🏡 22 useful tips for first time homebuyers
by Joe · 47 things on Twos
- React to the first sign of a water leak/water damage in your house as if you house was on fire.
- Try to DIY before you hire someone.
- Even though it's low ROI, you'll learn the actual time and material cost and it will allow you to more intelligently estimate, choose, and negotiate with contractors later on.
- It's a home, not a house.
- View it as a place to make memories with your family, not an investment.
- If you spend money on improvements, do them because it will make the space more special for you. Don't let the thought of whether it's a smart expense enter the conversation.
- Get 3 bids to repair any of the bigger ticket items no matter what and disclose that you are getting multiple bids to each vendor.
- Ask neighbors who they use for various home maintenance.
- Write a checklist of everything that needs to get done every month.
- Budget around 1% of home value for random things that need to get done and fixed every year.
- Don't worry about making changes the first year. Maintain the yard. Live in the house.
- This gives yourself a chance to learn the house, the neighborhood, etc. before making changes.
- This assumes the home is livable and not a fixer-upper.
- Create a list with...
- Address, APN, tax ID at the assessor office. Any permits and zoning stuff. The purchase agreement and inspection docs. Title policy. Basically everything from the transaction itself + everything else you acquire over time.
- Insurance policy and identifiers, claim numbers, customer service, amount annual.
- Service provider list - ask the seller who they used..and then just begin collecting names/numbers/links to everyone else.
- An account of each system..just a few notes about where to find stuff and how things work (ie I have a spring..writing down how the spring-cistern-pressure vessel-water heater all work together is important)…electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roof, foundation, edge cases - pool/barn/etc.
- A mortgage schedule you can quickly calc how much it will take to pay it all off. At a min the loan amounts, payment amounts, account numbers, and bank address (if you have a mortgage).
- New appliances really don't cost that much relative to other things but give a pretty nice lifestyle upgrade, since they're used so often.
- Get an inspector every year to identify things that need to be repaired.
- Be sure to have a Lowes Credit Card.
- It becomes more useful than you think.
- Run the HOA agreement through ChatGPT and dig into the details.
- Find the dead zones in the house. Aka where wifi doesn't reach.
- Make sure you know the condition of the roof shingles, and get them replaced before anything bad happens (you can now get some that have fiberglass in them and are rated for 50 years).
- Take good care of your yard. Weeds are the worst and it will ruin your summer.
- Consider a projector instead of TV.
- Saves so much space but also gives you a lot when you want it
- Learn how toilets work.
- Run hot hot water (and let it run) in the sink every so often to melt the grease accum in the pipes.
- Don't cheap out on the sump pump.
- Extensively test for mold. It could be expensive if you don't.
- Keep a detailed list (however small) of all of your capital improvements. These are gold for your listing descriptions and marketing later when you sell it.
- Things to add
- Best bidets you can afford on all toilets
- Outdoor shower
- Air circulation
- Bulbs
- Water detection
- Air filters
- Water filters
- EMF mitigation
- New toilet seats
- New heater filters
- ===
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