and have the opportunity to hammer nails into the walls without losing your security deposit.
However, like most things in life, practice makes perfect when it comes to buying houses, so it’s inevitable that we’ll make a few mistakes the first time. To spare future home buyers from dealing with the same issues, homeowners on Reddit have recently been sharing all of the things they wish they had done differently when buying their first homes. Enjoy reading through their thoughts, and be sure to upvote the insight you’ll keep in mind the next time you move!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Buying in an HOA. Never again.
Uncanny 2 years ago
For a country proud of their ‘freedom’ I’m just amazed at how willing people in the US are to take orders from a bunch of busy bodies with too much time on their hands. Weird. 🤷♀️
Šimon Špaček 2 years ago
The country of freedom where you can get $500 fine for growing yellow tomatoes instead of red tomatoes.
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Black Cat 2 years ago
HAS sound like a nightmare. They have too much control. Ok I guess if you like living on a neighbourhood that is uniform with no personality.
Gina Cavalli-Boehne 2 years ago
I see boh sides. You don't want a neighbor that takes down the property value with rotting cars in the front yard. You also don't want idiots monitoring every blade of grass. Has to be a happy medium on both sides. Unfortunately, this rarely happens.
Warrior Mama 2 years ago
It eats into a bit of free time, but for anyone who doesn't like their hoa terms, it really can help balance the nonsense to attend meetings or even get on the board. We learned the hard way in ours when a group of retirees with plenty of time on their hands started making ridiculous and ultimately costly changes. They meant well I think, but they really didn't represent what most of the community wanted. We're in a high rise with fairly high monthly dues and a lot of amenities, so a refreshed mix of owners (board members and active resident voters) have been able to revise things to much more comfortable agreements.
Ace 2 years ago
Home Owners' Association. A US thing, but there's so many tales repeated here on BP. They set all sorts of stupid rules about what you can and can't do to your own house and garden.
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Id row 2 years ago
It amazes me that anyone would willingly buy into one. I have no desire to have some busybody micromanaging my private property. If they want to pay for the house, then we can talk, but if I'm paying for it, you can mind your own business.
Barong 2 years ago (edited)
I can see a benefit and in certain case a necessity for HOAs. Properties that have shared walls, roofs, need to have something in place so things get fixed before the damage affects the property. Also homes with outdoor features like roads, gates, parks, golf, tennis, pools owned by the community will need an HOA to pay for them. Many can not afford a single family residence so a condos, townhome is an option. Some want the community amenities, lifestyle (some have amazing resort like clubs.), or do not want take on the management and maintenance themselves (fixed income, second home, elderly). Generally speaking, communities in HOAs have higher property values because the homes of the entire community as a whole are usual better cared for than properties without and the aforementioned amenities not possible without an HOA.
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Megan Pippenger 2 years ago
We got super lucky with our HOA. Genuinely chill group of residents looking to keep our neighborhood nice. Our dues are only $50 a year (A. YEAR.) and go towards things that actually make sense and benefit the community. Like maintenance of the neighborhood entrance, and police traffic control on Halloween, which is huge in our neighborhood. We’re one of those neighborhoods that hundreds of kids come to from over neighborhoods just to go trick or treating. We can see the neighborhood entrance from our house and without someone directing traffic it would have been utter madness.
Wheeskers 2 years ago
Our HOA neighborhood is most desirable by young families in our area. Houses rarely stay on the market for more than a week. It's clean, pretty, lots of trees. Have a pool, tennis and basket balls courts. Trails and soccer fields. Yes, there are rules but, everyone agrees that our hood is worth it.
Sue User 2 years ago
Good idea. We have laws that say if you want to get a job and not join the union. So why cant we have laws about not having to be part of HOA. ( Note, i am not anti union but i am sick of double standards )
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Susan Betz 2 years ago
Oddly, my first experience with an HOA was very positive. Back in the 90s, a development called Apple Valley in Ohio. The fee was $150/yr (90s) and they provided three beaches on the man-made lake and an indoor pool. The only requirements were that you had to paint your house in earth tones, you couldn't put more than a 4 foot fence in your front yard, and you couldn't grow corn in your front yard. I really enjoyed living there. Can't speak to what's going on today.
RELATED:
#2
Didn't stay on top of the cosmetic things over thirteen years. The carpet was a bit worn, but no biggie. Could stand to replace the wallpaper in the bathroom with paint, but no biggie. Never did rehang that towel bar but I was a single dude, so no biggie. Refrigerator works but occasionally makes a noise like a clucking chicken, no biggie. And on and on. Filled multiple handwritten pages.
Until I wanted to move. All those no biggie issues became about nine months of doing not much else with my weekends and evenings.
With my current house I now stay on top of that stuff. Never again.
Barbara Skolly 2 years ago
My friend's dad lived by the one project a year rule. House never looked outdated. If it was an expensive project (kitchen or windows) then the years before and after were cheap (paint etc).
Heather Vandegrift 2 years ago
Preventative maintenance and taking care of things that are "no big deal" early may cut into a little bit of your free time now, but can save a LOT of time later. It's easier to replace the wallpaper when it starts to peel or clean the smudges off the walls when you notice them, than it is to replace the wallpaper AND clean ALL the smudges off before your have to paint THE WHOLE HOUSE before you sell. I just miss iced out of all apartment weed lived in for a little over a year, and it took 2 18 hour days to clean the damn thing, without any furniture in it! Will definitely stay on top of the less frequent cleaning tasks (especially in the kitchen) for my new place, so that if we move again, it isn't such a chore
Stylishsidewaysbird 2 years ago
My parents have built and sold multiple homes over the years and they always joked that they never got the houses exactly how they wanted until they were about to move again and never got to enjoy the finished products
Susan Betz 2 years ago
I am 61, just sold my house, and while I stayed on top of most things, I still had a lot to do to sell. For example, broken grout that I had simply ignored suddenly became a Very Important Project.
Sally Signup 2 years ago (edited)
I just bought a house that needs a lot of little-to-medium things; a fixer-upper. The price was good, but I know what I'm going to be doing while I save up for bigger projects like redoing the kitchen and bathroom.
#3
I bought a townhouse on a beautiful golf course. The views from my home are magnificent, but they are out there before dawn 7 days a week doing maintenance. The biggest, loudest equipment I’ve ever seen (or heard) plus weed trimmers and blowers. I don’t golf and the maintenance never crossed my mind when buying this place.
KitKat 2 years ago
Just the thought of rogue golf balls; breaking windows & injuring people...
Michael Largey 2 years ago (edited)
I had a friend who lived next to a golf course. That's why he moved.
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Marcellus II 2 years ago
If you don't golf, this mystifies me. Why would you want to live in a landscape wrecked on purpose for a small amount of middle-aged rich men?
Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago
Also, if your place is close enough to the course itself, and when you watch tournaments, you see some are, enjoying the backyard isn’t easy because you need to be on your toes for really errant shots. Trust me, it really hurts when you get hit by a golfball.
#4
Started too many DIY projects at the same time, demoed. a bathroom for remodel, removed doors from kitchen cabinets to be replaced, started removing wallpaper we didn't like, removed old beat-up base trim, etc.
Result was we felt like we were living in renovation project for several years. Should have done one project at a time rather than getting carried away.
Stygtand 2 years ago (edited)
A little tip for renovations. Start with the bedroom. Get it done so you have a place to rest/safehaven. Do 1 room at a time afterwards. Hallways are always the last thing you renovate. When you do the kitchen try and find a small area first where you can setup a temporary kitchen. Takeout is gonna get old real fast, and coffee/tea will keep you sane. If you only have one bathroom/toilet do it when you got time off work so you can get it done as fast as possible. Edit: when you start a project. Make a time schedule. Then add about 40% to it. Nothing is ever easy there are always bumps on the road, and they are easier to deal with when you dont feel pressured from time.
Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago
And admit defeat on some things, even before you start. Admit when you need a professional. It costs less in the first place than if they have to undo the mess you created by thinking “I can do that”.
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RiceRiceBaby 929 2 years ago
Be sure you can make your mortgage payments. The bank would love that you lost your house and can now sell it for more bc you had put in all that work to a house you don't own.
Sergio Bicerra 2 years ago
This sounds like Malcom's dad, Hal, trying to change a light bulb. Check it out in youtube
Heather Vandegrift 2 years ago
Sounds like someone with ADHD doing renovations. The "starting a new project" dopamine wears off, or one project leads to realizing another you want to do, so you just start that one too. Definitely better to write down projects as you decide they are needed/wanted and start them one at a time. (I'm currently resisting the urge to go through every stitch of clothing I own and donate what I don't wear, because not all of the things I own have been moved to their respective rooms yet and our house looks a bit like a storage shed!)
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
Big tip: Base trim removal usually means you will mess up the plaster/drywall/sheetrock... So go gentle, and if it takes more time, you're saving time/money long run.
#5
Buying that cute little cabin wayyyy out in the mountains. Can't work from home as the internet sucks, commute to any job is at least an hour. Buying groceries takes an entire morning and healthcare is 90 minutes away.
Tweed Jefferson 2 years ago
Yep it's a trade-off. Peace and quiet and nature in exchange for lack of convenience to services. Hence why some folks choose to live in the city and some in the country.
Gemini 2 years ago
All those things are negatives but at least you don’t live next to a house with howling dogs and noisy children
detective miller's hat 2 years ago
I commute over an hour each way, but my little house in its tiny village surrounded by farms and forest is so worth it.
Martinna Jaap 2 years ago
I grew up on an acreage 45 min away from the nearest town. The town was very small (1 corner store, one gas station, post office , that sort of thing), so we'd have to go into the big city to get groceries and whatnot. This was also before internet was in every house. We had 2 TV channels, and miles and miles of fields and trees. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was so quiet and peaceful. It took an hour on the school bus to and from school, but most of the students were farm kids too. I loved living that far away from everything. Would do it again for my own children if it wasn't so expensive.
Heather Vandegrift 2 years ago
My BF and our roommate/his best friend talk about moving out into the rural areas and having a huge property, but accessibility to shopping, activities, and healthcare are something I've firmly put my foot down on!
#6
Going with an inspector the realtor recommended. Regret it every day
Judes 2 years ago
I did something similar. I went with the conveyancer the real estate manager suggested. He "forgot" to include our $10,000 deposit on the final tally. Luckily I noticed it immediately, and got him to fix it, but we suspected he and the real estate manager had some deal going.
Debra McGeorge 2 years ago
The inspector's working for the selling agent, and has no interest in your interest. NEVER do this. Get your own inspector.
Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago (edited)
When I sold my place my realtor went along with who they wanted to bring. That was the purchaser’s realtor’s demand. Mine went with that, but then he had 30 years experience and she had only 5. Which one was better at this? So, my realtor was there during the inspection and he was the one to answer all the questions. Well, their realtor was supposed to send a summary report to my realtor. No….. she sent the entire report, pictures and all! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 How helpful. No pulling the wool over our eyes. At one point I got to “interrogate” her. Pinned her down on a couple of things. She didn’t like that. To shorten a long story, research your realtor before you decide who to go with. If they know what they’re doing, they will research the inspector.
Seadog 2 years ago
The fact real estate agents aren't libel for things they don't disclose just proves they're just licensed crooks. House next to my mom is up for sale again. This will be the 4th owner since it was built in '58. No one has ever fixed the roof problem, they just keep putting band aids on it and then after a short time it rains inside when it rains outside. The realtors know it, anyone who's ever been there over the years knows it and yet they continue to list the house with "no repairs needed" It also has septic tank drain field issues. No realtor ever discloses that either. Law here says the tank must be cleaned before sale therefore by the time the new owner finds out there's an issue, it's too late to complain. The only time you can trust a realtor is when buying a derelict house to renovate/restore so all the issues are blatantly obvious. Then all you have to watch out for is the title company who fails to find issues and doesn't stand behind their work when it all goes south.
Carlye Piparato 2 years ago
Our realtor’s guy “forgot” to check the water pressure (there wasn’t any), didn’t look at the heater to see how Gerry-rigged it was, and failed to notice that the CO2 alarm had been removed (went off first time we used the heater). His agreement stated we couldn’t do anything about anything. Still wish I’d reported him. And the agent.
#7
I didn’t call before I dug…hit a gasline. Such a doofus mistake and one I’ll never make again. Gas guy was super cool about it though after I admitted my shame. In the end, came out pretty unscathed both physically and financially thank goodness.
Uncanny 2 years ago
A guy up the road from us decided to save money by extending his driveway sideways himself. Cut thru the broadband cable…took out the internet for the entire neighbourhood. Cue lotsa repairy type blokes, digging holes and having to run new cable all the way down from the top of the road into our housing estate.There were white vans and blokes in fluoro jackets everywhere. All on a holiday long weekend. I don’t think he saved money on his driveway. 😄
Heather Vandegrift 2 years ago
Oh man, my roommate works from home in IT, and I can guarantee he would have sued the neighbor for every cent he had to spend to work elsewhere while the cable was being fixed!
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Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago
Lucky you it wasn’t electrical. That could have killed you, so not really a doofus mistake.
Hey! 2 years ago
Here, we have a phone number for when you dig up somewhere on your lot. They will send someone from the natural gas, Internet, phone, electrician, and plumber to make sure there's nothing in the way. No charge.
Seadog 2 years ago (edited)
Bought a 1920 bungalow to restore. When the city put in the underground service I supplied a conduit for them to bury along with their conduit so we could later run internet etc. Simple task which they said they didn't mind. Classic "you had one job" thing. All they had to do was put the conduit in the trench and cover it, a 4 year old child could master that. They didn't make sure the conduit stayed in the trench as they covered it so when we trenched for downspout lines we cut that conduit which at that exact point was 8" deep (in a trench that was a minimum of 2 feet deep). Luckily we had not installed any cables in it yet so we were able to piece in a repair after a little extra digging. Considering I already knew one of the crew is a lazy f**k, I should've known better than to trust them to do it right.
Ropre 2 years ago
Here on Long Island in NY it's against the law to dig without first calling to make sure you don't run into anything when you're doing a major project
Racing Tadpole 2 years ago
Looked after two guys in the burns unit after they cut a gas pipeline ..
#8
The biggest thing my wife and I learned was financial. Just because the bank tells you that you can afford anything up to a certain amount doesn't mean you should go up to that amount. Sure we enjoyed the house, but we couldn't really afford to do much. We couldn't afford new windows that we desperately needed, we couldn't afford to go on vacations, couldn't afford to upgrade much of the house etc.... If we ended up staying there we wouldn't have been able to afford to replace the roof when it would have needed it or handle expensive car repairs. We ended up moving to a more affordable house and now we have some money to start investing for retirement and to buy me a newer vehicle.
arthbach 2 years ago
The bank DOES NOT tell you that you can AFFORD a certain amount. They tell you what they are PREPARED to LEND you. These are most definitely not the same thing.
Id row 2 years ago
That is absolutely not correct. When I purchased my home, my lender kept saying I could afford a more expensive house if I didn't want to settle for the one I was buying. They really hammered it in to the point where I said, "Look, I work in finance. I know what I can afford, I know what the monthly payment will be and I absolutely cannot afford a more expensive house. Please stop pushing me to take out a bigger loan." Had I listened to them, I would have lost my house a few years down the line when things got rough.
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FakeOptimist 2 years ago
The bank doesn't look out for you, the bank looks out for the bank. Even if you went bankrupt : as long as your house is worth what they calculated they would get out of you in mortgage payments they are happy.
PHOTOBOB 2 years ago
What I have seen a lot (including when I first bought my house) is that banks include rent in the expenses when determining what loan amount you qualify for. When we first went to buy they told us our expenses were too high for us to buy a house. I was like, I am pretty sure I will no longer be paying rent if I buy a house. The bank was like, that's is how we figure it. We did but a house. and when I decided to refinance (interest rates were down plus we needed a new roof) I told them exactly home much I wanted to borrow. The bank kept pushing me to cash out the equity I had in the house. No thank you. I want to refinance and pay the mortgage off early (which I will do almost ten years early because I did not cash out my equity).
MandiMay 2 years ago
Not correct. The rent is not included. I'm a mortgage loan officer. Unless over of them borrowers will not be living in the home the rent is not included in the calculations. Sounds like you had an incompetent loan officer.
Load More Replies... ZGutr 2 years ago
That was an eye opener when I started investigating if I could buy my first house and up to what price. I told the banker my fixed monthly income. Then I refused to tell him my bonus and all other extra's stating they would be my backup's and emergency funds. He literally closed his laptop and said "That's not how we calculate mortgage". I thanked him for the coffee an stood up to leave. He offered to do the calculation both ways. It was a LOT of food for thought. The earn money on every cent they give you, the more the better. No risk, you don't pay they sell the house for you and still charge you the remaining debt.
Seadog 2 years ago
The biggest issue with banks is they rely on Equifax for your credit score. Equifax is the most inaccurate of the 3 agencies. If you have incorrect info on the report, they refuse to remove it. Therefore the bank can charge a higher rate. Next, banks charge for EVERYTHING. Lock your rate? charge even though the rate is supposed to lock on the day you apply. Their appraisers are the worst, You'll get their appraisal and it will include "similar houses for comparison". There's never anything "similar" about those houses. Those houses will always be on less land in an unsimilar neighbor hood, built out of completely different materials and less sq/ft. If they have a loan person leaving, that's who they'll assign you to so it will take longer to process because ever time it changes hands the new person has to almost start over. It took Truist over 3 months to process a simple refi on mine and in the end 4 different loan officers had their hands on it and $5k mysteriously disappeared.
MandiMay 2 years ago
Not the banks fault if your eyes were bigger than your wallet. Do you blame the all you can eat buffet if you over indulge. Banks tell you what they can lend you. It's YOUR responsibility to decide what you want to borrow.
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Nizumi 2 years ago
I had an account manager tell me, "Oh, but with this you could afford a house up to $XXX." Looked him in the eye and asked, "And what do I do for the second month's mortgage?" Gathered my papers and left.
MandiMay 2 years ago
Why would you be mad at them for telling you the maximum they can lend you? That's weird.
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Xenia Harley 2 years ago
Yes, especially true for people who have kids already going to college, or teens. Don't buy a big house! Think smaller, because you won't want to clean or have the upkeep of a larger house! I am guilty of that, and now downsized, so all is good.
#9
I tore out very high quality appliances just because they weren’t stainless steel
I tore out great vintage bathroom tile that seemed dated but I now wish I had kept
Grant Caldwell 2 years ago
In your opinion. I hate the cheap plastic white appliances.
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The Veil of Fire 2 years ago
I love vintage...my pocket book doesnt. I was once offered a chance to view the old house I grew up in. Turned it down. Seeing the changes in the yard, loss of trees, etc. I couldn't bare to see the changes inside. All those lovely old features modernized... Just sad.
Leanne Hailes 2 years ago
This one really hurts 😢 I prefer to stay away from the boring norm. I bet those appliances were fabulous and the vintage tile I'm sure was beautiful 😕
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 2 years ago
I think stainless steel is ugly. I like the look of white appliances. I intend to paint the kitchen blue, and have white cabinets and appliances. I have to win the lottery first, but I can't afford a ticket.
Vinniegret 2 years ago
White cabinets are the fad du jour, like paneling and shag carpeting in the 70s. White steel cabinets were the norm in the 50s. Don't watch HGTV. Pick what you love.
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Judith Reilly 2 years ago
We got an almost new dishwasher because the previous owner wanted stainless steel only. Bonus -the DW was black, same as all our other appliances.
Pitbull Dad 2 years ago
We went with black stainless. They are easy to keep clean and look fantastic
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
My former landlady was a designer, and my fridge was on its last legs. I asked her if any of her clients planned to replace their fridge. One week later, her crew delivered a beautiful white fridge (practically new) that the client was replacing with stainless steel. I got a fabulous new fridge for no cost to my landlady.
Jane Alexander 2 years ago (edited)
Best bathtub ever was the old claw-foot in the rental I had before the new house; deep and long, such comfort! the POS in the new house is oval, shallow, has vertical sides, no comfort, no back support, Hate it!
#10
Starting projects I didn’t know how to finish. Those were tough lessons. As some point, it’s best to give up and call a pro.
Kevin J. Henning 2 years ago
Don't be too sure a "pro" can do the job any better. Do your research and get references if possible. Get everything in writing before the work starts.
detective miller's hat 2 years ago
This is why my sister has had a hole in her kitchen ceiling for 20 years. [That and her husband is a lazy sack of sh*t that costs her more money than he brings in.]
John L 2 years ago
Maybe, I'm missing something....but how do you start a project, you don't know how to finish???
Romeosmells 2 years ago
Because it didn't seem difficult at the time. YouTube and Wiki How said it would take 3 or 4 hours max. They are lying lier pants on fire.
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Seadog 2 years ago (edited)
Try a total reno. Bought a 1920 bungalow (historic). My son and I did 90% of the reno. Neither of us are builders. A contractor came by to see what all we had done to the house and after a walk through and seeing before and during pics and the final product he offered my son a job which he accepted. Everything we did is above code. Some things weren't even necessary but we did it right and there will never be any issues with anything about any of our work. We now know why people don't buy old houses to fix up. Never again. Could've built 2 houses for what it took to reno that one.
#11
Two story house with all the bedrooms upstairs and the laundry was at the opposite end of the house on the lower level.
The builder suggested moving the laundry to the second floor since it was a floor plan change they’d done before.
My mother in law talked us out of it because it would change the guest room layout.
Regretted that decision every time I carried laundry baskets up and down the damn stairs.
arthbach 2 years ago
I would most definitely not want a laundry on an upper floor. There's no way I'd want to carry a load of wet laundry down the stairs to hang on the washing line outside. It's far easy to carry dry (but dirty) laundry downstairs, and then dry (and clean) laundry upstairs.
Tweed Jefferson 2 years ago
Nevermind the significant damage to the home if the washing machine were to overflow.
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Robert Trebor 2 years ago
I loved my mother-in-law. Wish I could've kept her when I got divorced.
Vermonta 2 years ago
I had to carry mine up and down 2 flights of stairs. Worth it to have a washer and dryer IN the house. At one time in my life I had to load it up in a car and drive to a laundromat with a roll of quarters.
RiceRiceBaby 929 2 years ago
I love my laundry chute. From upstairs bathroom to basement, drops in basket between washer and dryer.
Hey! 2 years ago
We have switched our location in our house, almost at the beginning. W/D were in the basement and we put them in the upper bathroom where the bedrooms are. That's where most of the dirty laundry is. We changed our upper bathroom for a powder room and got a bigger bathroom downstairs. We love it. I have a laundry lift over the W/D so that's my drying line; there is no space outside anyways.
Brett Layton 2 years ago
Guest rooms = something rarely used in most cases. You will be doing laundry every dang week forever though.
#12
Could have bought the adjacent lot, it wouldn't have made a big impact on our mortgage payment, but we didn't. So a crazy couple build a house there and we were stuck with them for years.
Vanessa Richardson 2 years ago
We bought the empty lot Nextdoor to our house! We live in a historic district in Kansas. The house that was on the lot burned down many years prior, can’t build a new one there bc historic district. Owner stopped paying taxes, lot went up for auction, no one else wants it bc you can’t build on it and voila! Doubled our yard space for $150.
Seadog 2 years ago
Bought a 1920 bungalow (historic) which came with a nice lot on one side. On the other was a 1915 derelict. Building inspector advised us to not even go in it and said the city would condemn it as soon as it sold. Code won't allow new construction as the lot isn't big enough. Owner wanted $10K. We offered $25K for everything . Took her about 15 minutes to accept. We had all 3 lots resurveyed and converted to one property with the bungalow almost dead center.
#13
Thinking all of our neighbors would be neighborly.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
I always tell myself when I'm eventually gonna buy a house, not sure if it'll happen lol, that I'll visit the street on evenings, or weekends and talk to people, see if there are any loud music neighbors before making a decision.
Seadog 2 years ago
There will always be someone in the hood that is simply awful. "There's one in every crowd." And Lord help you if you get someone from an HOA or strict code city moving to the country. Not next door neighbors son (from California) stayed with her for a short time. Tried to tell me I can't have a wrecked car on the property. 1) it's stored inside because it's a convertible, not even visible without coming over 100 feet down the driveway. 2) there's really no ordinances in our area for derelict or wrecked cars, especially if they're out of sight from the road. 3) our property has been in the family for several hundred years so we're pretty much exempt from changes in ordinances. 4th and foremost - we're zoned agricultural and the county said we can pretty much do as we please short of opening a nuclear waste facility. Not sure what became of Mr. California but he wasn't around long.
Dick Fint 2 years ago
I solved that problem long ago. When you are dealing with the people who go by the "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" rules, you make sure you have a stupid prize waiting if they suddenly show up at your door needing a favor. "Hey pal, I need a so-n-so real quick to fix my dingus". "Oh, that's a shame, I lent my so-n-so to Joe Blow over in Podunk a few days ago". What goes around, comes around.
ThéveNinja (she/her) 2 years ago
Gah, yes, this. There are legit hoarders living across from me, and they just ignore the HOA fines. I don’t even know how that works, but I’ve been told courts don’t really care about cases like this (if the HOA even escalates it to that point)
#14
Doors come in different sizes. Fun facts.
arthbach 2 years ago
I am incredibly surprised this was news to anyone. Have they not passed through multiple doorways every day of their life?
Karma Black 2 years ago
In my house, all the doors are different sizes; but they look close enough in size that unless you're looking for it, it's hard to tell.
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Vanessa Richardson 2 years ago
What sucks even more is when you find out your door is a custom size. lol
Mel The Axolotl 2 years ago
This is exactly why my sister and I can't have a door to our room, because it's an odd shaped doorframe. (We still have privacy tho cause it's at the top of a staircase with my brothers room on the other side and nothing else, so you don't go up there unless it's specifically to go into the bedrooms)
Load More Replies... David A Paterson 2 years ago
And just because the hardware store salesman says that the door is suitable for outdoor use, doesn't mean that it is.
The Veil of Fire 2 years ago
We were once showed a new build home for sale. It was lovely. Thought it would work out fine until we saw the master bath door. I was a teen in high school, 5'3" approx 125 lbs. That door was so thin I had to walk through it sideways to see the bathroom. Nope. One small error and the entire house was ruined. Yep, doors come in all sizes.
#15
Didn't take care of the bushes and trees in the back. I assumed the rain would take care of them and I could trim as needed.
Almost everything was taken over by Ivy and killed, and everything else died because we didn't prune enough.
Black Cat 2 years ago
Rats love ivy. They can hide in it, climb up it etc. And of course you never just get one rat. Those beautiful buildings with ivy growing up the wall? Just a botanical staircase for rats wanting to enter the upper floors.
DumYum 2 years ago
We loved the ivy that grew all over a building we bought. Turns out that ivy was destroying the mortar and we had the added bonus of a nice haven for snakes. Hubby would be on a ladder fixing something and a snake would surprise him and he’d almost fall off the ladder. Finally had to remove all the ivy to make repairs and paint the building. The good thing is we still don’t have mice around here. In the country, that is amazing.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
IVY IS EVIL. It kills brickwork, concrete, other plants ---- riop it out, kill it! And the vermin who live in it? YIKES.
Jane Alexander 2 years ago
The folks tore the ivy off the outside of one room s wall. The room mildewed inside after that.
Leanne Hailes 2 years ago
Rain water alone is never enough for certain plants. It also depends on their location. Proper pruning is absolutely essential. And Ivy will quickly consume everything if left alone.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
Yard care is something you should always ask the previous owners about.
#16
We became enamored with a vaulted ceiling in the open concept living/dining/kitchen area when the other option was an additional room over the garage. Hindsight being 20/20, I'd live with a 10 foot ceiling and take the extra room.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
Vaulted ceilings cost more to keep warm and cool. Not to mention it's a pain changing light bulbs in the ceiling fans!
Joey Marlin 2 years ago
Yes! Thank you. They do look lovely but they're so impractical.
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Caroline Nagel 2 years ago
What's the use of such a high ceiling? Don't you have to heat more?
Petra Biedermann 2 years ago
And heat rises so it is nice and warm up where you can't feel it!
Jane Hower 2 years ago
They are hard to heat, paint, keep cobwebs out, etc. Can't see the desire to have them.
#17
Ignoring that weird running water sound we couldn’t identify. We were *very* young, very stupid homeowners and after checking around inside and out we just shrugged and figured it was one of those weird things where you could hear the water in the pipes. Nope. Three days later my mom came to visit, heard the noise, opened the hatch to the six or seven foot high crawl space we forgot we had, and discovered our brand new indoor wading pool courtesy of a busted outdoor spigot that we didn’t know to winterize (did I mention we were young and stupid??). Thankfully fate smiles on the truly foolish. The pipe was fixed, the water seeped into the ground over a period of time, and all was right with the world. I still don’t know who builds a house with a “crawl space” the could double as an unfinished basement.
Just-4-2day 2 years ago
Larger crawl spaces are a blessing to the people, trades, that need to work under your home.
tameson 2 years ago
And to DYI homeowners. Grew up in the house my dad built. The house was on a lake so the ground wouldn't support a full basement. It had a crawlspace. Multiple generations of family members have memories of having to crawl down in there for some reason or another.
Load More Replies... Barong 2 years ago
I had a house I worked with that had the same thing happen. Mold was a concern. Hired a company to pump it out, remove the vapor barrier, run fans for several days to increase cross ventilation and circulation, install a new vapor barrier once dry, and paint the wood of entire crawl space with KILZ® or some other primer that prevents mold. Expensive but it was worth knowing it was done right.
Johnnynatfan 2 years ago
Because they are useful when you live in a flood prone area. Like how this poster wasn’t smart enough to investigate running water sounds but thinks they are smarter than the designers and engineers who go to school for years to do what they do.
MontanaMariner 2 years ago
Knee deep "water seeped into the ground over a period time"??? Please explain. You'd have a crawl space full of mold.
Johnnynatfan 2 years ago
Some areas it’s not wise to build a basement and crawl spaces serve a purpose. I love this the poster wasn’t smart enough to investigate water running and flooded his crawl space but thinks he is smarter than engineers who went to school for years
#18
Before making an offer I didn’t visit the house on weekend nights. I may have realized the scale of parties that get thrown in a neighbors house, and that would have saved me grief. Neighbors move, things change…. But look really closely at the neighbors before making an offer.
LH25 2 years ago
My mom suggested we visit at least the neighborhood if not the house itself at various times for a week or so. It was great advice and the current owners were happy to leave and let us hang out a little. The neighborhood was and still is quiet.
Circ_Lyfe 2 years ago
I did the same thing. Drove around a lot in the day and night over several days. You can't choose your neighbors.
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Mike Fitzpatrick 2 years ago
And dogs. I toured one a month ago and there was a dog (in a run) next door that never stopped barking the entire time I was there. There was one behind the home that did exactly the same. I was disappointed that my offer wasn't accepted, but looking back on it, I probably received a cosmic favor.
Cyndielouwhoo 2 years ago
Unfortunately, sometimes people get a new pet that wasn't there when you purchased it, but now makes everyone crazy.
#19
Didn't check the air filter for the HVAC when I moved in. When I went to replace it *almost an entire year later* (that was my second mistake), there was no air filter. Previous owners must have removed it without replacing, so the HVAC system was just raw dogging the air in my condo for an entire year.
Laura Nordai 2 years ago
I've bought 3 homes in my lifetime...the first two were both over 100 years old...both times got a s**t inspector...both times I had to replace the HVAC within one week of moving in as well as MANY other things like securing a foundation wall. Third home, I gave up on my love for the old homes and just built one!
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
At least your HVAC worked though. That's an easy fix, just install a filter (and replace it frequently)
Betsy Knox 2 years ago
I lived in So. CA all my life. I finally left. I can't stand the heat and it's getting worse every year. For me the whole southwest is unlivable in the summer and fall.
Esbjörn Öberg 2 years ago
Be cool, HVAC does Not transport outdoor air in, it does not work that way.
#20
Realtor told us that the sellers would be really offended if we asked for a home inspection. Bought the house in October without an inspection. The following spring, one of the gutters fell off because the subroof was rotted. Oh, to be that optimistic again.
arthbach 2 years ago
Always get a home inspection. If the buyers would be 'offended' and won't allow, then walk away. They are hiding something.
Sally Signup 2 years ago
Yeah, that's what happened to my husband and me. We had a house under contract and they refused to turn on the utilities for inspection, so we bailed. Ended up with a house a couple of streets down from that one.
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Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
Write this down - always get a home inspection. Always. Bad on your realtor.
#21
Buying a house that needed a new roof. HOA requires specific tiles, which were on backorder. Homeowners insurance got dropped because the roof wasn’t replaced. By the time it was, the insurance agent ghosted me. It’s been nothing but a nightmare.
arthbach 2 years ago
The problem is not the new roof, but the HOA. If you had been able to replace the roof in a timely manner there would have been no problems.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
I would have insisted the roof was replaced before I agreed to buy it. Then it isn't my problem. I agree HOA is an issue too though.
nm 2 years ago
Where is that guy from the previous post, who is super proud for their superb HOA system?
Bryn 2 years ago
From what I've been hearing of HOAs, I think it depends on the type of place you live in. A lot of the people with actual houses seem to have a lot of problems, while people in condos don't have as many issues. The difference being who takes care of the outside - the homeowner or the HOA. (I'm getting a whole new roof next year from my HOA)
Load More Replies... Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago
An HOA gets to tell YOU what to do with YOUR house regardless of you can’t afford what they’re demanding. Nice. Never ever ever buy in a neighborhood that is under the dictatorship of an HOA.
#22
I didn’t realize my first house was in a flood zone until it came up at closing. I should have walked. But it was all I could afford.
madbakes 2 years ago
In the US, it's a big thing with lenders if the house is in a flood zone. I'm not sure where this is, but if it's in the US, I'm very surprised OP couldn't have been aware.
MontanaMariner 2 years ago
All sorts of areas in America are recently become flood plains.
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Thrillion 2 years ago (edited)
I was NOT in a flood zone, I checked twice, so we didn't get flood insurance. Flooded a year after we moved in. We rebuild on a budget and got flood insurance cheap. Flooded again a year after the flood remodel was completed, two years after the first flood. TWO major floods in 3 years and our house was NOT in a flood zone. I looked into the flood zone study that declared our house in zone X which is no flood. It was from 20 years ago and had never been updated. Found out from the government documents it had been flooded three times prior to us buying but was never told to us (loop hole that if it didn't flood during the previous owners time with it, they were not required to tell us it had flooded before them). We gutted, remodeled and sold the house to a family that knew it flooded twice. Lesson, ASK the NEIGHBORS about the streets history!
Joey Marlin 2 years ago
Construction itself can worsen this. Concrete prevents water from draining and overwhelmed drains are a most common type of flooding in towns.
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Skulls.N.Succulents 2 years ago
That was the FIRST thing I checked when buying. I can't swim!!!
David A Paterson 2 years ago
Was considering a first home in a flood zone but wasn't game. I walked, and was so glad I did.
Seadog 2 years ago
In my area they passed a law/rule that says if you're within XX feet of a natural water source, you have to have flood insurance. That's nice except they forgot to consider elevation. They tried to force it on a coworker because there's a creek 100 feet from the house (laterally). The issue is it's also 90 feet below the plane of the house. Definitely not a flood issue.
#23
I had a new home and not didn’t have hardly any furniture or kitchen stuff. I thought I should remedy this immediately by putting all the stuff on cards. Ended up taking years to pay it off, and much of the stuff I bought, I ended up not really liking or using.
arthbach 2 years ago
Far better to head to second hand shops and IKEA and buy the bare minimum. Then start learning what you actually need and will use. Each month buy a little.
ThéveNinja (she/her) 2 years ago
Yep. Filling a home with things you love is a marathon, not a sprint.
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Kim 2 years ago
Just buy second hand, that way you keep cost down and do not overspend money that you do not have.
Black Cat 2 years ago
And you get some really cool vintage pieces that were built back when quality was a thing.
Load More Replies... Sally Signup 2 years ago
We bought used appliances from people on Facebook Marketplace, Offer Up, and Craigslist.
Catalina Chircu 2 years ago
I moved in a new empty flat, and the first thing I bought was a mattress and a fridge (I moved in in July), and the less expensive ones. The rest, little by little. Then I bought the bed, the kitchen table and two chairs, an oven and an induction hob. Fortunately, there was already a lot of storage space in the apartment.
Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago
I don’t understand the need for buyers to see furniture in there. Many years ago 🧓🏻 (in the dark ages) we preferred to look at empty places, mostly happened when renting, but also when purchasing, because we could easily take measurements and draw out floor plan and room size to scale. See if our furniture would fit and where we could place everything before we made the decision. If the floor plan and your furniture doesn’t work in the first place, don’t do it. It may be awhile before you can afford furniture that works. You want to be good with it all until you can.
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
When I first moved out on my own, I bought everything I needed from thrift stores and garage sales. We didn't have Dollar Tree stores back then. I splurged on a good set of pots and pans and financed them because I didn't have a credit score yet. Paid them off early.
Sue From Michigan 2 years ago
I don't think I had a stick of new furniture in my first home, it was a combination of thrift store finds and stuff my friends and family no longer wanted. "Live within your means" is the best advice for beginning adult life.
#24
As someone who did not grow up in the US, I did not know the difference between vinyl and hardwood flooring. The new construction home I bought had hardwood floors mentioned in the listing (it still has) but the builder gave me cheap vinyl floors and my realtor (who was also selling those new construction homes) did not feel the need to point it out / fix it or get me a deal! Second, my realtor convinced us that 3 bedrooms + lounge area was better than 4 bedrooms. Builder got to save some money by not having to build a dry wall and completing a closet installation by leaving that area as an open lounge. We did not know any better and thought that a lounge with my TV, guitars and Xbox would be a great idea! I later realized the amount of equity we lost by not building it as a 4 bedroom instead. Never worked with that realtor again. She still keeps sending us gifts from time to time. As first-time homebuyers from a different country of origin she should have educated us about these options when we had asked. TL:DR - developing the right filters and mental model to screen your realtor (as a buyer) is invaluable.
David A Paterson 2 years ago
Some realtors are the devil's spawn. You've got to learn which is which.
ThéveNinja (she/her) 2 years ago
Yes. Mine definitely was. She was missing details and dropping things, and I finally confronted her. She snapped and told me not to take a tone with her…and then she told me that I needed to go hold some quartz crystals so that they could absorb my negative thoughts. Honestly, I mostly don’t care what people believe, but that is not what I needed from my realtor: I needed her to do her job. I ended up going to her boss, and he took her off my job and handled it
Load More Replies... TBW 2 years ago
This complaint seems kind of dumb and misplacing problems. First, you did not lose any equity by choosing a lounge over a 4th bedroom. If you want to sell and think the 4th bedroom will carry more value, then convert it. Getting a contractor to put in a closing wall and closet into a space already ready for one might literally be the easiest and cheapest home makeover you can do. Meanwhile, whoever buys the house likely has a 50/50 probability of tearing down the wall to turn it back into a lounge. Second, blaming the realtor. It's already weird you're using a realtor for new construction, but the realtor is in no way shape or form responsible for the construction and any issues you have with the builder. That's on you for not taking it up with the builder on the wrong flooring installed. And if it is still be advertised, it's likely you are still in warranty to make that claim.
Kim 2 years ago
Exactly, this is an issue with the buyers and maybe contractor, not anyone else. Just put up the drywall ffs. No one should have to ”educate” a buyer about anything and especially something simple.
Load More Replies... mofun5108 2 years ago
In my area, the 3 bed + lounge option would be a savings in taxes as well as size of well/septic (in the country). But the price of the house should have gone down a bit for you.
Ken Dupuy 2 years ago
Couldn't that be remedied with a non-loadbearing wall?
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#25
I failed to notice that there weren't any closets in the house. AT ALL.
Ken Dupuy 2 years ago
The older houses (@ least in US) tended to not have closets, thus the armoire
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iseefractals 2 years ago
Another culture shock moving from the US to Europe. Absolutely no closets. Rooms are generally already a fraction the size, so having to take up valuable floor space with wardrobes makes things even more cramped, and often inadequate. Another fun one, new builds don't include kitchen cabinets, appliances or even fixtures. Nor do bathrooms, and everyone takes all their cabinetry and appliances with them when they move!
Carrie de Luka 2 years ago
The new builds not including kitchens or bathrooms isn't the case for the country I live in, so I don't think that applies to the whole of Europe. I do have built in cupboards in some rooms but I personally prefer the flexibility of furniture I can move around in order to change the way the room looks. If it's built in, you have less space in the room - they don't make it bigger in order to fit in a cupboard, it's the same square metres regardless. So you don't gain anything in real terms. Though I suppose you don't have to then buy wardrobes!
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Bryn 2 years ago
Yup. I looked at an older house built in the 40s, and they had turned the kitchen pantry into a closet, lol.
Load More Replies... Leanne Hailes 2 years ago
A house without closets is just a dumping ground for the 5 million things that should be out of sight & out of mind!
#26
Check the main sewer line usually in basements. I live in NJ. Old sewer pipes can crack and leak and clog up. I skipped this inspection in my first home inspection. Turned out the pipe was cracked and had tree roots growing in. Flood my whole basement with sewage water.
Never Ending Fail 2 years ago
This happened in our home, on our first Christmas Day in the house. Realized after that when the house was built in 1914, the owner planted the huge oak tree in the front yard directly over the main outtake. We had to reline the entire pipe. It cost about $9K USD.
realenancy170 2 years ago
We had this happen in a house that sat vacant for 6 months before we bought it. The plumber said it almost always happens if the sewer has "waste" in it without water flowing regularly. It is not a major expense to get it snaked before the backup and way less nasty.
#27
Still buying the house...even after the seller rejected my offer, then relisted the house at a much higher price. I was desperate to get out of NYC and was moving to Florida. If I didn't meet the seller's new price, it meant that I'd have to take more time off work and spend more money to take another trip back to Florida to start the house search process all over again. So, I ate the extra $50K he demanded. In hindsight, it was so dumb. I should have just stuck it through another NY winter and flown back to look at more options later. I always resented that d**k move and never felt great in this house -- and that was one reason. Hopefully, someone in a similar boat learns from this.
Megan Curl 2 years ago
More bad news….if you’re in FL, you probably have an HOA, and there’s nothing worse than a bunch of retired power hungry busy bodies running the neighborhood.
DeoManus Argentem 2 years ago
On the plus side, the house in Florida has probably appreciated like crazy by now, depending on when you bought! I bought my condo for $90k in 2018, and the unit directly next door (shared wall) just sold for $240k, and is far less upgraded! Market's been on fire down here with refugees from NY!
Cheyenne 2 years ago
From everything I’ve been hearing and reading, Florida has become more expensive than California. I’ll take Cali any day in the week.
Load More Replies... StarlightPanda! 2 years ago
I've lived in Florida for most of my life, and I've never been part of an HOA. I would never be part of one. Ever.
Panda-riffic 2 years ago
This must've been a cash deal because the appraiser should've rejected the $50K bump. Lesson learned. Don't make your house purchase an emotional one!
Sally Signup 2 years ago
Why not rent first, just to get down there? Housing market right now is a nightmare, but that would still be better than making that kind of commitment too soon.
#28
I had a main line clog (but didn't know that). I couldn't get a snake through the toilet to flush out whatever clog seemed to be affecting that particular toilet. I flushed the other toilet and it worked (but it was at a slightly higher elevation). So I pulled the toilet. S**t water everywhere, flooding upwards from the f****e. The wax seal came apart when I pulled the toilet, and It had to be gallons before I got it plugged. I had to cut six inches from my drywall in the whole bathroom and throw away all the trim.
James Ussery 2 years ago (edited)
F-l-a-n-g-e... That's one of the words censored. Really? Is that a naughty word now?
Spocks's Mom 2 years ago (edited)
Ty. I thought it came up through the fuckhole because I couldn't figure out what the censored word could be.
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DB 2 years ago
We had a main line clog as well. Fortunately, it was on the side the owners of the trailer park community we live in, so they picked up the $1000 tab. Plumbers said there was a trap that had been installed backwards so they reversed it. Year later another clog. Different plumbers this time. Culprit was the same trap. Turns out it was correctly installed to begin with, the first set of idiots turned it backwards. That one only cost me $350.
Zophra 2 years ago
I don't doubt it - just don't understand why it would flood gallons. If the water is turned off to the toliet and the clog didn't already cause the toliet to overflow - why would there be gallons pouring out?
Sue User 2 years ago
Exactly. If it did come up through the toilet, then its not going to come up if you remove toilet.
Load More Replies... over it already 2 years ago
Wise advice: get a wetvac before attempting any major toilet repair, just in case.
Thrillion 2 years ago
My toilets didn't flush during heavy rain. I bought the house without know this as it didn't rain like that for months. I spent lots of money clearing the drain, looking for leaks and replacing toilets only to find out our whole street was this way due to the city drain lines were riddled with holes. Lesson, ASK the NEIGHBORS about the streets history.
Melissa Harris 2 years ago
Get your neighbors together and sue the city. Infrastructure upkeep and maintenance is what your taxes are for.
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Robert Millar 2 years ago
If you play guitar, you will come across this word as a special sound effect. Sorry, unintentional pun, not funny.
Steve Hall 2 years ago
You should have called a plumber, it would have cost you less money and the job would have been done right.
#29
Deciding to paint our own kitchen cabinets and measure/install our laminate countertops ourselves. They aren't holding up, and wish we had just spent some $ for a professional job.
Mandy Delaforce (PC Girl) 2 years ago
Really? We spent $2.5k and redid all our cabinets and counter tops AND the floor. Just buy the right items.
Danish Susanne 2 years ago
The most challenging part of painting kitchen cabinets is cleansing and sanding the surfaces from the film of old grease that always gets on them, especially if cooking is done with gas.
Stay Off My Lawn 2 years ago
DIY-ing should come with a rulebook. It would only have one rule: Know your limitations.
Susan Betz 2 years ago
Ok, this is a project that *can* be completed DIY. Research, research, research is the key.
#30
Forgetting to blow out the sprinklers before the first freeze of the season. It could have been worse but it was such a preventable thing.
DB 2 years ago
I live in a trailer park retirement community. At 60 my wife and I are some of the youngest residents. Before winter the owners tell everyone to inspect the heat tape on the water line coming into the house. Ok for me but I have neighbors in their 80's and 90's. The previous ownership I've been told used to provide that service as well as many others the new owners don't.
Say No to Downvoting 2 years ago
Living in Australia, I would be screwed if I bought a house in North America - I would be so clueless as to how to winterproof everything my house and north facing driveway would just be an ice rink.
#31
Not asking what the random 2” red rubber hose above the sump pump (that was apparently replumbed into the main sewer drain system instead of outside the house) was for. Three basement floods, two check valves, a new sump pump later - an electrician asks why we have an open hose running from the basement into our shed and then into the ground. Prior owners had hooked sump pump drain into the underground runoff pipe for the downspout. When it rained, water would just backflow straight into the basement through the hose. If you see something that doesn’t make sense, don’t ignore it.
#32
I was 23, and my soon to be wife and I decided we didn’t want to spent a penny renting, so we went looking for a home (1975). We found a affordable one that needed work, but couldn’t come up with the down payment. Her dad was loaded (supposedly), but told us timing was inconvenient. So, Aha!! I’d previously had a loan with the credit union, do I applied, put down home improvements for the reason, and got approved 2 days later. While we were waiting to sign at the closing our real estate agent, who knew we were having problems coming up with the down payment, asked how we got it. He went white when I told him, and advised he not to say anything about it unless directly asked. It was illegal to borrow for you down payment!! Paid it off it record time!!
Orillion 2 years ago
Afaik, it's not explicitly illegal. But if the bank giving out the mortgage finds out about it, they might not consider you financialy soluble and refure the mortgage. The dads claim of it being illegal is probably slightly misremembered information or a misconception.
Load More Replies... Sue From Michigan 2 years ago
I don't think it's illegal but a mortgage company usually will deny a loan if it's a gift or loan.
#33
Put grad clippings first time cutting sod into black plastic trash bags and then put them in the garage. After a while our explosive meter started going off - the bags were hot to the touch. It’s then we realized that the decomposing grass was releasing methane and was a fire hazard.
#34
I filled the outside weep holes in brick thinking the mortar fell out.
#35
Not camera inspecting the drain line. I didn't want to pay the extra 150 to drag a plumber out. 1950s Era clay pipe. Belly in the line under my driveway. Excavated and replaced whole line from street to fdn. 6000 dollar fix.(2015). Never again. Pay to camera the line every time.
Thrillion 2 years ago
Sellers literally "blew out" the kitchen drain line so when we did the inspection it drained... right under the slab. Thanksgiving was in a month before we moved in. Drain stopped draining because there was no more pipe under the slab and the line to the city was clogged with dirt. We had no kitchen sink through the holidays and had $6500 bill to tunnel 11ft, cut the slab and repair the line. That house was cursed.
#37
I put in French doors that open in…right into my couch. When my dumb dog finally destroys them (dang squirrels make him crazy) I will replace them to conveniently open out!
DJR 2 years ago (edited)
No, the entire frame has to be replaced. The mortise faces in and the sill faces out.
Load More Replies... DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
Safety wise, exit doors should open out, with that said...all my exit doors open inwards lol
#38
Checking delivery options, maybe not ridiculous, but i never read about it on any lists to watch for when buying. USPS, private shippers, and places like doordash/instacart. I would leave for work before the post office opened, and the post office was 30 minutes out of the way on the drive home to pick up packages, so I couldn't make it there during the week. No Uber, Instacart, Doordash, or delivery from stores. The biggest issue I had was my POD for moving. I had everything in a POD to be delivered when I bought a new house and it was in storage while I looked. Turns out they didn't deliver and I had to get a mover to empty it and drive it to my new house. I didn't live in the middle of nowhere either, big community, hooked up to local utilities, it just wasn't a serviced area.
Gina Cavalli-Boehne 2 years ago
This! We needed an area with our hospitals/doctors close to us. We also need the delivery services available. Both of us are disabled and those services are so needed these days!
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 2 years ago
Post office box-- even if the PO is closed, you should still be able to get to the box.
#39
Don’t assume you can handle the mortgage because it’s close to what you paid in rent.
ZGutr 2 years ago
This one depends ... if interest is high you're likely to be okay. but if it's at a low it can go up. Can you still pay it then? The thing here is maintenance. YOU pay for that now, not some landlord.
LH25 2 years ago
I think that's only an issue if you have a variable rate mortgage?
Load More Replies... #40
Not figuring out light switches to outlets before I moved furniture in. Thinking I'd paint walls 'later'.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
The switch to outlet is a serious issue...I spent hours working on the layouts before doing renovations at home.
ROSESARERED 2 years ago
I'm regretting not painting before I moved in...I didn't think I could afford it, not realising paint is not an expensive thing, tools for the job, yes, but you use them again and again, paint, not so much, relatively speaking. Now I have to move furniture, pack things up, or not unpack,so I can paint.. .and put up with the smell. Psi t and floors before moving in. If you can only afford one, floors.
#41
2 bigger ones I can think of: Accepting a gift $10,000 to help buy a house that we really had no business at the time buying. We were not financially literate at the time and had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I would never buy something again relying on a gift of money to do so. It means you aren’t ready to buy. Also, over buying more house than you actually need. Such as 4br house for 2 people or whatever. (Current market conditions may be somewhat curbing this tendency in buyers.)
iseefractals 2 years ago
Four for two people is a stretch, yes. But you should have a shared room with your spouse, and you should each have your own space. Whether that's some combination of additional bedrooms, basement/attic, you may not feel you need it NOW....but jfc that time will come.
#42
Planting morning glory seeds without realizing that they spread like crazy and strangle everything else in the garden. I know: it seems like a small thing, but wow, that was dumb of me.
iseefractals 2 years ago
Only specific varieties, also hawian woodrose seeds, both of which contain LSA, not nearly as potent as LSD. San Pedro cactus on the other hand....that stuff is essentially mescaline, and where peyote takes decades to mature, San Pedro grows 18-24 inches per year.
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Colleen Glim 2 years ago
Morning glories need a trellis to grow on. If they don’t have one, they WILL take over
#43
You need to change your furnace filters, all of them! (We had a second one in the attic that we forgot to change, so …yeah..repair bill.). 🤦♀️
#44
I read the inspection and it said "fairly significant grading issue" and then I spoke to the inspector and he said it out loud to me. he said that's why the dirt basement was always damp. I didn't think it was that big of a deal and not nearly the most pressing thing on the list. we ended up having to spend so much money on the grading and the (eventually) moldy basement.
Seadog 2 years ago
SO many people think a level yard is best. You want water to move away from the dwelling. If the yard is level it's going nowhere but down and if there's a big hole in the middle (basement) that's where it's going to end up unless you have multiple pumps to keep it from finding it's way under the floor.
#45
White grout on our kitchen floor. Stayed white for like 6 months. Kick myself every day for how stupid that was. Only part about our kitchen I hate. When I replaced our doors I custom ordered them all at the same time. Got the rough opening right, doors showed up. Went to hang the first one aaaaaand we have 2x3 interior studs. I ordered the doors for 2x4 framing. Custom order, not returnable. I think it was like 750$, down the drain.
#46
A fixer upper doesn't sound like 100k+ work but it ends up being that 🫠
iseefractals 2 years ago
In the 90's my uncle got a job as the VP of Compaq, and had to move to houston. As a signing bonus, Compaq said they'd foot the down payment and moving costs. My uncle found a 10,000 sq ft house with indoor racquetball court, a pool and 2000 sq ft pool house with a sauna for $350,000....because the previous owner attempted to burn it down for the insurance money. Lots of stone and marble, so it was mostly cosmetic and smoke damage. Still had to spend an additional $250,000 just to pass inspections.
#47
Bought a home warranty
The Deez 2 years ago
Our home warranty has been invaluable! We started it about 3 or 4 years ago because every summer our AC unit would go out and need something fixed. The $100 deductible was way better than looking at a $500 or $600 bill every summer. It paid off just a couple of months ago when the home warranty company replaced our unit. It's a combo unit - heat and a/c in one unit - and there was about $1,900 of out-of-pocket expenses, but that beat the heck out of paying, like, $9,000! (Of course, we had to borrow the $1,900 from my MOM, but oh well! We have a/c and are working on paying her back!)
#48
Didn’t think about the combination of a disabled parent plus only one bathroom, which was upstairs. 🤦🏻♂️
#49
Not reconnecting a downspout that was disconnected. Getting my roof pressure washed.
#50
Buying a house we liked but not caring about resale down the road. Like we had a great house with a tiny tiny yard, which didn’t bother us but turned out to be a pain to sell
#51
waited too long to get a plumber to inspect a leaking pipe in my garage. turns out the damage is way worse than i thought and it's going to be an expensive mistake even with an insurance claim.
LH25 2 years ago
I've heard that some insurances won't even pay if there is evidence the leak has been there a while and you should have dealt with it earlier.
Seadog 2 years ago
And then the repair business has to word it just right or they still won't pay. Be sure you get good repair companies. Lightning fried my heat pump compressor. HVAC company said it would be just as expensive to repair as replace, insurance company said ok, replace. When the bill went through though they wrote it up differently and suddenly insurance company says they'd only pay for repair.
Load More Replies... #52
Didnt get my sewer line scoped initially, had a blockage a few weeks after purchase, sewer line is compromised and collapsing and needs to be replaced via a burst ~$9,000CAD. Woof.
#53
We bought a home with an old septic system. But the city was putting in a sewer line “soon”. Did not happen soon, and we had to deal with septic issues for over a year.
#54
Not getting a survey
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What do you think ?
Rick Seiden 2 years ago
Bought the house. I'm not homeowner material. There's a lot of responsibilities that go with being a homeowner, and I just can't keep up with them all, or don't care to keep up with them all. I hate yard word, I hate painting and decorating, I hate hiring people to do stuff for me. It's a disaster. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't buy. I know that its an investment, but for me, it's not a good one.
Tim 2 years ago
I always question the soundness of a house as an investment. The amount of money you have to chug into interest, repairs, maintenance, just minor things, adds up. So much more than renting. I don't even have to buy light bulbs.
Load More Replies... R Dennis 2 years ago
Bought a nice house outside the city in a quiet area with water on two sides... well, I am now disabled and there are no sidewalks anywhere. The well is too small, so water pressure sucks. Worst of all the septic system is failing. Because our field isn't grandfathered in, it can't be repaired. Since we have mostly water in our backyard, we can't just build a new one... $2000 to get an engineered field designed and $35,000 to get it installed (with the price going up 10% every year). With me disabled, we don't have the income to just pay for it but we make too much for an assistance loan; interest rates on a personal loan would make our payments as much as our mortgage. As much as people hate on BTC, I appreciate it because I made enough to pay for this catastrophe.
mhoulden 2 years ago
Do a web search of the address and neighbouring streets before you make any commitments. It might find things that don't appear in the estate agent listings. The local paper can be interesting. Map archive sites like https://maps.nls.uk (for the UK) might reveal old mines or quarries. Local councils often have planning application records on their websites so you can see if the empty field across the road is about to be redeveloped as houses. Visit the area at different times of day and different days of the week. Somewhere that's quiet at the weekend might not be during the week. This is all stuff that doesn't cost any money but can save a lot of time later.
Carrie de Luka 2 years ago
Planning applications at least should come up on searches that your conveyancing solicitor will do for you but it's sensible to get a good feel for an area before you decide to start looking there.
Load More Replies... Stay Off My Lawn 2 years ago (edited)
I think of all the cons of homeownership and they don’t come close to outweighing the single pro: no creepy crooked controlling landlord.
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
And no one has a key to your home unless you gave them one.
Load More Replies...
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 years ago
After my father died I said to my mom that we (she was Dad's direct beneficiary but I was living with her) should sell the house. She said, "It needs too much maintenance," and refused. My dad, bless him, had thought he'd always be around to fix things, but of course he wasn't. (I know you were a war hero who fought Nazis, Dad, but dayum.) So after my mother died I ended up living in a huge, 5-bedroom house all by myself. Bro and SIL moved in after about 6 months and we have spent over 80 grand fixing all the issues. One issue can't be fixed - the soil has settled over the 47 years since Dad built the house (he built it himself as he was a bricklayer by trade although he worked in a white collar job for 35 years) and the outlet pipe from the one toilet no longer slopes downward. It's UNDER the house so there's no fixing it (the house is brick and concrete - here we don't build wooden houses). We throw large buckets of water down the toilet once a week to keep the pipe from clogging.
Steve Hall 2 years ago
It is always cheaper to call a professional to do the job than it is to have them fix your mistakes.
Circ_Lyfe 2 years ago
I have an amazing house with 5 acres. BUT the house was on the market for almost a year. I was going to offer 20k less. It's in a SMALL town that most people have never heard of and they live 10 minutes or so away. Plus, I looked at the towns sale history. The realtor told me another offer was just put in that day, and I should up my offer. My mom, who took her real-estate boards, told me she was lying because she wanted a high commission. I panicked because I loved the house. Offered 5k less than listed. The previous owners were bragging to the neighbors. My neighbors couldn't believe the house in this area sold for almost asking. They would have been surprised if it sold for 30K less! Happy with my house, but soooo mad I paid 20k more than I intended. Lesson learned
John L 2 years ago
My mistake (had the house built), being cheap on additions. Biggest mistake, not getting hardwood floors. I did think ahead though and got the best carpet padding available, with a cheap carpet, thinking I would get better carpet latter. Ended up never needing better carpet as the carpet padding helped keep the carpet in good shape. 20 years and only one buckle....
Rose the Cook 2 years ago
Assumed that every standard thing in the house was included only to find that the hot water service and the stove were not paid for. The former owner went bankrupt and still owed money on them. The receiver refused to remove the items, which were in poor condition and unlikely to sell individually, and demanded we buy them. I wanted them out so as to buy new rather than pay for damaged goods but dumb ex husband caved in.
Rick Seiden 2 years ago
Bought the house. I'm not homeowner material. There's a lot of responsibilities that go with being a homeowner, and I just can't keep up with them all, or don't care to keep up with them all. I hate yard word, I hate painting and decorating, I hate hiring people to do stuff for me. It's a disaster. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't buy. I know that its an investment, but for me, it's not a good one.
Tim 2 years ago
I always question the soundness of a house as an investment. The amount of money you have to chug into interest, repairs, maintenance, just minor things, adds up. So much more than renting. I don't even have to buy light bulbs.
Load More Replies... R Dennis 2 years ago
Bought a nice house outside the city in a quiet area with water on two sides... well, I am now disabled and there are no sidewalks anywhere. The well is too small, so water pressure sucks. Worst of all the septic system is failing. Because our field isn't grandfathered in, it can't be repaired. Since we have mostly water in our backyard, we can't just build a new one... $2000 to get an engineered field designed and $35,000 to get it installed (with the price going up 10% every year). With me disabled, we don't have the income to just pay for it but we make too much for an assistance loan; interest rates on a personal loan would make our payments as much as our mortgage. As much as people hate on BTC, I appreciate it because I made enough to pay for this catastrophe.
mhoulden 2 years ago
Do a web search of the address and neighbouring streets before you make any commitments. It might find things that don't appear in the estate agent listings. The local paper can be interesting. Map archive sites like https://maps.nls.uk (for the UK) might reveal old mines or quarries. Local councils often have planning application records on their websites so you can see if the empty field across the road is about to be redeveloped as houses. Visit the area at different times of day and different days of the week. Somewhere that's quiet at the weekend might not be during the week. This is all stuff that doesn't cost any money but can save a lot of time later.
Carrie de Luka 2 years ago
Planning applications at least should come up on searches that your conveyancing solicitor will do for you but it's sensible to get a good feel for an area before you decide to start looking there.
Load More Replies... Stay Off My Lawn 2 years ago (edited)
I think of all the cons of homeownership and they don’t come close to outweighing the single pro: no creepy crooked controlling landlord.
Jude Laskowski 2 years ago
And no one has a key to your home unless you gave them one.
Load More Replies... T'Mar of Vulcan 2 years ago
After my father died I said to my mom that we (she was Dad's direct beneficiary but I was living with her) should sell the house. She said, "It needs too much maintenance," and refused. My dad, bless him, had thought he'd always be around to fix things, but of course he wasn't. (I know you were a war hero who fought Nazis, Dad, but dayum.) So after my mother died I ended up living in a huge, 5-bedroom house all by myself. Bro and SIL moved in after about 6 months and we have spent over 80 grand fixing all the issues. One issue can't be fixed - the soil has settled over the 47 years since Dad built the house (he built it himself as he was a bricklayer by trade although he worked in a white collar job for 35 years) and the outlet pipe from the one toilet no longer slopes downward. It's UNDER the house so there's no fixing it (the house is brick and concrete - here we don't build wooden houses). We throw large buckets of water down the toilet once a week to keep the pipe from clogging.
Steve Hall 2 years ago
It is always cheaper to call a professional to do the job than it is to have them fix your mistakes.
Circ_Lyfe 2 years ago
I have an amazing house with 5 acres. BUT the house was on the market for almost a year. I was going to offer 20k less. It's in a SMALL town that most people have never heard of and they live 10 minutes or so away. Plus, I looked at the towns sale history. The realtor told me another offer was just put in that day, and I should up my offer. My mom, who took her real-estate boards, told me she was lying because she wanted a high commission. I panicked because I loved the house. Offered 5k less than listed. The previous owners were bragging to the neighbors. My neighbors couldn't believe the house in this area sold for almost asking. They would have been surprised if it sold for 30K less! Happy with my house, but soooo mad I paid 20k more than I intended. Lesson learned
John L 2 years ago
My mistake (had the house built), being cheap on additions. Biggest mistake, not getting hardwood floors. I did think ahead though and got the best carpet padding available, with a cheap carpet, thinking I would get better carpet latter. Ended up never needing better carpet as the carpet padding helped keep the carpet in good shape. 20 years and only one buckle....
Rose the Cook 2 years ago
Assumed that every standard thing in the house was included only to find that the hot water service and the stove were not paid for. The former owner went bankrupt and still owed money on them. The receiver refused to remove the items, which were in poor condition and unlikely to sell individually, and demanded we buy them. I wanted them out so as to buy new rather than pay for damaged goods but dumb ex husband caved in.
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