Closing on my first house in 2 days...

[onlybygrace]

Any homeowners have any good tips or advice? I can't imagine the feeling I'll have when I walk through the doors and its mine. What was your experience like if you've bought a home?

It's huge @ 2400 sq. feet, 4 BR, 2 BA, 2 Living rooms, an office, gourmet kitchen, and gourmet master bath attached to the master bedroom. Huge deck.

Ahhhh.

[bh446066]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

That a lot bigger than my first house Mine was an 1100 sq. ft. 3 bed/2 bath starter home. It will be awesome, just be prepared to be a part/full time maintenance man.

[Scottdau]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

Nice indeed, Congrats.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

1. This is your house.......therefore if something breaks, you got to fix it yourself or hire somebody to fix it. Either way you coming out of pocket.

2. Check to see if you have a sump pump, if you do, replace it with a new one immediately. You never know how old that current sump pump is. Being a victim of an old sump pump that failed during the beginning of spring rain storms, you definitely don't want to deal with a flooded basement.

3. Check to see where the sump pump outside line drains to. If it is just outside on top of the ground or is it hooked up to the sewer system or some other under ground pipe system. If it is just on top of the ground, buy a sump pump hose, 50 ft long, hook it up to the pipe outside of your house and run that hose as far as way from your house as possible.

4. Check the water heater and all pipes in the basement to see if they are old and if they need to be replaced.

5. Replace the furnance filter.

6. Make sure all the circuit breakers are clearly marked.

7. If it is an old house with old wiring, chances are those light sockets can't handle anything higher then a 60 or 75 watt bulb.

8. Check the window seals, see if you can feel any air leaking in with your hand.

9. Check to see if the deck is water treated, if not, treat it before you put patio furniture on it.

10. Enjoy it !!!!! Take it one step at a time with during the most important projects 1st, such as replacing the sump pump and changing the furnance filter.

Owning a home is an awesome but yet scary feeling at the same time.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

Far as experience go, my 1st house in Indiana.....it flooded during the 1st spring storm because I didn't replace the sump pump........Then over the years I learned that whole side of town was flood prone.... : (

Current house in New England.....all is well so far.....

Replaced the carpet, replaced the kitchen cabinets, painted the walls, added some shelves, new oil boiler( the old one blew)......

Come Spring time, going to spruce up the garage, add some more shelves in there, change the door from a manual lift door to an automatic one.

[mjb2124]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

My first house was a medium sized townhouse. Moved out of my parent's house and was still single so I saw no reason to have a single family home. Bought one in an up and coming area and sold it in 7 years (house appreciated about 50K in those years so it was a good investment). Built a nearly 3000sq ft house with my wife last year. Building was a lot of fun and a lot of work. I think we'll live here for 10-15yrs and then build a bigger house that will be our retirement home - we both prefer building over moving into a pre-existing house. I have a lot of ideas after this one.

[Dog]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

Good luck man.

[djp73]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

spend an hour in each room looking at absolutely everything and make a list of everything you want or need to do in that room then rank the list and start chipping away as you can

been in our first home for just over a year, love it. congrats

[onlybygrace]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

Fortunately this home is just three years old and has been lived in for less than a month...slow market. There is no wear and tear...hell, its practically brand new.

Thanks for all the ideas, though...keep em coming.

[Flightwhite24]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

When signing all the document's make sure you look over everything and not assume. Congrats and enjoy

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

Start planning out your man cave.

[Brandwin]

When signing all the document's make sure you look over everything and not assume. Congrats and enjoy

I agree.

Congrats on the house! It's awesome to know your money is going towards something you will own instead of an apartment.


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Sent from the depths of the sea but I'm heading back to the block

[Scottdau]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

My first house was a medium sized townhouse. Moved out of my parent's house and was still single so I saw no reason to have a single family home. Bought one in an up and coming area and sold it in 7 years (house appreciated about 50K in those years so it was a good investment). Built a nearly 3000sq ft house with my wife last year. Building was a lot of fun and a lot of work. I think we'll live here for 10-15yrs and then build a bigger house that will be our retirement home - we both prefer building over moving into a pre-existing house. I have a lot of ideas after this one.

3000 is a nice size home in highschool my brother and dad and his brothers we built a 6000 house for my dad. I mostly just clean up work site. But my dad has built over 100 home, probably even more than that. He help me on the house I am in now. We remodel almost every room. It rocks having a dad in the construction world. He has done so much for me and this house.

[mjb2124]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

3000 is a nice size home in highschool my brother and dad and his brothers we built a 6000 house for my dad. I mostly just clean up work site. But my dad has built over 100 home, probably even more than that. He help me on the house I am in now. We remodel almost every room. It rocks having a dad in the construction world. He has done so much for me and this house.

6000sq ft? Is that in California? If so, it had to cost over 10MIL. 6000sq ft in my area will cost 1-2 MIL and the cost of living here is much cheaper than CA.

[Scottdau]

Re: Closing on my first house in 2 days...

6000sq ft? Is that in California? If so, it had to cost over 10MIL. 6000sq ft in my area will cost 1-2 MIL and the cost of living here is much cheaper than CA.

It only cost about 500,000 to build. I think in this market it can sell for about 1 million. The area is nice and it has a live in 2 bedroom apartment on the bottom floor. Has killer views of San Fransisco, but I think my dad said he would not take anything less than 2 million. The house is huge. I hope some day that half of that house will be my inheritance.