What I learnt in my First Year as a Homeowner

For those of you, who have just bought your first home, congratulations! For those planning to buy one, exciting times are ahead for you! For all the others, please read and enjoy while I take you through my last year’s journey at our first home 🙂

3rd of July marks a big milestone in our life. We moved-in to our first home that day last year. Looking back at it, it feels so nostalgic!

This post is not intended to be a home buying guide. Rather, it is intended to share our learnings from the first year of home ownership. Hope it enlightens any of our friends who are buying a home for the first time.

Learnings as a first-time homeowner

So you ‘have’ or ‘will have’ your own house soon, probably a yard or a pool too. Maybe it’s your starter home or your dream home, but it’s your own. You have put your sweat and blood to get to it. But what is next? It all looks rosy when you buy the place, but once you move in, you realize how daunting little home activities become. Following is my list of things which I learnt in my first year:

Strict Budget Planning

Chances are that you have put down all your savings for the down-payment (If not, then you are really lucky or hard-working or both). Even if you have enough money for the down-payment or installments, it is a good idea to save some money each year and pay towards your loan. It makes a drastic difference to the end interest you will be paying. Plus don’t forget about all the home shopping you need to do. You probably have to cut-down on some of your spendings or at least plan your budget.

TIP: Budget your spendings and try to put some amount towards your loan.

Cleaning

Most probably you are moving into a bigger place than you are living in right now. That means more cleaning and more maintenance! This will take more time out of your daily routine now. And if you have a 1 year old, there is no dearth of chores 😀

TIP: Clean at frequent intervals instead of doing it all at once. Have a target for each week, such as kitchen, storage, windows etc.

Yard work

I was really happy to get a big yard with our home. It meant kid’s playarea and our party area! But what I was not prepared for was all the yard maintenance and cleaning. And with all the rain we have been getting, the lawn and weeds just grow exponentially. You have to mow the lawn at least every 10 days. Trimming the trees in the spring also took us some time. Not to forget about all the tools you need for all this work – lawn mower, weed sprayer, lopper, cultivator, saw etc. Thanks to our neighbors who let us borrow some of the tools.

TIP: Do some yard work every week instead of piling it up, as it just doubles the work. Use weed killers early in the season, to prevent the growth of the weeds. Make friends with your neighbors. 🙂

Pest Issues

After 3 years, we are finally drought free this time, thanks to all the rain that we received this year. But with rains come all kinds of insects and pests. We did get lot of ants this time, but they went away after I used the ant spray on them. But there are so many other factors which can cause them to reappear; if not from you, from your neighbors. And with kids around, you just have to be careful about them.

TIP: If you have a lasting pest problem it is worth taking help from professionals. You can also find plant based pest control treatments which are safe to use around kids.

Overnight Parking

We have a 2 car garage plus a driveway to park our cars, but parking can be tricky depending on which area, city or community your house is in. We were so busy arranging the house in our first week of moving-in that we totally forgot we had parked our car on the curbside beside our house. So next day we found a warning ticket on our car for overnight street parking. But HOA rules may differ on this, so check yours.

TIP: Read the HOA Rules.

Holiday lights

To make the holiday season memorable at our new home, we put in a lot of effort on decorations and lighting. But what we did not know was that they had to be removed by the January month end. We were not aware of this and since we were not using them after Jan, we thought we will remove them when the weather is not too cold and icy. But we got to know the rules the hard way, when we received a HOA notice for the violation.

TIP: Read the HOA Rules. 🙂

Things you ignore while buying

There will be lot of small issues which you will find when you move in. Our kitchen looked really nice during the walk through, but when we moved in I realized that the countertop was tiled instead of a single granite slab. If you did not notice them before you moved in, chances are, you can live with them. But if you cannot, plan for some DIY projects.

TIP: Do not try to fix everything when you move in. You can plan for a small renovation or DIY projects, later.

Automatic Sprinkler System Failure

Automatic sprinkler systems are a great investment for a home, specially if you have big lawn area. But you don’t get to know its real value until one of the pipeline bursts. Yes, a classic newbie mistake! We did not know that the sprinkler system had to be drained out before the arctic cold freezes everything in Denver 🙂 And paid the price with burst pipes outside the home. Lucky for us, my husband’s timely intervention saved us from a flooded basement.

TIP: Turn off the sprinkler system and drain out all the water before reaching freezing temperature. Take some external help for clearing out the sprinkler system or use a compressor to do it yourself. And if by chance you have not yet fixed the sprinkler or you don’t have one, buy a sprinkler set which can be attached to the hose. They are really cheap and useful for hands-free watering.

Trash Removal

During our first week, we did not know about the trash removal day. Thanks to our neighbor who welcomed us with cookies and explained the process to us. We did take out the trash before the pickup, but still got a notice for not putting it out on time. So be punctual about getting the trash out and read the HOA rules!

TIP: Read the HOA rules, make friends with your neighbors and Recycle!

Plumbing issues

Gone are the days when you could call a maintenance person, who will come to fix that broken tap, pipe or flush for you. You still can call for professional help, but now you have to pay for it! We have had a problem with the toilet handle which remains in the flushed position until you lift it up. But as lazy as we are, we are still living with the workaround. Maybe we will learn how to fix it in our second year 😉

TIP: Well not much here except, don’t let your drains get clogged, will save you from a lot of trouble!

Cement deck issues

We have a cemented deck in our backyard. But due to settlement of the soil, the deck has started showing some cracks, which is quite common in our area. I initially had my mind set on wooden deck and was planning to replace our cemented deck. But my colleague friend Phil explained to me how a cemented deck is easier to maintain and can look just as nice as wooden decks by staining or stamping techniques.

TIP: Wait for 2-3 years for the soil to settle and then get the cement repair or treatments done.

Appliance maintenance

The home appliances and equipments get old and there will always be the regular wear & tear. We were aware of the fact that our water heater was at the end of its life during our inspection. So it did not come to us as a surprise when the heater started leaking. We had to get it replaced along with some corrections to bring the whole water heater assembly up-to the state regulation code. This meant $500 out of pocket beyond amount paid by our home insurance coverage .

TIP: Account for appliance maintenance and repair/replacement costs. Buy home warranty to be on the safer side – a one-year service agreement that covers the repair or replacement of many major home system components and appliances that typically breakdown over time due to normal wear and tear.

Benefits for a first-time homeowner

But a home is not just all work, it is fun too! Following are some of the things I enjoyed in my first year:

1. I am not draining away my money on the rent, instead I am building a valuable asset.
2. Now each of the family member has his/her own room, besides the guest room and office.
3. Now we have our separate bathrooms plus a powder room for guests.
4. We have a big kitchen space to enjoy cooking and family meal time.
5. We have decorated and painted the house, as we like it.
6. We do not have to go outside for laundry!
7. We have a big yard where kids can play all day.
8. We have a big deck to host the grilling parties!
9. We have 2-car parking garage, which fits 2 of our cars and a motorbike.
10. We can choose our own providers for cable or internet.

This is definitely not an all-inclusive list or may not be applicable for everybody. This is just to emphasize that buying a home is a big commitment and you need to make sure you are ready for it. And once you have decided to buy one, it is the beginning of exciting times!

So are you planning to buy your first home? Or do you have some tips for me for the second year? 🙂

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