Board 8 > So I bought a house today

(+) Yeah! (+)

Closed today to be exact

Dont know if yall will remember about me posting about my dad and grandpa dying in a 3 month span late last year.

Because of all that happening, my brother and I started receiving our trust fund that my grandpa had been working on for the last 30 years.

Its a very weird feeling going from having no memory of ever living in a house to owning one. Any random advice would be appreciated, even if you think its super obvious.

Today is really the first day of the rest of my life and its a good but weird feeling.

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Did you already have the house professionally inspected? If so, any problems show up?
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Can I move in? I'll pay $600 rent every month.

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Grats. We only relatively recently moved into a townhome we own instead of an apartment we rent.

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The house is only 5 years old, and the only issue found was an outlet outside the garage needs to be replaced.

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TheRock1525 posted...

Can I move in? I'll pay $600 rent every month.

in all honesty after a year or 2 if no personal relationships have blossomed Ill probably look into having a roommate

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Definitely fix that outlet asap. A bad outlet can cause a spark, which can... yeah.

Also remember that you're on your own for exterior maintenance, so try to remember to schedule time for that. If you live in an area with winter, make sure you have a shovel and a snowplow.

If you have a patio of any kind, use it. It's a really great thing to have. Just remember to bring your furniture inside come winter, unless it's weatherproof.

Don't bother with major redecorations to whatever "style" is in - focus on improvements for function with that money you do have. A new paint color can't hurt, and isn't expensive unless you hire a professional painter. Anything that's annoying can be adjusted. (Having a microwave above the oven is particularly annoying if you live with two or more others.)

NEVER use wallpaper. It's a pain in the ass to remove it if you change your mind, unless it's the "removable" kind. It's also not usually worth the price.

It may also be beneficial to have an inspector come through every decade or so. One may find things that aren't apparent to you. Budget is of course important.

If you don't have a room you intend to use much, it can always be used for storage. Still, don't keep too many things in there - it will become a dust heaven if it's ventilated.

Find good home insurance coverage. It's necessary.

(Btw, I am not covering everything - I still live in an apartment but my parents have talked to me about these things.)
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Do you have an HoA?

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You on a well, or city water?

Make sure you have some kind of outside main water line insurance, if you have trees and things around that could cause damage to it. It almost always under the ground, and if it breaks or starts to leak the only option is digging it up and replacing it. Its a 5k+ fix depending on how hard it is to get to.

Plus you can get insurance to cover it for like 5 bucks a month, so 60 a year. So if you never use it and pay for 100 years, you would still break even.

Trust me its worth it.

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Outlet is on the todo list

Im moving in Tuesday, spending the next couple days painting one of the rooms and doing a good cleaning of the carpet.

There is a mandatory HOA

City water, and that is something Ill look into

I am looking forward to having a patio!

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When you leave for an extended period of time, turn off all the water and flush the toilets. Alternatively, get someone to check in on the house every couple days.

First time I went away for over a week in my new house, there was a toilet leak which went through the ceiling and drywall. So unnecessary...

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Oof, mandatory HOA

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foolm0r0n posted...

When you leave for an extended period of time, turn off all the water and flush the toilets. Alternatively, get someone to check in on the house every couple days.

If it's a pain to turn the water off, you can leave it on and have someone flush the toilets on a weekly basis. Prevents stagnant water. My parents have me do that when they're away. Additionally, it's good to run the faucets for a few minutes on a weekly basis in winter so they don't freeze (30 seconds every couple weeks is fine in summer).

Also: Be sure to meet your neighbors! It's good to know who lives next to you and have a good relationship with them. You can watch each others' backs that way.

The mandatory HOA is kind of a problem though. It's not like a Condo Owners' Association - it's just a bunch of dicks who police the exterior appearance of your house. I remember my sister getting a nastygram from them saying they'd fine her because "DECK STAIN NOT APPLIED." She got out of it by saying that they were replacing the deck in a few months because it was rotted. It may be a good idea to ask neighbors what the HOA is like so you know how to invest your time and money.
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I have an HOA but they're pretty lax. Plus they maintain the yard so that's nice.

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Eat your neighbors and take their property

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Whiskey_Nick posted...

Eat your neighbors and take their property

No, eat their property and take their names.

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You should have had the chance to review the HOA bylaws before you closed on the house. Some HOAs can be a pain but some can also be very useful, or necessary even.
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yea ive looked it over, doesnt seem to be anything problematic but maybe something becomes more apparent down the road

Meeting the neighbors is something im slightly anxious about but mainly from a history of having terrible apartment neighbors

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Dr_Football posted...

Because of all that happening, my brother and I started receiving our trust fund that my grandpa had been working on for the last 30 years.

Its a very weird feeling going from having no memory of ever living in a house to owning one.

Similar situation. Dad died. I spent three years cleaning out his house so I could sell it without just deep-sixing all the things my parents acquired in their lifetime. Then I turned around and bought a house of my own with the proceeds when I assumed I would be a lifelong renter. It's been almost two years now.

You've already bought the house, so no suggestions there. Also, your place is only five years old, which means you probably have a lot less to worry about with maintenance and dubious upkeep the previous owner did. My most frequent issue with the house is that the last guy was a DIY'er and some of his work looked good until I started actually living here. Made some strange decisions like stacking the washer and dryer on top of each other over the sump pit. They also left some repairs behind for me to handle that I couldn't see because I bought it with them still living there. Dents in the walls, that kinda thing.

However, the single biggest problem I've had is flooding. Last year with Hurricane Isaac my basement flooded with two feet of water. The entire neighborhood was underwater, with a literal river in the street. That was a huge ordeal, but I patched the spot where water was clearly getting in, and this year when Ida blew up this way, the storm wreaked similar havoc in general but I only got an inch. (My water heater and dryer both decided to kick the crapper, though.) Apparently the neighborhood had no history of flooding prior to Isaac, so it sounds like something changed up the block in terms of drainage, rather than the last owner simply not reporting anything.

If you have a house large enough for you and at least one other person, I'd look into it now. I got a 3-bedroom even though I'm alone, figuring it was room for future expansion and in the meanwhile I knew someone who was actively asking me if I wanted to get a place with him. The rent he pays me covers a lot of the bills, and I'd probably be pretty lonely if it was just me and the cats all the time even though I'm a very private person who likes to pace back and forth and talk to myself. He's a bit of a hermit, too, and stays in his room all day, so it works out. I got to not have complete and utter isolation during the pandemic, and ~$6k/yr to pay for taxes and such.

Do you have furniture and a layout planned and such?


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Oh yeah, post pics

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I have some furniture (a lot inherited from my grandpa, a mix of old and new stuff)

I have a rough idea of the layout but gonna have multiple eyes helping me. Im moving most everything on Tuesday (hiring movers, I dont really have enough time or friends to do it myself ).

Buying a new master bed and new fridge. Just got done repainting one room (it was pink for their children)

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these are some pics of how the previous owners had it set up

https://ap.rdcpix.com/e8241003f74db6f8e2a4de21ab8aa4d5l-m2157635475od-w1024_h768_x2.webp

https://ap.rdcpix.com/e8241003f74db6f8e2a4de21ab8aa4d5l-m1490890790od-w1024_h768_x2.webp

https://ap.rdcpix.com/e8241003f74db6f8e2a4de21ab8aa4d5l-m959270192od-w1024_h768_x2.webp

https://ap.rdcpix.com/e8241003f74db6f8e2a4de21ab8aa4d5l-m2721895863od-w1024_h768_x2.webp

https://ap.rdcpix.com/e8241003f74db6f8e2a4de21ab8aa4d5l-m3840375393od-w1024_h768_x2.webp


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Me in front of the house. Just realized I havent taken any pictures of it empty inside


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Looks very nice congrats

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Looks beautiful, that safe room/vault thing came with it?

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I had to pay extra to keep that, but its a reliable above ground tornado shelter which is important in Oklahoma

https://atlassaferooms.com/titan-storm-shelter/

I believe its this one, so I paid less than that, and it helped raise the appraisal of the house for more than I spent total, which is pretty good in this market

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start an ongoing list or schedule of recurring things that need fixing / cleaning / maintenance / replacing

there's obvious stuff like mowing the lawn every one or two weeks, or cleaning things like the bathtub that you might not have bothered with in rented apartments, but there'll be plenty things like replacing a filter on the heater or cleaning a bbq once or twice a summer that you might have never known were a thing. does your washer and dryer require maintenance once a year? do you need to do a big weeding a few times a year to keep the yard under control? how old is your hot water tank and does it need replacing in the next few years?

personally I tend to forget about a lot of yearly things until they are way past due. a schedule can help you stay reasonably on track.

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Dr_Football posted...

I had to pay extra to keep that, but its a reliable above ground tornado shelter which is important in Oklahoma

Using similar logic, you should probably have a safe for your most important things (i.e. passport, tax documents, gun, deed to house/car, etc.). That way they won't get swept away in case of a tornado, too, unless it's a really strong one.

I'm taking it you guys don't have basements, because I've always been told to go to the basement if I'm at a house or other small structure (I'm in Wisconsin). Hallways away from glass work in buildings like the cinder block fortress my apartment is in. But that said, tornado warnings are rarer here than they are in Oklahoma.

In the same vein as what Cly said above, I'd also suggest inventorying things you have in some way. Whether that's putting things in labeled boxes in storage or keeping a spreadsheet, it's good to know what you have and where it is. That way, if you could've sworn you bought this one thing, you can find it more easily if you're organized.

I also suggest not buying anything you don't need (that isn't decorative) without selling something else first. Clutter = bad, and the more it builds up, the harder the project becomes.
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The soil on Oklahoma makes it difficult to have actual basements. Most people know someone who has built a shelter, usually built into and under the garage. Above ground shelters are also common but its preferred to be underground.

Thank You all for the advice, some of it is stuff I had an idea about but definitely learning some new stuff

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Kitchen looks a little dated but everything else about the pics looks really nice. (I had to figure out how to open webp files without my computer choking on a turnip or I'd probably have said so sooner.)

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Kitchen looks a bit better in person but that will be the first project in the future once I get a couple of trust payments and built up more of a rainy day fund

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Really obvious as you've rented before, but helper shelves are still awesome. A lot of my knowledge is secondhand, based on having boomer parents who now own their home outright.

Get locks changed yesterday. Otherwise someone out there is floating around with keys to your house, that's a big security nope.

Take inventory of all the things you need to regularly do to maintain your home, and split it into 4, do one every week and you'll have it done completely once a month.

Extremely important - maintain your large appliances. Clean out the coils under your fridge, make sure your furnace and air conditioner are cleaned and checked at least once a year, put a cleaning tablet in your dishwasher and/or sink's garbage disposal.

Another good way to deodorize a disposal is to freeze sliced citrus fruit peels [after you eat/use an orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit] and throw them in there, then pour water over it as you run the disposal. The citrus oils keep it smelling nice.

Keep an eye on when garbage/recycle pickup is. You may have greater capacity containers than you did before when you were renting, so they'll hold more - this is great except when you forget trash day. As always, it's important to wipe out the cans regularly, put newspaper or something else absorbent at the bottom of your garbage bags, rinse your recycles to avoid foul smells or attracting bugs, etc.

Do whatever your HOA will allow re: maintenance and gardening. It's fun to be able to create your own space. If you're a crafty type, you could start germinating seeds in late winter/early spring for flowers or veggies if they're allowed.

Get some art to help visually break up the walls [or go more neutral if you're allowed to repaint, statistically very few people actually like yellow].

Hope that helps.

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Dr_Football posted...

Me in front of the house. Just realized I havent taken any pictures of it empty inside

Looks great dude. Congrats

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It sounds obvious but it is weird going from taking your trash out to a dumpster every time you bag is full vs filling your own can and wheeling it out once a week.

Also not having to drive to the mail box


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Work in progress with my no way matching collected furniture over the years but pretty happy so far!

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Looks home-y. Maybe it's not your home's true final form, but for a "I'm in the middle of moving in" state, you have every right to look around the room and feel really happy. Because, I mean, it's never going to be cleaner than it is right now, and you're eventually going to find little things to get annoyed about. Enjoy it while you can.

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Looks great! Matching furniture is way overrated, imo. I grew up in a home where nothing matched, now it's nicely coordinated now that my folks are close to retirement age and it still throws me off a little bit, haha.

If you are going to get a rug:


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the idea of a rug going under all that stuff sits poorly with me. if thats your goal, then you should just have carpet to begin with.

give me the Don't rugs

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You want your furniture on the rug or else one or the other is going to slide when you move on it.

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congratulations, i'm excited for you! that shaded backyard porch area looks so comfortable.

tally me as pro-rug. for me they transform a space and give it more solidarity or something. otherwise, all of my furniture just feels like a bunch of asteroids floating in a formless sea of hardwood, no matter what i do. they're almost like little zoning markers. nice for preventing floor scratches, too.

and lastly, this might be all in my head, but i feel like they soften echoes and feel better on my toes

i've always wanted to own a house, but have been too fearful of committing and planting roots in one place

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