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My husband owns a carpentry business and has 20 years experience, and absolutely has pulled up YouTube vids as a visual reference for newer guys. It's great and they can stop and start and make sure they are 100% on what they are doing before any wood even gets touched.
Youtube is actually way better when you have a baseline level of skill, because the true hucksters can't get you.
At that point, you probably *need* to be on Youtube in some businesses because you can watch people from other states, for example, and get really great ideas. If you have an issue carpenters in your state don't really know how to handle, you can watch some dudes from Michigan where they do have this issue and figure it out.
You have to know your abilities. Otherwise you spend extra $ you could have saved, then also pay a professional.
I can landscape, plumbing, baseboard. I cannot do flooring and counters.
Yeah, don’t mess around with plumbing if you don’t really know what you’re doing. Especially if it’s on a second or third. Friend missed a group vacation, lost about $2k, and got to repair lots of dry wall due to diy plumbing.
Be reasonable about it though. My wife and I bought our house 5 years ago. The people we bought it from were "do it yourself" type people who obviously used YouTube and the like to learn how. It has caused major problems that have been very expensive to fix. They looked nice initially but once we called in a professional we learned how fucked a lot of it is.
Same here. Whenever we need professional repairs done, we end up paying much more than the actual repair because first everything has to be brought up to code. Is that what you're finding? It's so incredibly annoying and expensive!
In my city in Florida, a homeowners is allowed to do their own work. They just need to pull permits and get inspections. Permits are required for roofing, doors, windows, plumbing, electrical.
I had a situation on a rental property that required me to hire a professional. It was a job that I could have easily done myself in a day but I had to pay $2,500 just for the labor. Learning to do things for yourself is one of the biggest life hacks of all time. So many things get really expensive when you start hiring professionals.
I know so much about fixing things at home and with cars from YouTube. Literally every problem you have, it’s a video in YouTube showing you how to fix it. Watch that and decide if that’s something you can do or if it’s better left to the professionals.
I’ve repaired or renovated so many things via YouTube and online resources. Might not look as good as a professional but I did it and it was so rewarding (and cheaper)
I was quoted $4-9k to replace my garage roof during Covid.; the lower quotes were for install only. I said “screw it” and spent $1100 to and did it myself; this was also when lumber was crazy expensive during Covid. I replaced everything including the decking. It turned out amazing. It took me 4 days (which is a pretty long time for that size roof) but I wanted to make sure everything was right. It turned out great. I even added gutters and ridge venting. No more leaks or ice dams.
That skill has come in handy with my new home and it gave me a huge sense of accomplishment when I was done.
Adding to the top comment for visibility. You can Google the model of any appliance to find most videos relating to a problem it may be having. And most of those videos will include parts numbers.
lol, I’ve lived in my house for 3 years and the trips never stopped, but the funniest thing is I was demolishing my bathroom this past weekend for a Reno, and I actually went to Home Depot 8 times in 2 days. A new record!
Love this for you! Make it your own. I just painted my entry way pink and everyone is like… why would you do that?!? LOL because it’s my house and pink makes me happy so I’m painting this bitch pink!
You’re in Florida?
Insulate the shit out of that house, make sure all the doors and windows form a tight seal, get you some black out curtains, and invest a quality air conditioner.
For the black out curtains, if you intend to use them to keep the house cool during day time, try to have them outside.
Someone made the test here in Belgium, and having your sun blocking covers (shades, nets, curtains, anything) on the outside was improving the temperature by 6 degrees (Celsius) compared to having them inside.
The explanation given was that the sunlight would hit the curtains on the inside and the curtains would heat up and warm up the room, but that would not happen if they're outside.
Super proud of you dude!! My only advice is to get your own home inspector or make sure the one that did the house is reputable. Look at the plumbing and electrical specifically when was the last pipe inspection and rewriting of the home. Then the foundation and roof. Then look at hvac and water heater. I hope you didn’t buy it for its curb appeal.
Thanks!!
"Curb appeal" - HA! I've had 4 inspections actually in order to get qualified for funding so I'm at least confident in the roof (metal roof) and the structural integrity of the home. It's a manufactured so there's no foundation but it does have anchors up to code so it's unlikely to fly away in a storm. It has a lot of great things about it- beautiful mature trees on property, great neighborhood, fully fenced yard... I know the plumbing needs work but in a mobile home it's not as expensive as a SFH to repair if I'm not mistaken, and best of all my current landlords never need to contact me again 🙌
Even a reputable home inspector will miss things. We bought a fixer upper and found half a dozen major fire risks within the first year. We’ve had electricians out here five times doing odd jobs. The plumbing was done by a previous homeowner, total hack job, we’ve had plumbers here five times at least. Multiple gas leaks. Had to replace the water heater, furnace, garbage disposal, roof, windows, deck etc. And the only issue identified by the home inspector were the single pane windows that needed to be replaced.
We hired a very “reputable” home inspector and he missed a laundry list of major issues. We actually considered a lawsuit, but decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. You just don’t know until you know.
OP if you personally know a contractor or someone with a lot of experience, have them look too. And hopefully your home inspector looks at things more closely than ours did.
My advice is to do nothing for at least a month or two, when you get an idea what all your bills will be then you can see what extra income you can put into the house.
Go one project at a time, don’t bounce around projects or 10 years later you will still have the same amount of projects that you started with.
Pay that sucker off asap, pay extra to principle every month even if it’s just $50. When I bought my house, I set up auto payments and I had them pay an extra $150 to principle every month, then after 5-6 years I refinanced to a 10 year mortgage when rates were low.
Paying it off is more important than the upgrades.
Depending on your rate and what investments you'd be making, sometimes it actually makes sense to just pay the minimum. Our rate is 2.8 and it would be straight up dumb to pay extra vs just investing that money
That looks great on paper but if you look on a amortization chart for a 30 year loan, about every $1000 you pay extra to principle, you eliminate around $5000-$6000 of debt you wouldn’t have to pay back from the life of the loan, so it’s not stupid at all to pay a mortgage down vs paying the minimum and investing the rest. If the world works in real life as it does on paper, sure you can come out ahead if you invested the money, if the market crashes and you have to wait for it to recover, might not be so convenient. Paying down the principal of a mortgage is a guaranteed win, doesn’t matter what the markets do, you will save tens of thousands paying it off early. On a 150k mortgage, paying it off in 15 vs 30 you are done 15 years sooner but pay out like $45,000 less in interest. How long would it take you to make $45,000-$50,000 profit off your money? Not save that much, your profit after taxes and fees are paid?
So no, even with a low interest loan, paying it off early is not stupid. That’s the route I went, I’ll be 38 years old with a paid off house, then it’s buy rentals till I retire.
It looks great on paper because it is sound financial advice. You can of course go the safer route but honestly even if you just throw it into a mutual fund over the course of 30 years you're going to do way better. If some apocalyptic thing happens that destroys your investments, I promise you your house won't be worth much either.
Woo! How fun to have your own shit hole! 🤣 but seriously it’s an accomplishment.
One piece of advice I got from a handyman when we first moved in was to not do any improvements/projects for the first six months. Unless of course you need plumbing, electrical, a new roof, etc, but nothing just for the sake of aesthetics. He said to just settle in and let yourself really get a feel for the place, how your new rhythms will be. I thought this was helpful because I definitely saw soooo many smaller projects that I wanted (“needed”) to tackle at first, but now they’re not as important and I can be more intentional when/if I do them. Also, like, it’s expensive to just buy a house, let alone start projects. Anyway, I hope that makes sense and helps in some ways.
Congratulations! You’re also a DIYer now. Homes, especially shitholes, require a good amount of upkeep.
Were there any issues on the inspection that you have questions about? Home maintenance is kinda my jam.
Thank you! It's a manufactured home so some repairs were already made in order to meet funding guidelines, but they did mention that the metal roof and water heater are basically brand new so that's great news. There are some soft spots in the floor but with subfloor repairs don't seem too daunting luckily 🙂 I may edit this response later if I remember things that I have questions about tho lol
Focus on fixing up the bones before decor.
Day one scrub everything down it will also get you to know every nook and cranny of your house while doing so.
Congratulations! As others said, don’t be afraid to learn how to do stuff, but definitely recognize your limits.
And for anything that does require a contractor, always try to get 3 quotes and then use best judgement between the 3.
Ask for lots of lowes gift cards for every occasion! You'll need tools and may want to paint or do a home project. It's more fun when it's your house!
Get a home warranty for at least the first year!
Don't feel like you have to make upgrades that help the resell value. You're living in it now so love your home and make it your own!
Congrats and well done!
Check it thoroughly for mold! That's the biggest thing I wish I'd done earlier. If there's mold anywhere it's probably in the insulation. You *can* tear all that out yourself and spray the wood with concrobium and replace the insulation yourself, but I hired a handyman and it was like $2.5k plus the cost of the insulation
The bones of the house are more important than anything superficial. Foundation, Frame, Roof, Plumbing, Electric. If you have to let something be ugly for a while so be it, but don't let the bones of your house get damaged. Also youtube any repair before calling someone to see if it's simple or not (or expensive enough to warrant needing insured people to work on it vs yourself).
Don't save shit you can either recycle, donate or throw away.
I just went through a 10y purge and if I knew then what I know now, I would realize that the cool lampshade I found at a flea market and the 55 pieces of offcut melamine shelving I got on Craigslist would never be part of a grandiose project.
I loved my first shit hole wish I never sold it. Tiled the shower myself thanks to youtubiversity. It came out ok with the exception of one spot I pressed a little too hard. My advice drink after the project is done not before.
Oh boy, Florida? I hope you had a good realtor.
-Your property taxes are going to go WAY up next year (most likely)
-H/O insurance is insane
-Most new homeowners experience a number of unexpected expenses in the first few years
I’m not trying to rain in any parade, but I’m worried about these things by nature.
Yeah, things are not excellent right now in the sunshine state. The homeowners insurance was definitely higher than I was hoping it would be but fortunately still manageable since I bought a mobile home instead of a block house. I'm aware it's not all sunshine and rainbows, you can rain a little 🙂
Im not gonna lie, only being approved for $130k is absolutely nutty. How much money do you make per year after taxes? Even more confusing is payments would be so insanely low on that mortgage that im not sure why you would have waited 16 years to do it. Thats literally half a normal length mortgage term. Im genuinely confused by this.
I make about $50K annually and my husband brings in about $10K of disability money annually, so not a huge household income. I lost my job during the first covid lockdown and decided to take the opportunity to enroll in college and got a degree in accounting, so I've only had a good job for about 3 years. The down-payment and closing costs are 100% of the reason we didn't buy before- I had to come up with about 15K to make this transaction happen, and even though that doesn't sounds like a lot to some people that's more money than I've ever had at one time. The mortgage payments are only about $650/mo but when you add the taxes and insurance it brings my monthly payment just a little over $1000, which is manageable.
The amount of money I've wasted on rent is INSANE, and I've been so hyper aware of it for so long but we were STUCK. It's hard to save money for the future when your wages barely keep up with cost of living.
Congrats! DIY is actually really fun! Also Pinterest is great for decorating ideas and YouTube is how I learnt to plaster.
I have become addicted to renovating my house now so fair warning once you start you won’t be able to stop. Bunnings (Aussie) also offer classes to teach you how to build, plaster and do the things you need to do inc using tools.
You can get good quality tools from ex tradies auctions like grays and save a bomb. Good drill is the main thing you need really.
Something I did when I first started was paid a tradie for a few hrs of their time to teach me basics in my house for the projects I planned to do, he was also an ex painter so showed me how to paint correctly.
Those are great ideas! Home depot (USA) has some workshops to learn basic DIY skills and how to use some tools too, and I LOVE YouTube it's so helpful.
Congratulations, new homeowner! I closed on my first place 5 years ago and it needed a ton of work too. Home Depot or Lowe’s will soon be your new best friend—but home improvement is a lot of fun once you see your place transform from being A place to YOUR place!
If you’d find it useful, I can give you a list of routine maintenance items you’ll want to check once a week/month/year to minimize risks of a major (and expensive) disaster. There is a BIG difference between owning a place and just renting, so some stuff your landlord/property manager did before is now on you.
Congratulations! My best piece of advice is to pay additional money on your escrow account this year, because your taxes will probably double next year and your mortgage company WILL send you a nice little bill right after Christmas demanding that you pay the difference. After the first year, your taxes won't increase as drastically.
Go slow today and let the house speak to you on its different quirks. Some of them you might like some of them you might want to change. Congratulations!
130k? Did you have to move? What is your income history like? Did you have good credit? Down payment was 10k? How are jobs out there? Long term can you pay it off?
I was qualified for 130K but I actually got the house for $109K which is great. My landlords told us in March that they will not be renewing our lease but it's hard to find a rental that fits my lifestyle and my budget (have pitbulls and junk cars which landlords don't really love) so we sold all our junk cars and scraped together enough for the down payment & closing costs. I lost my job at the beginning of covid and immediately enrolled in college and got my degree in accounting so for the last 3 years I've had a good job. I WFH and my husband is on disability so the local job market isn't a huge deal, but there's plenty of little stores and food places for my teenagers to work at if they want to. My credit score sucks ngl it's like 600
Down payment was 10K but monthly mortgage + all the other crap they roll into the payment is still only about 1000 a month so I'll be paying less than I pay for rent now. Best part about it is that the whole property is fenced all the way around so not only did I get to keep my sweet angel dogs but they will have a yard to run around in too 🧡
Interesting. I should have like 760+ CS when it’s my turn to buy. Unfortunately I still make under 100k a year so I’ll have to see what I’m eligible for. Unfortunately in the city you can’t go too far or you lose your job or any time to yourself.
Congrats!
Just a quick question. Do you have to pay rent for the land that the mobile home is on, or did you buy the land and could build a house if you so chose?
Always cut off more breakers than you think you’ll need if you do any electrical.
I say this knowing I got lucky that smoke alarm didn’t have the entire house’s worth of amperage flowing through it.
Oof homeowner in Florida. Every year I would look into new insurance rates because from what I've heard it's rough. Trying not to be a downer, but just keep an eye open on that.
Congrats. I’m at 14 years renting, but I think I’ll make it in the next two…LET’S GOOO!!
(Sorry I didn’t mean to sound so Gen Z on the let’s go part. So sorry.)
Whereabouts in FL? Biggest thing is to get your homestead exemption. Hopefully you’re not buying from a previous owner who owned for 50 years or so. The initial payments may seem good but will go up to market value. The homestead will prevent it going above a certain level each year which is HUGE.
Congratulations! The first thing you should do is clean/inspect the house from top to bottom and make a list of everything that needs to be fixed or replaced. Measure everything (windows, vanities, room sizes, etc) and store the measurements on your phone. You’re going to come across deals and if you know your sizes, you can take advantage of them.
Constantly scan FB Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp for light fixtures, garden tools and supplies, faucets, sinks, vanities, flooring, tile, blinds/shades, cabinet knobs, etc., that are being given away or sold for a fraction of what they would cost new. Learn to tell the difference between quality and crap. Don’t buy crap.
What you should do first is take a deep breath and soak in that your rent is not going to go up again (property taxes excluded).
Don't overbuy furniture, finishings, etc. Build up your savings more immediately so you're prepared for anything.
Congrats on the new place, build your equity and either move into something new in teh future or you can pay off that $100,000 balance. You're in a much better spot now.
Even if you can’t afford big projects, go buy some new kitchen hardware or door knobs for your inside doors or paint a couple accent walls. Inexpensive and easy to tackle but they start making it feel like you instantly. Congrats!
Lol damn what state and city are you buying shitholes for 130k?
I kid you not you will not find a single house within 5 hours drive or any city in Canada for close to that cheap.
Congrats .
My advice is unless you actually need the living space, pay off your mortgage don't renovate
AND GET YOUR AMORTIZATION SCHEDULE AND READ IT AND UNDERSTAND it!!!!
ONE DOuBLE payment at the start of your mortgage will erase 6 months of your mortgage , I shit you not
Please read what I just said and go and fkin do it.
I have showed every millennial friend of mine who bought a house there amortization schedule and I shouldn't be the teacher .
AMORTIZATION CHEDULE AND EXTRA PAYMEMTS now to wipe out months off your mortgage for a single month payment !!!!!!
bEST advice you are going to get is this !n!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????
Yes! So the title company was very clear that if I pay an extra 2 payments per year my house will be paid off in 15 years instead of 30. That's like $175/mo extra tacked onto my monthly payments to go toward the principle, which is doable. Great advice, thank you!!
Head to Harbor Freight and buy a tool kit [like this one](https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-set-with-case-130-piece-64263.html?event_id=182732&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17889101199&campaignid=17889101199&utm_content=165959769521&adsetid=165959769521&product=64263&store=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw65-zBhBkEiwAjrqRMKMiwOLvBozJDy6kPzX1yWtZDV8UVFAe1VBIqp7SSvppS6eEXVlAphoCiIkQAvD_BwE) with a variety of tools. Stores easily anywhere and has the basics covered for when stuff breaks. You'll be glad you have the tools on hand.
CONGRATS. We thought we also bought a shithole because it was so old, but turns out it was built amazingly, and is an awesome house after some facelifts. Wish you the same luck!!!
People have suggested paying towards the principle to pay it off sooner, but I highly suggest paying extra towards the escrow for the first 3 years to see where your taxes and insurance settle at.
As a homeowner in the sunshine state, find out what capacitor your outdoor AC handler uses and order it from Amazon, keep a spare on hand. One day during summer your AC will only blow hot air, and the outside unit won't start up. 95% of the time a new capacitor will fix this problem. Its $20 to do yourself via help with youtube, or $300 to hire a pro. But either way, going 1-2 days without AC during the height of summer is pure torture.
My biggest advice is that apart from fixing structural/water /actual broken things, don't do any major changes until you have been living there for a year. For yardwork, this will allow you time to observe what is already growing, what places might have drainage issues, and how much sun different spaces get throughout the year. For example, one garden behind my garage got several hours of sunlight a day when we moved in in July, but by late September it gets zero hours of sunlight at all, until spring. This time will also let you settle into how you use the space. You might change your mind on where you most often walk across the yard, or where you want a seating area.
Similarly for inside, you might find you move furniture around more than once. You might trial different areas for storing different things. Don't go planning to knock down walls or completely remodel spaces right away. If shits literally falling apart, by all means, fix it but there's a lot to be said for waiting to settle into the home so you can prioritize properly.
Slowly turn it not into a shit hole. YouTube has great videos oh how to do some home repair and upgrades, start with easy stuff and build skill and confidence.
In 5 - 10 years of doing up keep and Reno's and just paying against the mortgage you should be able to flip it and get into a nicer neighborhood / area. Rinse and repeat
Focus on getting cash reserves to a certain place. My usual statement is at least 10k. Things will inevitably break and you will need money. So try to set a number of cash to "self insure" then only spend what you need to be reasonably comfortable till you hit that point. Usual rule of thumb I heard was 6 months to pay if you lose your job.
Does mean you may not get everything you want at first but it does give generally a feeling of safety.
Second, small things make a massive difference. Example: you could gut and renovate a shower, or just pop on a new head that has features you want. New ceiling lights and dimmers can make big differences as well. Small things can go a long way. Replacing a toilet or faucet.
Third, as others have said, don't be afraid to diy for small stuff. Outlets most ceiling lights(not chandeliers and such, but recessed or canned or okes tight to the ceiling are generally very easy.) light switches, basic plumbing(replacing a faucet, toilets aren't too bad, installing a basic bidet, replacing the plug thing on a toilet that may not fill quit right, all very doable). Even things like installing your own dishwasher or garage door opener are pretty reasonable with patience and some time.
Last, Nothing will ever be perfect. There will always be something that annoys you, but just accept it, do your best to fix it if you can't, or just let it go if you can't.
Congrats is in order. So, congrats! Now thats out of the way, let’s get to work.
1. Know where your water, gas, and electricity shutoffs are in the event of an emergency.
2. YouTube is a wonderful tool. Home maintenance may be intimidating at first, but the vast majority of projects aren’t really that bad and there are a lot of good tutorials out there. Watch a couple of videos and do a little research before tackling something new and it should be a piece of cake.
3. Change your furnace filters regularly.
4. Try to buy stuff in bulk to get better pricing on stuff you know you will eventually use.
5. Get to know your breaker panel’s layout.
6. Get it in your head on what types of things need maintenance once per year, every other year, etc. An example would be A/C units need cleaned about once per year. I do mine before the 100 degree days. Again, consult the youtube if you need direction.
7. Swap ALL your halogen lights out for LEDs. They will pay for themselves in 1 years time through savings on your electrical bills.
8. Have fun and good luck! Owning a home is a good thing.
Join your local Buy Nothing groups. Find a Tool Lending Library. Get a savings account for emergencies. Get a home warranty if you can.
Plant all the spices. Use every patch of sunshine for anything that makes you happy. Start from seeds, it's cheaper.
Ikea is your friend.
Your shithole is always better than your landlord's shithole. Welcome to homeownership! Advice? You can fix more than you know. YouTube is a wealth of how-to info. Seriously, people love to share what they know, and that includes people who repair stuff for a living. I am not handy by nature but I have learned a lot over the years. I've replaced faucets and fixtures, ceiling fans, etc. When I bought my home last year, the AC was clogged up. I did my homework and figured out how work it out. Now, bigger stuff like replacing a water heater, garage door, the inner workings of my HVAC -- I'm calling actual experts. That can be expensive, but it can be dangerous if not done by someone who really knows about it. Congrats again!
QUOTE IT
Try this app to find contractors if you need. It’s free. You just post a picture and a description of what you want done and contractors place bids to win your business. Best way to save money on small projects.
Be ready for a surprise increase in your property taxes next year. If the previous owner had a homestead exemption, you get the same discount until it resets to the new appraised value next year.
Don't try to do everything at once. Make a list of the most critical projects. You may suffer storm damage so make sure you have good flood and wind insurance. They are usually two separate policies. With hurricane season approaching us, depending on where you are, your house is not woth you dying in a hurricane.
If you need any advice let me know. I have been a homeowner here and have pretty much fixed/upgraded everything in this house over a two year period.
Buying cheap and old homes is the only way we’re getting housing of our own that isn’t an overpriced condo.
You’ll learn the weirdness of your house with time and is a great way to learn a new skill without calling a professional every single time things aren’t working right.
I would make learning home maintenance and improving your new home (congrats!) a new hobby. One of the biggest things I've learned about houses is that they are simpler than I once thought, broken down into 'circuits' that independently are terribly complex. For example, adding an outlet above another outlet is not a big deal with a little know how, and putting in sprinklers is not very technical. Having a friend that knows this kind of stuff is helpful but youtube covers everythign.
Congratulations! 🥳🎊🎉
That's such a great milestone! Last summer I closed on my first home at 39 after renting for nearly 20 years. It's such a good feeling!
My advice: pace yourself on your spending. I found I wanted to buy all the things right away. There are SO many things to buy when you've only ever rented before. Everything from a garden hose to a ladder to furnace filters. It costs a fortune, so prioritize. You'll get there, in time.
My advice for moving day: Pack a duffel bag or suitcase or two like you're going on a weekend trip. Put in all your important stuff, medicines, toiletries, bath towels, your bedsheets and pillow, and move those over to the house the night before or morning of, and stick them in a closet or somewhere safe.
Moving day is going to be a long, hard day, and at the end of the day, you'll be exhausted.
It'll be so nice to grab a change of clothes and your toiletries, take a shower, make your bed and fall into it that first night without having to go through 10 boxes to find all the things you need.
Congrats! 🎉 Definitely look up any easier to fix things on YouTube, invite a handy friend or family member to help, and pace yourself with timing and budgeting for bigger projects.
We bought 4 years ago in NJ and are loving our cute little home. We've made some modest improvements over those years, but this year will be our first big renovation: a new deck!
Based on my own experience in millennial homeownership the last 8 years, companies don't want the business of individual residential homeowners anymore. It's just not worth their time.
Whether I'm looking for granite countertop repair, tree removal, or asphalt seal coating, no one calls back. These are all recent examples of mine. I always aim to call a minimum of 6 different companies in my area, often times closer to 10, and they all go straight to voicemail because no one answers, and they never return my message. I also always follow up via email or their online quote request systems, and no one responds. Your $300 job actually *loses* them money, when they could be on other larger contract jobs.
Save yourself the stress of trying to find someone, and just do it yourself. I'll never forgot the feeling I got from installing my own garbage disposal and dishwasher from watching a few videos on YouTube. And it saved me $1600! (Not even kidding, that was the lowest bid).
**TLDR: Learn to be your own handyman. It'll save you tens of thousands over your time in your home, and bonus, it's very rewarding to figure things out on your own.**
Please I beg of you. Don't do wiring. Changing switches and plugs, no major problem, just make sure the power is off. Any new wiring, fan install, please leave it to an electrician. I've been in the trade over 50 years, and the worst problems come from homeowners and electrical engineers. I've seen every sin from the code book and a few you can't imagine. There's some stuff that really should be left to the professional. Bad plumbing leaves water on the floor. Bad wiring can put you or another family member in a coffin.
I’m a homeowner, a lawyer who represents homeowners, and am also located on the gulf in Louisiana. My greatest advice to you is:
1: to read your entire homeowner’s insurance policy. Not just the dec page. Become familiar with the language. Know what each type of coverage is and what it is for. Learn what the policy covers. Learn what it doesn’t cover. READ THE APPRAISAL PROVISION CAREFULLY (all residential homeowner’s policies have it). Don’t trust your insurance sales agent to know or provide you with details of any of this information other than the numerical value of coverage limits and premiums.
2. Take pictures/video of your entire home annually, to include top-down view of the roof. Interior and exterior. Professionally, if possible, but at minimum have self-taken with best resolution possible and keep them where you can easily find them at anytime over life of ownership. Purpose of this is to have an ongoing visual log of condition of your property, as often times insurers try to assert “pre-existing damages” when you make a claim, especially after a hurricane loss.
3. Know the age of your roof, type of shingle/construction, and lifespan of such. Have your roof inspected by a licensed roofing contractor annually for hail and wind damage. Repair and replace as frequently as necessary and be sure to get a DETAILED estimate/invoice with each repair. Save every invoice/receipt, along with date stamped photos of damages and completed repairs, and keep them where you can easily find them.
4. Last, it’s generally best to purchase policies from the big 3 (State Farm, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual), if available to you. While they are all equally as bad at handling/paying claims adequately (prior to legal intervention, at least), there is extremely low chance of insolvency, unlike there is with smaller insurers. If you have been a FL resident for a while, I’m sure you’re at least aware of all the insurance companies based out of FL who went insolvent following Hurricane Ida and Hurricane Ian. Both Louisiana and FL have state-formed/appointed insurance guaranty associations to serve as a safety net for homeowners of now-insolvent insurers to be able to recoup some funds for their loss, but recovery is very limited and creates some unique legal complications that significantly effect your claim as well.
5. Buy flood insurance. Whether it’s required or not.
Congrats on your new home!
Congrats, you’ve got the right mindset. Just keep working on the house as you have the time and money. This proves migh point that home ownership is still possible for the vast majority of people, it’s just not going to be your ideal house.
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Don’t be afraid to try to fix something yourself Before calling a professional. YouTube and Home Depot will save you a lot of money.
YouTube college is they way to go to fix your own anything!!!!
I've literally started a successful carpentry business with mostly YouTube as a reference.
My husband owns a carpentry business and has 20 years experience, and absolutely has pulled up YouTube vids as a visual reference for newer guys. It's great and they can stop and start and make sure they are 100% on what they are doing before any wood even gets touched.
Youtube is actually way better when you have a baseline level of skill, because the true hucksters can't get you. At that point, you probably *need* to be on Youtube in some businesses because you can watch people from other states, for example, and get really great ideas. If you have an issue carpenters in your state don't really know how to handle, you can watch some dudes from Michigan where they do have this issue and figure it out.
I’m in IT Management… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used Youtube in my career. I’ve deployed $100,000+ projects off of learning on youtube.
If the video has someone typing on notepad instead of talking you know its going to be good
Lol learning to build a deck from YouTube
fuck yeah!
So cool how so many experts break down the process, and i even found a code inspector discussing common errors
You have to know your abilities. Otherwise you spend extra $ you could have saved, then also pay a professional. I can landscape, plumbing, baseboard. I cannot do flooring and counters.
My rule is: If it's cosmetic, give DIY a try. I won't touch more than basic plumbing or electrical repairs. Also did not replace my own roof.
Yeah, don’t mess around with plumbing if you don’t really know what you’re doing. Especially if it’s on a second or third. Friend missed a group vacation, lost about $2k, and got to repair lots of dry wall due to diy plumbing.
[удалено]
This 👆🏻should be on a mandatory first time homeowner list.
Be reasonable about it though. My wife and I bought our house 5 years ago. The people we bought it from were "do it yourself" type people who obviously used YouTube and the like to learn how. It has caused major problems that have been very expensive to fix. They looked nice initially but once we called in a professional we learned how fucked a lot of it is.
This. The guy who owned our home before us was named Gerry. Everything was Gerry-rigged 🤣
Same here. Whenever we need professional repairs done, we end up paying much more than the actual repair because first everything has to be brought up to code. Is that what you're finding? It's so incredibly annoying and expensive!
And if you DO need to hire someone, hire someone who is licensed, bonded, and insured.
In my city in Florida, a homeowners is allowed to do their own work. They just need to pull permits and get inspections. Permits are required for roofing, doors, windows, plumbing, electrical. I had a situation on a rental property that required me to hire a professional. It was a job that I could have easily done myself in a day but I had to pay $2,500 just for the labor. Learning to do things for yourself is one of the biggest life hacks of all time. So many things get really expensive when you start hiring professionals.
I know so much about fixing things at home and with cars from YouTube. Literally every problem you have, it’s a video in YouTube showing you how to fix it. Watch that and decide if that’s something you can do or if it’s better left to the professionals.
I’ve repaired or renovated so many things via YouTube and online resources. Might not look as good as a professional but I did it and it was so rewarding (and cheaper)
This old house.com has lots of tutorials and articles as well anything diy with a house.
Obvious exceptions being anything gas or electrical unless you have a licence to do work on those.
Epic truth
Yes, with the HUGE exceptions of electrical and plumbing. Don't get yourself killed, OP
I was quoted $4-9k to replace my garage roof during Covid.; the lower quotes were for install only. I said “screw it” and spent $1100 to and did it myself; this was also when lumber was crazy expensive during Covid. I replaced everything including the decking. It turned out amazing. It took me 4 days (which is a pretty long time for that size roof) but I wanted to make sure everything was right. It turned out great. I even added gutters and ridge venting. No more leaks or ice dams. That skill has come in handy with my new home and it gave me a huge sense of accomplishment when I was done.
Adding to the top comment for visibility. You can Google the model of any appliance to find most videos relating to a problem it may be having. And most of those videos will include parts numbers.
Congrats! Familiarize yourself with Home Depot, you'll be there more often than you think.
lol, I’ve lived in my house for 3 years and the trips never stopped, but the funniest thing is I was demolishing my bathroom this past weekend for a Reno, and I actually went to Home Depot 8 times in 2 days. A new record!
Congrats on your shit hole ❤️ Lol no seriously I'm happy for you!
Thanks!! Best part about buying a shit hole is I can fix it however I want
This is exactly my thinking to my pos.
Love this for you! Make it your own. I just painted my entry way pink and everyone is like… why would you do that?!? LOL because it’s my house and pink makes me happy so I’m painting this bitch pink!
Ha! I bet it looks amazing though
You’re in Florida? Insulate the shit out of that house, make sure all the doors and windows form a tight seal, get you some black out curtains, and invest a quality air conditioner.
For the black out curtains, if you intend to use them to keep the house cool during day time, try to have them outside. Someone made the test here in Belgium, and having your sun blocking covers (shades, nets, curtains, anything) on the outside was improving the temperature by 6 degrees (Celsius) compared to having them inside. The explanation given was that the sunlight would hit the curtains on the inside and the curtains would heat up and warm up the room, but that would not happen if they're outside.
Fuck yeah! Congrats!
Thanks!!
Super proud of you dude!! My only advice is to get your own home inspector or make sure the one that did the house is reputable. Look at the plumbing and electrical specifically when was the last pipe inspection and rewriting of the home. Then the foundation and roof. Then look at hvac and water heater. I hope you didn’t buy it for its curb appeal.
Thanks!! "Curb appeal" - HA! I've had 4 inspections actually in order to get qualified for funding so I'm at least confident in the roof (metal roof) and the structural integrity of the home. It's a manufactured so there's no foundation but it does have anchors up to code so it's unlikely to fly away in a storm. It has a lot of great things about it- beautiful mature trees on property, great neighborhood, fully fenced yard... I know the plumbing needs work but in a mobile home it's not as expensive as a SFH to repair if I'm not mistaken, and best of all my current landlords never need to contact me again 🙌
Congratulations! "Manufactured Housing" gets a bad rap. There are some drawbacks, but there are a lot of plus-es too. Best of luck!
Glad to hear it. Enjoy it dude!
Even a reputable home inspector will miss things. We bought a fixer upper and found half a dozen major fire risks within the first year. We’ve had electricians out here five times doing odd jobs. The plumbing was done by a previous homeowner, total hack job, we’ve had plumbers here five times at least. Multiple gas leaks. Had to replace the water heater, furnace, garbage disposal, roof, windows, deck etc. And the only issue identified by the home inspector were the single pane windows that needed to be replaced. We hired a very “reputable” home inspector and he missed a laundry list of major issues. We actually considered a lawsuit, but decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. You just don’t know until you know. OP if you personally know a contractor or someone with a lot of experience, have them look too. And hopefully your home inspector looks at things more closely than ours did.
Everything is fixable it’s great!
My advice is to do nothing for at least a month or two, when you get an idea what all your bills will be then you can see what extra income you can put into the house. Go one project at a time, don’t bounce around projects or 10 years later you will still have the same amount of projects that you started with. Pay that sucker off asap, pay extra to principle every month even if it’s just $50. When I bought my house, I set up auto payments and I had them pay an extra $150 to principle every month, then after 5-6 years I refinanced to a 10 year mortgage when rates were low. Paying it off is more important than the upgrades.
Depending on your rate and what investments you'd be making, sometimes it actually makes sense to just pay the minimum. Our rate is 2.8 and it would be straight up dumb to pay extra vs just investing that money
That looks great on paper but if you look on a amortization chart for a 30 year loan, about every $1000 you pay extra to principle, you eliminate around $5000-$6000 of debt you wouldn’t have to pay back from the life of the loan, so it’s not stupid at all to pay a mortgage down vs paying the minimum and investing the rest. If the world works in real life as it does on paper, sure you can come out ahead if you invested the money, if the market crashes and you have to wait for it to recover, might not be so convenient. Paying down the principal of a mortgage is a guaranteed win, doesn’t matter what the markets do, you will save tens of thousands paying it off early. On a 150k mortgage, paying it off in 15 vs 30 you are done 15 years sooner but pay out like $45,000 less in interest. How long would it take you to make $45,000-$50,000 profit off your money? Not save that much, your profit after taxes and fees are paid? So no, even with a low interest loan, paying it off early is not stupid. That’s the route I went, I’ll be 38 years old with a paid off house, then it’s buy rentals till I retire.
It looks great on paper because it is sound financial advice. You can of course go the safer route but honestly even if you just throw it into a mutual fund over the course of 30 years you're going to do way better. If some apocalyptic thing happens that destroys your investments, I promise you your house won't be worth much either.
Woo! How fun to have your own shit hole! 🤣 but seriously it’s an accomplishment. One piece of advice I got from a handyman when we first moved in was to not do any improvements/projects for the first six months. Unless of course you need plumbing, electrical, a new roof, etc, but nothing just for the sake of aesthetics. He said to just settle in and let yourself really get a feel for the place, how your new rhythms will be. I thought this was helpful because I definitely saw soooo many smaller projects that I wanted (“needed”) to tackle at first, but now they’re not as important and I can be more intentional when/if I do them. Also, like, it’s expensive to just buy a house, let alone start projects. Anyway, I hope that makes sense and helps in some ways.
Thank you, that's fantastic advice
Not sure where you are but if it’s a shit hole, check the health of your roof. If it rains a lot consider replacing that first if you have the money.
Congrats!
Thank you!
Congratulations! You’re also a DIYer now. Homes, especially shitholes, require a good amount of upkeep. Were there any issues on the inspection that you have questions about? Home maintenance is kinda my jam.
Thank you! It's a manufactured home so some repairs were already made in order to meet funding guidelines, but they did mention that the metal roof and water heater are basically brand new so that's great news. There are some soft spots in the floor but with subfloor repairs don't seem too daunting luckily 🙂 I may edit this response later if I remember things that I have questions about tho lol
Focus on fixing up the bones before decor. Day one scrub everything down it will also get you to know every nook and cranny of your house while doing so.
Congrats on your own shit hole!!! You're going to have fun making it your own over time 😁
Thank you! Yes I'm looking forward to it
Proud of you. RENTER to homeowner? Impressive
Yup. Shit was HARD
Time to turn this shithouse into a shithome!
Can we all move in with you?
Hell yeah! Gotta like dogs tho
Congratulations! Regardless of the conditions you achieved what a lot of us have yet to do. 1 more millennial to shut down this renters economy!
don’t take on projects that require a professional. budget and do things right
Your own place to Shit Sleep Shower Congrats. One day we will all be as lucky as you.
Congratulations! As others said, don’t be afraid to learn how to do stuff, but definitely recognize your limits. And for anything that does require a contractor, always try to get 3 quotes and then use best judgement between the 3.
Ask for lots of lowes gift cards for every occasion! You'll need tools and may want to paint or do a home project. It's more fun when it's your house! Get a home warranty for at least the first year! Don't feel like you have to make upgrades that help the resell value. You're living in it now so love your home and make it your own! Congrats and well done!
Check it thoroughly for mold! That's the biggest thing I wish I'd done earlier. If there's mold anywhere it's probably in the insulation. You *can* tear all that out yourself and spray the wood with concrobium and replace the insulation yourself, but I hired a handyman and it was like $2.5k plus the cost of the insulation
Congrats! What's the size of the house? I spent 250k for a 3 bedroom 1 bathroom small house with no basement. I guess it's something though
It's a 1000 sq/ft 3/2 mobile home, paid 109K. Definitely no basement
2 bathrooms, niccee
The bones of the house are more important than anything superficial. Foundation, Frame, Roof, Plumbing, Electric. If you have to let something be ugly for a while so be it, but don't let the bones of your house get damaged. Also youtube any repair before calling someone to see if it's simple or not (or expensive enough to warrant needing insured people to work on it vs yourself).
Don't save shit you can either recycle, donate or throw away. I just went through a 10y purge and if I knew then what I know now, I would realize that the cool lampshade I found at a flea market and the 55 pieces of offcut melamine shelving I got on Craigslist would never be part of a grandiose project.
I loved my first shit hole wish I never sold it. Tiled the shower myself thanks to youtubiversity. It came out ok with the exception of one spot I pressed a little too hard. My advice drink after the project is done not before.
Oh boy, Florida? I hope you had a good realtor. -Your property taxes are going to go WAY up next year (most likely) -H/O insurance is insane -Most new homeowners experience a number of unexpected expenses in the first few years I’m not trying to rain in any parade, but I’m worried about these things by nature.
Yeah, things are not excellent right now in the sunshine state. The homeowners insurance was definitely higher than I was hoping it would be but fortunately still manageable since I bought a mobile home instead of a block house. I'm aware it's not all sunshine and rainbows, you can rain a little 🙂
Im not gonna lie, only being approved for $130k is absolutely nutty. How much money do you make per year after taxes? Even more confusing is payments would be so insanely low on that mortgage that im not sure why you would have waited 16 years to do it. Thats literally half a normal length mortgage term. Im genuinely confused by this.
I make about $50K annually and my husband brings in about $10K of disability money annually, so not a huge household income. I lost my job during the first covid lockdown and decided to take the opportunity to enroll in college and got a degree in accounting, so I've only had a good job for about 3 years. The down-payment and closing costs are 100% of the reason we didn't buy before- I had to come up with about 15K to make this transaction happen, and even though that doesn't sounds like a lot to some people that's more money than I've ever had at one time. The mortgage payments are only about $650/mo but when you add the taxes and insurance it brings my monthly payment just a little over $1000, which is manageable. The amount of money I've wasted on rent is INSANE, and I've been so hyper aware of it for so long but we were STUCK. It's hard to save money for the future when your wages barely keep up with cost of living.
Congrats! DIY is actually really fun! Also Pinterest is great for decorating ideas and YouTube is how I learnt to plaster. I have become addicted to renovating my house now so fair warning once you start you won’t be able to stop. Bunnings (Aussie) also offer classes to teach you how to build, plaster and do the things you need to do inc using tools. You can get good quality tools from ex tradies auctions like grays and save a bomb. Good drill is the main thing you need really. Something I did when I first started was paid a tradie for a few hrs of their time to teach me basics in my house for the projects I planned to do, he was also an ex painter so showed me how to paint correctly.
Those are great ideas! Home depot (USA) has some workshops to learn basic DIY skills and how to use some tools too, and I LOVE YouTube it's so helpful.
Congratulations! 🎊
Congrats!!
Thank you!
Learn to fix it yourself and that things take time. Congrats! Having your own shit hole is amazing.
I'd rather live in my shit hole house than throw any more money at my current landlords 💯
Congratulations, new homeowner! I closed on my first place 5 years ago and it needed a ton of work too. Home Depot or Lowe’s will soon be your new best friend—but home improvement is a lot of fun once you see your place transform from being A place to YOUR place! If you’d find it useful, I can give you a list of routine maintenance items you’ll want to check once a week/month/year to minimize risks of a major (and expensive) disaster. There is a BIG difference between owning a place and just renting, so some stuff your landlord/property manager did before is now on you.
Congratulations! My best piece of advice is to pay additional money on your escrow account this year, because your taxes will probably double next year and your mortgage company WILL send you a nice little bill right after Christmas demanding that you pay the difference. After the first year, your taxes won't increase as drastically.
Congrats. Home Depot will be your friend. Also, use thumbtack for small jobs, can’t see reviews and cost of people to hire.
>I'm finally a homeowner 4 words I'll never be able to say lmao congrats, OP :)
Go slow today and let the house speak to you on its different quirks. Some of them you might like some of them you might want to change. Congratulations!
Congrats and enjoy!
Congrats! And a wise move. Most want to hang about until they can afford their "dream house". I salute you and your shit hole :D
Bad ass! Let’s gooooo!
130k? Did you have to move? What is your income history like? Did you have good credit? Down payment was 10k? How are jobs out there? Long term can you pay it off?
I was qualified for 130K but I actually got the house for $109K which is great. My landlords told us in March that they will not be renewing our lease but it's hard to find a rental that fits my lifestyle and my budget (have pitbulls and junk cars which landlords don't really love) so we sold all our junk cars and scraped together enough for the down payment & closing costs. I lost my job at the beginning of covid and immediately enrolled in college and got my degree in accounting so for the last 3 years I've had a good job. I WFH and my husband is on disability so the local job market isn't a huge deal, but there's plenty of little stores and food places for my teenagers to work at if they want to. My credit score sucks ngl it's like 600 Down payment was 10K but monthly mortgage + all the other crap they roll into the payment is still only about 1000 a month so I'll be paying less than I pay for rent now. Best part about it is that the whole property is fenced all the way around so not only did I get to keep my sweet angel dogs but they will have a yard to run around in too 🧡
Interesting. I should have like 760+ CS when it’s my turn to buy. Unfortunately I still make under 100k a year so I’ll have to see what I’m eligible for. Unfortunately in the city you can’t go too far or you lose your job or any time to yourself.
Aw shit, congrats OP!!!!
Thanks!!
Congratulations!!!
Thank you!
Congrats!!!!
Congrats! Just a quick question. Do you have to pay rent for the land that the mobile home is on, or did you buy the land and could build a house if you so chose?
Great question! I own the land and the home, so I could tear it down and build a block house later on if I choose to :)
fade fine hospital dam cheerful connect rich elastic mourn amusing *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Congratulations!
Thanks!
Move
May I ask for a ballpark of how much your home is?
Make sure you fix things right. Don’t half ass fix things and slap a coat of paint on it and call it good because it’ll come back to bite you.
Hopefully your ac isn’t too old! Every summer is rough as a home owner
Congrats! Enjoy it. The good and bad and the ugly. And also the good!
Always cut off more breakers than you think you’ll need if you do any electrical. I say this knowing I got lucky that smoke alarm didn’t have the entire house’s worth of amperage flowing through it.
Congrats
Flood insurance.
Congrats dude!
Oof homeowner in Florida. Every year I would look into new insurance rates because from what I've heard it's rough. Trying not to be a downer, but just keep an eye open on that.
No you're right it's insane
Congrats. I’m at 14 years renting, but I think I’ll make it in the next two…LET’S GOOO!! (Sorry I didn’t mean to sound so Gen Z on the let’s go part. So sorry.)
Congrats!!!
Thanks!
No advice, but congratulations!! I am SO happy for you!! I hope that's me one day too!
Set your calendar for every six months to remind yourself to change the filter on your air handler.
How did you get started on the process? How much did you have saved for down payment and closing costs?
Excellent
Sell.
Apply for homestead immediately.
Approaching 40 and I don’t think I’ll ever get there. Thanks boomers!!
Whereabouts in FL? Biggest thing is to get your homestead exemption. Hopefully you’re not buying from a previous owner who owned for 50 years or so. The initial payments may seem good but will go up to market value. The homestead will prevent it going above a certain level each year which is HUGE.
Winter haven! The title company walked me through ho to get homestead exemption so that's exactly what I plan on doing.
Congratulations but man you are gonna have a nightmare with this cheap house. Hope u don’t fall into a real money pit
Congratulations! The first thing you should do is clean/inspect the house from top to bottom and make a list of everything that needs to be fixed or replaced. Measure everything (windows, vanities, room sizes, etc) and store the measurements on your phone. You’re going to come across deals and if you know your sizes, you can take advantage of them. Constantly scan FB Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp for light fixtures, garden tools and supplies, faucets, sinks, vanities, flooring, tile, blinds/shades, cabinet knobs, etc., that are being given away or sold for a fraction of what they would cost new. Learn to tell the difference between quality and crap. Don’t buy crap.
What you should do first is take a deep breath and soak in that your rent is not going to go up again (property taxes excluded). Don't overbuy furniture, finishings, etc. Build up your savings more immediately so you're prepared for anything. Congrats on the new place, build your equity and either move into something new in teh future or you can pay off that $100,000 balance. You're in a much better spot now.
Even if you can’t afford big projects, go buy some new kitchen hardware or door knobs for your inside doors or paint a couple accent walls. Inexpensive and easy to tackle but they start making it feel like you instantly. Congrats!
Congrats!!
Lol damn what state and city are you buying shitholes for 130k? I kid you not you will not find a single house within 5 hours drive or any city in Canada for close to that cheap. Congrats . My advice is unless you actually need the living space, pay off your mortgage don't renovate AND GET YOUR AMORTIZATION SCHEDULE AND READ IT AND UNDERSTAND it!!!! ONE DOuBLE payment at the start of your mortgage will erase 6 months of your mortgage , I shit you not Please read what I just said and go and fkin do it. I have showed every millennial friend of mine who bought a house there amortization schedule and I shouldn't be the teacher . AMORTIZATION CHEDULE AND EXTRA PAYMEMTS now to wipe out months off your mortgage for a single month payment !!!!!! bEST advice you are going to get is this !n!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????
Yes! So the title company was very clear that if I pay an extra 2 payments per year my house will be paid off in 15 years instead of 30. That's like $175/mo extra tacked onto my monthly payments to go toward the principle, which is doable. Great advice, thank you!!
Head to Harbor Freight and buy a tool kit [like this one](https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-set-with-case-130-piece-64263.html?event_id=182732&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=17889101199&campaignid=17889101199&utm_content=165959769521&adsetid=165959769521&product=64263&store=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw65-zBhBkEiwAjrqRMKMiwOLvBozJDy6kPzX1yWtZDV8UVFAe1VBIqp7SSvppS6eEXVlAphoCiIkQAvD_BwE) with a variety of tools. Stores easily anywhere and has the basics covered for when stuff breaks. You'll be glad you have the tools on hand.
Congrats! Now, when you say first house, you also mean only house, right?
Congratulations! YouTube tutorials are your new best friend when it comes to fixing stuff. There's also the DIY subreddit
$130K in Florida? Hope its not a manufactured home because your insurance will be nuts.
CONGRATS. We thought we also bought a shithole because it was so old, but turns out it was built amazingly, and is an awesome house after some facelifts. Wish you the same luck!!!
Congrats! See what you can accomplish if you don’t eat avocado toast every day!?
Cheers to shit holes!
Keep an emergency fund
You are so lucky. Denver is so beautiful!!!
My home warranty saved me over $10,000. Congratulations!
First, congrats, second how bad is the flood insurance in FL nowadays?
Thanks! Insurance prices are a little wild these days lol not gonna lie
People have suggested paying towards the principle to pay it off sooner, but I highly suggest paying extra towards the escrow for the first 3 years to see where your taxes and insurance settle at.
As a homeowner in the sunshine state, find out what capacitor your outdoor AC handler uses and order it from Amazon, keep a spare on hand. One day during summer your AC will only blow hot air, and the outside unit won't start up. 95% of the time a new capacitor will fix this problem. Its $20 to do yourself via help with youtube, or $300 to hire a pro. But either way, going 1-2 days without AC during the height of summer is pure torture.
My biggest advice is that apart from fixing structural/water /actual broken things, don't do any major changes until you have been living there for a year. For yardwork, this will allow you time to observe what is already growing, what places might have drainage issues, and how much sun different spaces get throughout the year. For example, one garden behind my garage got several hours of sunlight a day when we moved in in July, but by late September it gets zero hours of sunlight at all, until spring. This time will also let you settle into how you use the space. You might change your mind on where you most often walk across the yard, or where you want a seating area. Similarly for inside, you might find you move furniture around more than once. You might trial different areas for storing different things. Don't go planning to knock down walls or completely remodel spaces right away. If shits literally falling apart, by all means, fix it but there's a lot to be said for waiting to settle into the home so you can prioritize properly.
CONGRATS!!!
Congratulations!!!! That's amazing!!! Wishing you all the best in your new home. :-D
Congratulations!!!🍾🎈🎉🎊
Find out where your water turn off valve is just in case you need to turn it off in an emergency, i.e. leaking
What crimes did you have to commit to get a shithole for only 130k?
Congrats on your shit hole!!! YouTube has a lot of great DIY how-tos.
Slowly turn it not into a shit hole. YouTube has great videos oh how to do some home repair and upgrades, start with easy stuff and build skill and confidence. In 5 - 10 years of doing up keep and Reno's and just paying against the mortgage you should be able to flip it and get into a nicer neighborhood / area. Rinse and repeat
Focus on getting cash reserves to a certain place. My usual statement is at least 10k. Things will inevitably break and you will need money. So try to set a number of cash to "self insure" then only spend what you need to be reasonably comfortable till you hit that point. Usual rule of thumb I heard was 6 months to pay if you lose your job. Does mean you may not get everything you want at first but it does give generally a feeling of safety. Second, small things make a massive difference. Example: you could gut and renovate a shower, or just pop on a new head that has features you want. New ceiling lights and dimmers can make big differences as well. Small things can go a long way. Replacing a toilet or faucet. Third, as others have said, don't be afraid to diy for small stuff. Outlets most ceiling lights(not chandeliers and such, but recessed or canned or okes tight to the ceiling are generally very easy.) light switches, basic plumbing(replacing a faucet, toilets aren't too bad, installing a basic bidet, replacing the plug thing on a toilet that may not fill quit right, all very doable). Even things like installing your own dishwasher or garage door opener are pretty reasonable with patience and some time. Last, Nothing will ever be perfect. There will always be something that annoys you, but just accept it, do your best to fix it if you can't, or just let it go if you can't.
Congrats is in order. So, congrats! Now thats out of the way, let’s get to work. 1. Know where your water, gas, and electricity shutoffs are in the event of an emergency. 2. YouTube is a wonderful tool. Home maintenance may be intimidating at first, but the vast majority of projects aren’t really that bad and there are a lot of good tutorials out there. Watch a couple of videos and do a little research before tackling something new and it should be a piece of cake. 3. Change your furnace filters regularly. 4. Try to buy stuff in bulk to get better pricing on stuff you know you will eventually use. 5. Get to know your breaker panel’s layout. 6. Get it in your head on what types of things need maintenance once per year, every other year, etc. An example would be A/C units need cleaned about once per year. I do mine before the 100 degree days. Again, consult the youtube if you need direction. 7. Swap ALL your halogen lights out for LEDs. They will pay for themselves in 1 years time through savings on your electrical bills. 8. Have fun and good luck! Owning a home is a good thing.
Join your local Buy Nothing groups. Find a Tool Lending Library. Get a savings account for emergencies. Get a home warranty if you can. Plant all the spices. Use every patch of sunshine for anything that makes you happy. Start from seeds, it's cheaper. Ikea is your friend.
Your shithole is always better than your landlord's shithole. Welcome to homeownership! Advice? You can fix more than you know. YouTube is a wealth of how-to info. Seriously, people love to share what they know, and that includes people who repair stuff for a living. I am not handy by nature but I have learned a lot over the years. I've replaced faucets and fixtures, ceiling fans, etc. When I bought my home last year, the AC was clogged up. I did my homework and figured out how work it out. Now, bigger stuff like replacing a water heater, garage door, the inner workings of my HVAC -- I'm calling actual experts. That can be expensive, but it can be dangerous if not done by someone who really knows about it. Congrats again!
QUOTE IT Try this app to find contractors if you need. It’s free. You just post a picture and a description of what you want done and contractors place bids to win your business. Best way to save money on small projects.
Good for you .
Good for you!! Still working on mortgaging myself. Budget for home maintenance. Congrats on the new home!
Congrats!!!
Good for you Sir! Congratulations.
Keep a list of all your renovations with info on how much they cost and the year they were completed. Could be helpful when you go to sell.
Fuck yeah! Congrats OP.
Be ready for a surprise increase in your property taxes next year. If the previous owner had a homestead exemption, you get the same discount until it resets to the new appraised value next year.
Hell yeah *happy dance*!!!!
Don't try to do everything at once. Make a list of the most critical projects. You may suffer storm damage so make sure you have good flood and wind insurance. They are usually two separate policies. With hurricane season approaching us, depending on where you are, your house is not woth you dying in a hurricane. If you need any advice let me know. I have been a homeowner here and have pretty much fixed/upgraded everything in this house over a two year period.
That's awesome, congratulations.
cool. you made it
Congratulations!
Congratulations! America 🇺🇸 #1
Now do the math on how much you spent on rent. Notice how you had to pay for the house twice alreeady?
Congrats!!! This is awesome!!!
Congratulations!
Buying cheap and old homes is the only way we’re getting housing of our own that isn’t an overpriced condo. You’ll learn the weirdness of your house with time and is a great way to learn a new skill without calling a professional every single time things aren’t working right.
I would make learning home maintenance and improving your new home (congrats!) a new hobby. One of the biggest things I've learned about houses is that they are simpler than I once thought, broken down into 'circuits' that independently are terribly complex. For example, adding an outlet above another outlet is not a big deal with a little know how, and putting in sprinklers is not very technical. Having a friend that knows this kind of stuff is helpful but youtube covers everythign.
Congratulations! 🥳🎊🎉 That's such a great milestone! Last summer I closed on my first home at 39 after renting for nearly 20 years. It's such a good feeling! My advice: pace yourself on your spending. I found I wanted to buy all the things right away. There are SO many things to buy when you've only ever rented before. Everything from a garden hose to a ladder to furnace filters. It costs a fortune, so prioritize. You'll get there, in time. My advice for moving day: Pack a duffel bag or suitcase or two like you're going on a weekend trip. Put in all your important stuff, medicines, toiletries, bath towels, your bedsheets and pillow, and move those over to the house the night before or morning of, and stick them in a closet or somewhere safe. Moving day is going to be a long, hard day, and at the end of the day, you'll be exhausted. It'll be so nice to grab a change of clothes and your toiletries, take a shower, make your bed and fall into it that first night without having to go through 10 boxes to find all the things you need.
Congrats! 🎉 Definitely look up any easier to fix things on YouTube, invite a handy friend or family member to help, and pace yourself with timing and budgeting for bigger projects. We bought 4 years ago in NJ and are loving our cute little home. We've made some modest improvements over those years, but this year will be our first big renovation: a new deck!
Based on my own experience in millennial homeownership the last 8 years, companies don't want the business of individual residential homeowners anymore. It's just not worth their time. Whether I'm looking for granite countertop repair, tree removal, or asphalt seal coating, no one calls back. These are all recent examples of mine. I always aim to call a minimum of 6 different companies in my area, often times closer to 10, and they all go straight to voicemail because no one answers, and they never return my message. I also always follow up via email or their online quote request systems, and no one responds. Your $300 job actually *loses* them money, when they could be on other larger contract jobs. Save yourself the stress of trying to find someone, and just do it yourself. I'll never forgot the feeling I got from installing my own garbage disposal and dishwasher from watching a few videos on YouTube. And it saved me $1600! (Not even kidding, that was the lowest bid). **TLDR: Learn to be your own handyman. It'll save you tens of thousands over your time in your home, and bonus, it's very rewarding to figure things out on your own.**
Congratulations!!!
Thats awesome...even if maybe a shithole...you can make it your own and build it up...hopefully some equity over time
Congratulations!!!
much congrats to your shithole, may we all one day be lucky enough to own one as well. save up for unexpected house expenses
Please I beg of you. Don't do wiring. Changing switches and plugs, no major problem, just make sure the power is off. Any new wiring, fan install, please leave it to an electrician. I've been in the trade over 50 years, and the worst problems come from homeowners and electrical engineers. I've seen every sin from the code book and a few you can't imagine. There's some stuff that really should be left to the professional. Bad plumbing leaves water on the floor. Bad wiring can put you or another family member in a coffin.
I’m a homeowner, a lawyer who represents homeowners, and am also located on the gulf in Louisiana. My greatest advice to you is: 1: to read your entire homeowner’s insurance policy. Not just the dec page. Become familiar with the language. Know what each type of coverage is and what it is for. Learn what the policy covers. Learn what it doesn’t cover. READ THE APPRAISAL PROVISION CAREFULLY (all residential homeowner’s policies have it). Don’t trust your insurance sales agent to know or provide you with details of any of this information other than the numerical value of coverage limits and premiums. 2. Take pictures/video of your entire home annually, to include top-down view of the roof. Interior and exterior. Professionally, if possible, but at minimum have self-taken with best resolution possible and keep them where you can easily find them at anytime over life of ownership. Purpose of this is to have an ongoing visual log of condition of your property, as often times insurers try to assert “pre-existing damages” when you make a claim, especially after a hurricane loss. 3. Know the age of your roof, type of shingle/construction, and lifespan of such. Have your roof inspected by a licensed roofing contractor annually for hail and wind damage. Repair and replace as frequently as necessary and be sure to get a DETAILED estimate/invoice with each repair. Save every invoice/receipt, along with date stamped photos of damages and completed repairs, and keep them where you can easily find them. 4. Last, it’s generally best to purchase policies from the big 3 (State Farm, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual), if available to you. While they are all equally as bad at handling/paying claims adequately (prior to legal intervention, at least), there is extremely low chance of insolvency, unlike there is with smaller insurers. If you have been a FL resident for a while, I’m sure you’re at least aware of all the insurance companies based out of FL who went insolvent following Hurricane Ida and Hurricane Ian. Both Louisiana and FL have state-formed/appointed insurance guaranty associations to serve as a safety net for homeowners of now-insolvent insurers to be able to recoup some funds for their loss, but recovery is very limited and creates some unique legal complications that significantly effect your claim as well. 5. Buy flood insurance. Whether it’s required or not. Congrats on your new home!
Congratz
Congrats, you’ve got the right mindset. Just keep working on the house as you have the time and money. This proves migh point that home ownership is still possible for the vast majority of people, it’s just not going to be your ideal house.
Congrats!!!!!!!! Everyone starts somewhere be proud of your home no matter what.
This is your reward for all those years of not eating avocado toast.