5 Tips For New Homeowners
#TricksOfTheTrade
5 Things to Do After You Buy a Home
Millennials… we’ve wrecked the diamond industry, are bankrupting department stores, and now we’re single-handedly killing the housing market.
“Home ownership? PSH! Why would I do that when I can rent FOREVER?!”
– Probably a Millennial
Okay, whether or not that is true, one thing is for sure: Owning a home isn’t always as glamorous as it can seem. Unless you buy a home that’s already been perfected by NorCal Homes (shameless plug), there can be a lot of unexpected expenses that come with purchasing a property and turning it into your home.
In an article written by Foxy’s Domestic Side she goes over 5 simple tips you should consider when you buy a home. This well-rounded article goes as far as planning ahead for those unexpected expenses that can come with being a home owner, ie- “I bought this home last year and I just found mold in the master bathroom”. If you haven’t properly budgeted or you haven’t been setting money aside, those kind of maintenance issues can really hit hard.
Take a look at her suggestions and let me know what you think! 🙂
ONE
Make a list of everything that you want to do to your house and prioritize. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and either is doing everything you want in your house. So make a list and try and figure out how much things are going to cost.
TWO
Be patient, you have a budget, stick to it. I know you want to buy drapes and blinds for every window and decorate and fill every room with house, but most likely you have way more room than furniture…take your time, find the pieces that fit you instead of going all out and getting everything at once.
THREE
If you can do it yourself, go for it, if you know it’s above your knowledge hire it out!
FOUR
She took the Dave Ramsey Classes, read about that here and here, that being said her and her husband like to budget for everything.
They were told that you need to save $1 for every square foot of house each year for maintenance. Even if you don’t use it all in that year, you’re going to eventually need to get a new roof, water heater breaks, etc. It’s nice to have that little bit of savings that you know you can use and not have to worry of something major happening.
FIVE
Just remember that you don’t need everything all at once.
They really wanted to get our backyard redone, but figured while they save up the money to get it done, they would use it to see how they really were going to be using the space. Turns out what where they thought we wanted the table was not where it ended up because it was in the direct sunlight all the time. Same goes for the house, use the space a little, it may surprise you how you end up using things!
OH and one last tip…
…buy small plants! They are cheaper and just let them grow! They bought the smallest ones we could, and it took a year, but it was worth saving hundreds of dollars to go the cheaper route, and what’s a year when you’re in your “forever” home? And space out the plants, they grow more than you think, ask the people where you buy the plants how far away you should space it, they totally would have bought too much had theynot asked!
So there you have it, 5 tips of what to do after you buy a house! Hope these were helpful! And congrats on getting your house!