One Year Later ~ First Time Home Ownership Lessons and Upgrades

We have officially been in our first ~purchased~ home for over ONE year!

It's surreal that this is ours. I still walk through my front door and can't believe that this is actually mine after ~nearly~ 20 years of renting.

We have made several changes within the year; subtle and major. And we've learned several lessons...

This post is dedicated to the ins and outs of what we've learned through hard lessons -though not entirely unexpected- and the ups and downs of changes.

LESSONS:

1. MONEY

I'm sure we all considered this fact, but it goes beyond home ownership. Realtors, friends, family and co-workers will tell you to to set X amount aside for what can and will go wrong with your new home, BUT they (and we) tend to forget that other shit in between can go wrong, too.

In the past year, I've had several car issues. Because I am a full time student (full time meaning 17 credits per semester), I am not working full time, rather substitute teaching on the side where it fits into my course schedule, where I can. The sub pay is trash, TBH.

I didn't expect my car to smack me in the face. We purchased it new in 2012 and have had zero major issues, no accidents and have kept regular maintenance. But recently, after a long, ongoing issue with a brake service company, we found out they kept overlooking the fact (three times, to be exact) that we needed new brake LINES, not new brakes. Lost $1,200 when they refused to refund. Then came the alternator. $800. And then, the worst news...after having a major malfunction going 75mph, and nearly dying on the freeway with kids in the car, my transmission failed. 

75 mph to 0 in one second. 

That fix with a brand new, Mopar OEM tranny: $5,900

Happy to be alive, honestly.

Look y'all. This car is paid off and is maybe worth $8k max. But with my work status, it just made more financial sense to fix the issues instead of buying a new car with the equivalent same down payment and making monthly payments after the fact. Otherwise the car would be worth about $0, and in this market, $0 resale value anyway. 

Bonus: My teen kids HATE the swagger wagon minivan, though when they were younger they thought nothing of it. It has been my pleasure to drive them around in it, more now than ever because of this! My plan is to hold out to sell until my last baby graduates in May 2024...!!! Mom spite. And I hate payments, so why not?

My big point: Always have extra money in an account shoved away, for reasons beyond your new home. You will need it. Money that just sits, forgotten about. Not a vacation fund. Not a project fund. Just extra to literally sit and wait until havoc breaks loose in life.

Also, other random shit has popped up since purchase: December 30, 2021: Two kids needed wisdom teeth extraction =$1,600 out of pocket after insurance. Family vaca in summer 2022 (optional, I know). Christmas sucks and makes us all feel poor, as usual. College expenses. And then the next matter...

    2. ESTIMATED PROPERTY TAXES

We closed on December 30, 2021. Our lender required us to have the 'first' three months of escrow in the account at closing, which was roughly $1,200. 

But come May 2022, four months into ownership, the tax bill came. 

Escrow was short $455, and due in September 2022. Our mortgage account would've been negative if this excess balance was not paid, so it had to be paid in full at $455 before August. Luckily our 2023 tax bill will be the same as 2022 because of a county vote for no change, so I can better manage paying a little into extra escrow per month to avoid pulling an extra lump sump amount out of my ass after a summer vacation.

If you just bought your first home, pay attention to levies, taxes, millage rates, etc. Trust me. All of these local 'politics' affect you! If you don't like the proposed changes, VOTE! And attend townhall meetings.

    3. YOU OWN THIS BITCH

There is no landlord. YOU are the LORD of your manor! 

No one will save you if your kitchen sink leaks, if your roof shingles blow off, if pests invade the lawn, if your stove exhaust dies, if your bathroom exhaust falls out of the ceiling at random, if two of your stove burners stop working, if your bathtub needs new caulking, if the sprinkler head bursts into a Bellagio fountain, if a condenser in your heat pump blows, if a shower is fixture is broken, etc,.

I would know. Each of the above has happened to us within the past year!

I had no one to call for a free fix like I did when I was renting. But when I was a renter, I did many fixes on my own with my own money because of convenience. Sometimes it was easier to pay a few bucks and learn to fix myself with YouTube rather than wait for a maintenance dude to come three days later while I was at work. Ugh. The joy. Regardless, these lessons have made me quite handy!

No matter the issue, most fixes will cost money. The most expensive for us this year was the condenser for the heat pump (for one of our HVAC units) at $100 parts and labor, though I know it's not a tough job to change it.

Think about getting a home warranty ~different than home insurance~ and pay attention to the coverage policies! I have mine through Liberty Home Guard, and I negotiated my monthly price for the "Total" package (the best package), saving $25 per month opposed to what was advertised at the time. For $80 per service call, my problem is inspected, and either fixed or replaced. Think of the $80 as a deductible. However, it's be dumb to call them and pay $80 for a known issue that can be solved with $20 and a trip to Home Depot, which is how we repaired our recent sink problem.

       4. UPDATES, UPGRADES and RENOVATIONS

Don't get over your head about those marble counters!

We had a small vision when we moved in. But within the first month of living here, it grew exponentially and there is no way we will complete the vision. Some of the costs are not worth it, despite feeling like they are when watching HGTV. We know this isn't our forever home, and we are not willing to make it as such. However, we do want to enjoy our investment. Thus the key is finding balance.

We knew this house HAD to be painted. But some of our walls are 18 feet high, and I wasn't about to die for that kind of pretty. Also, quality paint (which is 100% worth it) is EXPENSIVE. In the end, painting throughout the interior, with and without professional help, cost us over $3,500 to do the entire interior of the house -Minus ceilings-  and the exterior gables. If you have read my past paint post, I did get around to the bedrooms, bathrooms and laundry room since then which is why the cost you see now is higher.

Ummm, hated this blue and had to remix!

Fencing: The first quote for a backyard fence came in at $7,100. The second at $6,000. YIKES. Thinking we are going to tackle this on our own soon! It should save us about $3k-4k. But it will not be easy, nor fun. We know this is true.

We did do a few landscaping projects within the first year, though! Added in brick edging for the flower beds out front. Also planted a few trees. Nothing major.

Fixtures: I have now updated each and every interior light here. No more titty, boobie lights! With the exception of the 18' high fixtures, and ceiling fans in the upstairs bedrooms, I did all of the work myself. 

The ceiling fans in the upstairs bedrooms were $300 for labor and $300 for the four fans = $600.

The replacements for all boob light domes throughout the house were $200 with some extensive digging on sales. I saved money by installing myself. Finally, my 18' foyer light and living room fan/light were $250 combined, but labor to install was $600 =$850

Overall light fixtures: Total $1,650.00 

*Still haven't changed bathroom lights, nor the main owner suite light/fan. But we did buy new shades for super cheap, which looks 100X better

The old:

The original droopy boo light that came with the house

Droopy boob and perky flush mount boob. Gross.

This formal dining chandelier was a million pounds and way too big for the room. Plus, it wasn't my style. Honestly, I didn't hate it, but the frosted shades and size were NOT IT.

The NEW!

Our exterior lights were also awful. Not rusted, but sad and crusty. Instead of replacing, we repainted, and without removing! Total cost with a 1/4 days work: $16 in spray paint. 

Sure, I wish they were more modern, but they turned out great, and I'm not mad about it. It was a huge change to the exterior, though not dramatic.

We have yet to get a carpet quote for the upstairs bedrooms and the staircase. Downstairs and all common areas upstairs are wood only. My husband and I fight about this. I would rather deal with the carpet for now and have a buyer allowance when we sell. He'd rather replace them all now, but if we do so, there's potential for them to become damaged, stained, or generally fucked before resale, potentially putting off a buyer. I think the compromise is getting at least the staircase done, as it is the first thing you see when entering the threshold.

I have looked into new countertops throughout...not entirely sure I want to sell my soul to the devil at this time in my life. We're talking $8k plus, depending on material. I'd like a basic quartz or unfancy granite, and even then, expensive AF. But we did install a cute little decorative bar behind the stovetop. 

Also, we have this giant, open railing/catwalk that overlooks the living room. It's a beautiful feature, but not conducive to a younger family lifestyle, or even sound containment. To build a wall -not to sound like TFG- according to the space, permits, and code, it would cost $20k. Hard pass.

I could go on. But the point I am trying to make is that the visions you may have when placing an offer can be costly once you've purchased. It's not always a simple or cheap fix. And it will not always make sense to initiate or complete later. 

If in doubt, wait it out. Seriously.

Make sure the house you buy has the bones you already appreciate!

I don't hate my dark, brown/tan tone granite counters as much as I once did, nor my dark kitchen cabinets, though I still want an alabaster white. My dark flooring doesn't bother me, at all, now that I've lived with it for over a year. I actually prefer it over gray and other trendy color schemes. Classic and timeless.

Because this is not our forever home, we have to be practical about changes knowing we will sell. But in the meantime, small changes sure help it feel like home!