Having a place to call your own is a dream come true for many—if not most—people around the globe. Renting is fine, of course, but when you truly own the property, there’s a lot of freedom and security that comes with this. Not only can you unleash your genius interior decorator, but you also don’t have to answer to a landlord.
However, purchasing your first property can be absolutely daunting. You’re putting down a huge amount of money, and you want the house or apartment to be great (or, well, at least good). We’ve collected some of the most hard-earned lessons from first-time homebuyers from an interesting discussion on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer, including the things they regret the most. Scroll down for their nuggets of wisdom.
Bored Panda wanted to find out what people buying their first homes should be aware of to minimize future regrets, so we reached out to G. Brian Davis, a real estate investor and the co-founder of SparkRental.com. He was kind enough to share his insights and advice, which you’ll find as you read on.
#1
It was midnight. Our third night in the house. The chirping began.
It was the highest smoke detector in the vaulted ceiling in our living room.
Luckily we had 9-volt batteries and had bought a ladder that day. We lucked out.
Make sure you have 9-volt batteries. Even hard-wired smoke detectors will beep when the backup batteries die.
My boyfriend says every homeowner needs a ladder and a shop-vac.
Image credits: majesticalexis
#2
Unless you have concrete plans to get engaged and married soon, I would not buy together. People break up all the time, and sorting that out and selling a home you co-own is a nightmare—especially if you are not equally contributing to the down payment and monthly mortgage.
Image credits: asatrocker
#3
Water. Look out for the risk from water. Can be invisible risk for years. In a mostly flat landscape, the water risk from being near low points can be invisible. The local creek may have been buried in a sewer system. But when there’s torrential rain, suddenly the sewer system will back up into the basements of all the houses near the low points. Closely examine the basement for evidence of earlier water damage which has been buried behind new Sheetrock or wall to wall.
Image credits: LoongBoat
#4
The location is more important than you think. Your realtor is not looking out for your best interest.
Image credits: anon
#5
Pay for the sewer scope. Just closed less than a month ago and just found out we have to replace most of the plumbing. Yay homeownership.
Image credits: Psychological_Yam_77
#6
Do not underestimate the amount of work required for a “fixer upper”. Yes it sounds fun, but it takes a special kind of buyer. In hindsight, I’m very glad I chose a move-in ready home, there’s enough work to do as-is.
Image credits: jbacon47
#7
When I bought my first home I was given some good advice. Which is to wait 6 months on any Non-Absolutely necessary project. If you think it is still important after 6 months then do it. .
Image credits: 2000Dr650
#8
Best advice I got on buying a house: don’t listen to your parents
They’re too out of touch with what the current market is like for first time home buyers.
Image credits: NachoDog1000
#9
I went into my first home without a single dollar on a credit card. Not so much anymore….those Home Depot and Lowes card got quite the workout for the first 8 months. It’s settling down now.
Until something breaks.
I will say, learn to be handy if you aren’t. I saved hundreds of dollars cleaning my own gutters and replacing a thermocouple on my furnace. I learned a lot too. YouTube is your friend!
Image credits: Triple_C_
#10
Be mentally prepared for how much furniture costs, and how long it could take to arrive if you’re buying something new… lots of furniture is back ordered or takes 3-6 months to ship.
The first few weeks you’ll notice a lot of things that feel urgent but after a while you may get used to the quirks of your house. I had to adjust to how cold it is without heating on all the time, or how long it takes for the water to heat up. We were considering installing a water recirculation or instant heater but eventually I got used to just waiting longer for the water to heat up.
Image credits: sirotan88
#11
Diatomaceous earth. You will need it eventually. I had ants one summer and a roach setup shop in my fridge in the fall. Diatomaceous earth meant the difference and bought time while I waited for the exterminator appointment.
Image credits: alken0901
#12
If you like an appliance and listing says it’s included, take pictures and try and grab the serial number so it can be included in future at closing. We had the sellers switch out a high end appliance with cheap used one.
Image credits: 404Dawg
#13
It’s way more expensive than just the closing costs and monthly payment. We bought a few months ago and have already spent over 50k in various projects we either wanted or needed to do. Thankful to have the income to support it, but I know a lot of people do not think beyond the closing costs and monthly payment when buying.
Image credits: allfloof-nothoughts
#14
Stressing so badly about mythical problems that don’t exist (yet) is a problem that you need to work. Relax, build your savings and you’ll be prepared for anything.
Image credits: ihatetarkovsomuch
#15
Get preapproved before you do any searching so as not to get your hopes up and waste you and your agent’s time.
Image credits: majjyboy23
#16
If the furniture seems to be in an odd layout on a room, make sure you check or get your inspector to check for any damage or structural issues. I have some very uneven floors that I didn’t notice because furniture was covering those areas during my walk throughs, and thinking back I remember thinking why do they have the furniture laid out like that.
Image credits: goodlordineedacoffee
#17
You don’t have to do or fix every little thing right away. Sit back and evaluate the must-do from the nice-to-have projects. Your life will be so much less stressful.
Image credits: risky_keyboard
#18
Make sure the previous owner pulled all the proper permits.
Image credits: Poopiestofbutts
#19
Anybody that has an interest in you making the purchase is to be trusted with a grain of salt.
Image credits: Retrofool
#20
Try to visit a house on a rainy day or after a heavy rain. As other people have said, water is a fickle beast and it’s good to get a sense of what is going on with the house.
Look VERY carefully at the walls, windows, cabinets, and other places you might gloss over on a first or second walkthrough. I totally missed mid-sized projects I would need to tackle once moving in….
Ask the inspector a LOT of questions. Get a sewer scope done and a radon test….it will all be great negotiating tools later AND it will help you plan out future fixes.
Make sure you know exactly what your comfort limit is on budgeting. Run some calculations on a high appraisal, lower appraisal, etc. Knowing exactly what you can afford and what you are willing to pay are very different things.
Try to find out how much $$ the previous owner (or folks in the neighborhood) pay for utilities. I have been a bit blindsided by those hidden costs!
Image credits: Liquid_Kittens_
#21
One of my key things is what you are seeing outside your windows. And do you have an opportunity to create a nice view. You may not have that chance out all windows but it you can have a nice shot of nature in one or two directions, even if you have to create a garden, it’s a luxury. I feel like you can always fix up the inside however you like which is why I’m always so focused on what surrounds and/ or if there is a nice patio or balcony or yard space.
Image credits: Amalfi-state-of-mind
#22
Closed on 9/30 with my boyfriend. Here’s my comments/advice:
-it takes more money than you think. More than just home maintenance. There were fees for EVERYTHING. My inspection was $600 alone. Be prepared to have that up front.
-Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions. It’s better to know and look silly for asking than to look silly later for not knowing.
-if possible, try to set yourself up to have plenty of move in time. We have a month for our rental lease to be up & are very thankful because there are so many tasks (cleaning walls/baseboards, redoing flooring) that would have been annoying to do with all our stuff inside.
-If you‘be set aside time to see a few houses in one day, rank them in comparison with one another. Point out things you loved and hated (not liked and disliked). That’ll help better understand what you really want/need. It’s very easy to get woo-ed by the showing setup/Zillow pictures.
And last of all, don’t stress about it all too much! It’ll all work out!
Image credits: dry-molassess
#23
It’s remarkable how many wet basements would be dry if people would simply take care of their gutters and make sure the leaders carry the water far enough away.
My first house took in quite a bit of water the first time it rained. I remember thinking how was it so dry when I placed the offer. Turns out the homeowners removed the leaders and stashed them under the porch. I guess they thought it made the house look better. That was the easiest fix I ever had.
Be aware of situations like that where potential problems were covered up.
That house also had a door next to the kitchen that went out to a closed porch. What I didn’t notice was the storm door that wasn’t there. As soon as winter came the condensation on the inside of that door was unbelievable. That’s when I realized there had been a storm door there that they removed. It was relatively easy to install and it would have been taken care of sooner if I had been aware.
Every time I’ve looked at a house since then I look for things that are missing. It’s easier and cheaper to throw something away than to replace/repair it.
Since then I’ve looked at other homes that happen to have missing leaders, storm windows, storm doors etc. light switches that don’t seem to be connected we’re once upon a time connected to something that eventually broke and was removed. Waste disposals are popular item to remove instead of replace too.
Image credits: ironman166
#24
A lot of negative comments on this post. You don’t have to be married to buy a home together, and being married does not mean your relationship is more secure than someone that is married. My biggest advice is to work with a reputable lender and realtor, which it sounds like you are. And keep in mind, the mortgage you get now is not your forever mortgage. You always have the ability to refinance into a lower interest rate when they drop. Don’t let these bitter people drag you down. Go buy that home!
Image credits: Conscious_Sun576
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