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20 Times People Bought A House And Realized They Should Have Done More Research Beforehand
Article created by: Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Daydream time, dear Pandas: one of our deepest desires is to own a quaint little house somewhere on the outskirts of town, surrounded by the woods. Preferably with a long and mysterious history, a couple of friendly ghosts in the attic, and a verdigris greenhouse (or an orangery, we’re not too picky) where we can drink tea, read books, and watch the pouring rain in peace. That’s the dream!
And though home prices are finally dropping in the United States, owning a house is still beyond reach for many young adults who are watching inflation eat into their wages and savings. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, many of us will be unlocking the door to our very first property! Though there are some major things to consider before taking out a multi-decade bank loan and dumping a ton of money into any property.
The homeowners of Reddit shared their experiences in an incredibly educational thread on r/AskReddit. They revealed all the things that they wish they would’ve known before they bought and moved into their first house.
Honestly, it’s a great primer for any prospective buyer, and it really gets you thinking about all the dozens of things you have to consider during and after your viewing. Check out their advice below, Pandas, and let us know what other pearls of wisdom you’d add. Do you have any regrets that you’d love to warn others about? What would you tell your past self if you had a time machine? Be sure to drop by the comments.
Meanwhile, read on for Bored Panda's interview with Sam Dogen, from Financial Samurai, about some of the biggest red flags to look out for when viewing a property, as well as the perfect moment to buy a house. Sam is the author of the bestseller, 'Buy This, Not That: How to Spend Your Way to Wealth and Freedom.'
- Read More: 30 Times People Bought A House And Realized They Should Have Done More Research Beforehand
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#1
Do not engage a building inspector recommended by the agent trying to sell the house. Go with someone independent that will be honest about all the problems. Attend the property inspection and physically view everything the inspector brings up as an issue.
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#2
Pay attention to the grade of the yard. Where is the water going to flow or pool if it rains. Water issues are the worst.
#3
Thankfully we did know this. The bank will approve you for way more than you will be able to comfortably afford. For example (using made up numbers) we were approved for $250k. We knew realistically that we could not afford the monthly mortgage on a house that expensive without eating ramen for 30 years. So we bought a house at $180k and living very comfortably.
As a 24 year old newlyweds, the thought of having a nice $250k house sounds nice, but you have to think realistically. What fun is it to have alllll your money go to your mortgage and you can’t enjoy a night out or pay for you car to be fixed?
That’s the advice I give to anyone looking to buy
#4
That the 9 year old next door liked heavy metal. And that he was going to get a guitar for his 10th birthday. And that 14 he'd be in a band that practices in his garage. But his dad drives a snowplow and I havent touched a shovel in 5 years. "Sounds great Tyler! You guys are really coming together!"
#5
The cost of furnishing a house can get out of control. Close the doors to the rooms you don't use, get stuff used and in phases. You don't need to fill every room upon move in.
Vintage furniture is often of a MUCH higher quality than new.
Curtains/drapes/blinds are expensive.
#6
Bought my first house at 23 and my dad told me check for a good roof, water heater, and furnace since they are all expensive to replace. The house I was looking at had a furnace that was original from 84 (this was on 09) so I put in the REPC that I wouldn’t buy the home unless the seller paid for an inspection of and any necessary repairs to the furnace. Inspection came back saying the furnace just needed to be replaced all together. Seller had furnace replaced before I bought the house. Thanks dad.
#8
Before buying a property, visit it on a weekday/weekend and also daytime/nighttime.
What can seem idyllic on a Wednesday morning can be quite different on a Saturday night.
#9
How much everything costs.
Just general maintenance. Bills and mortgage are known and predictable, but then there's broken boilers, washing machines, fridges, paint, random tools, and all sorts of other stuff that just adds up really quickly.
#11
I would have spent some time hanging out in the neighborhood to see what traffic, neighbors, and noise is like. We had some issues with the family across the street for a few years. Thought they were contractors working on that house when we bought ours but turned out they lived there and they were bonkers.
#12
The Realtor isn't on your team.
They get 6% of the sale cost in their pocket. They are on their team. Some of them are liars, some of them have "their guy" inspect the house.
I bought a $140k house where a toilet wasn't bolted down, doors had water POUR in under them when it rained. These were things that were "inspected" and yet in our phone call she had "never before in all her years seen a house inspected and come out so well!"
#13
Don't think I've found anything I regret that I did when buying the house so far. But there's one handy tip I can offer: drive to and from your workplace to your potential home during rush hour traffic. Both morning and evening. Don't depend on Google for that information.
#14
Be very wary of staged properties. Specifically, if they look extra amazing. Move a picture off the wall (there could be a hole it's covering up), actually turn on the oven...
#15
In addition to the home inspection I had done, I should have had a plumber come do a camera inspection on the sewer main to check for roots.
I will have this done on any prospective houses in the future.
#17
After my mom bought her townhome, I ventured into the crawlspace to discover leaking hot water pipe had rusted thru both top and bottom of underlying heater duct, the resulting moisture and heat making it desirable for the termite colony that had moved into the subfloor.
This was just inside the crawlspace access door in the garage, glaringly visible, but checked off on Real Estate inspection report.
Always get a second inspection prior to closing.
#18
That the down payment and mortgage is the cheap part, not the end goal. In an apartment, you generally never spend more than rent, utilities, etc. When owning a house, mortgage is the bare minimum and the sky is the limit.
#19
Final Walkthrough.
We had been in the house so many times that when it came to the final walkthrough we didn't feel it was necessary. Unfortunately the previous owners bought a chihuahua sometime between after we made our offer and when they moved out. The entire first floor is hardwood, but the finished basement is fully carpeted and that's where they kept their puppy while packing and moving. We called our realtor and he talked with theirs, but in the end there was nothing we could do. We have to recarpet the entire basement.
#20
That I wouldn't be working for the same company 5 years later.
One of the reasons we bought our first home was because it was close to work. but was a long drive to the other jobs I had later.
#21
Before buying a condo, find out what you can about the condo board. When we first bought our condo, the board was made up of volunteers who had no idea what they were doing. Luckily, in the years since then we've added a couple of board members who had worked as contractors and had been board members before.
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