10 Mistakes That New Home Buyers Don’t Think About Until It’s Too Late
Buying a home and not being happy with it will cause problems in the future. The dream for many of us is to own a home someday that we can call ours. Yet for many of us, this dream can quickly turn into a nightmare depending on what is going on with your home. From maintenance to bills to complaints about your space in general, owning a home is not a land of bliss without sorrows.
It’s quite the opposite actually. When people talk about buying a home, they rarely talk about whether or not it is actually the right move for you as a person. Getting your own home is about more than building equity and cutting out things like rent, it’s also about managing that investment in a variety of ways that you may never have considered before.
1. Renovations and Upkeeping
The single biggest worry that many homeowners have is that their home is going to need costly and immediate repairs for some major issue that is either lurking or currently known. Repairs are a part of life but they’re also devastatingly expensive at times, especially if something has happened because of neglect.
The thing is that most homeowners don’t know the first thing about owning a home and certain aspects of the property itself go without care and attention because they’re currently working. When they break down, and you discover you should have been watching that all along, the stress of the repair costs is double.
Another massive expense is updating your home and keeping it current. This is especially important when you go to sell your home as most buyers will want an updated unit and not something desperately in need of a refresh and repairs.
2. Cheaply Done Work
Along with the hidden problems or things you’re not aware of is the problem of work done before you came or work you’ve done yourself. DIY projects are great, but it could cost you a ton of money over the long haul.
Discovering poorly done work by the previous owner, a contractor, or even your own mistakes adds to the stress of owning a home because it is just one more thing that you have to worry about.
3. Limited Space
We mentioned clutter and lacking storage earlier because we wanted to distinguish that from the concept of space. Space is a free area where you can live and breathe and do what you will. This can include a cozy living room or a spacious front yard. The point about space is that it allows some kind of level of movement and comfort as well as allows the owner to pursue hobbies and daily activities.
Whether it is a cramped bedroom, a terribly tiny bathroom, or the fact that your backyard is nonexistent, a lack of space can really impact a homeowner’s satisfaction with his purchase but, luckily, this is a problem that develops as a person or a family grows into a house and is normally not an issue at the outset.
4. Number of Tasks Necessary to Maintain Home
Piping, electrical, ventilation, heating, cooling, yard work, general repairs – you get the idea. Your home is a complex grouping of systems that all work together. When one cog in the process starts having problems, others will eventually be impacted. Knowing what to fix and when as well as how to identify problems means that you’re constantly inspecting your own home for potential issues. That’s a wise move. After all, it is your investment.
5. Maintaining a Job and Running a Home
The other thing that people don’t highlight about homeownership is that it is basically a second job and it is one that you don’t really get paid for until you sell your home.
There are certain benefits you get from good maintenance and care, of course. But most of the work and a lot of the toil is on the homeowners themselves and there is nothing that will run away from you more quickly than home and its needs if you don’t stay on top of it.
6. Wanting Another Home After Awhile
Sometimes it feels like that as soon as you move into your new home you want something else like what your friends or family have. Home envy is a very real thing and this is because homes are one of those tricky purchases in life that people rarely consider in the depth that it needs.
This space has to meet a variety of purposes and needs for years to come. Being taken by the latest trend or the current hotspot in the city could backfire down the road as tastes change and you find you want something else. For example, a lot of people buy homes for the features they initially have and these tend to be modern conveniences or trends like granite countertops or a walk-in shower.
That’s the goal of developers and real estate agents, too, because they know that if you think too hard about the spot you’re willing to buy you will likely back out of the deal for one reason or another. When you find yourself experiencing home envy, figure out what it is exactly that you like or want that the other person has.
More often than not, you’ll discover it is a feature or amenity that in 15 years most people won’t care about. Or it could be a location that you or the other person will eventually outgrow and have to move somewhere else.
Just remember, if you experience home envy, they likely envy someone’s home as well. Trying to be content with what you have and working with it will bring you a lot of peace as a homeowner.
7. Problems with the Location
This is one of those problems that is contextual. So you bought a hot place in the middle of downtown when you were younger but now that you’re married and your child can’t sleep you need something new. Or maybe you’re too far from your new job.
Accoding to the Local Records Office, whatever the problem with the location, it does start to weigh on a person over time – particularly if it is commute-related or something about the quality of life of the area in which the person lives.
8. Messy All Over the Place
Clutter can be things or furniture – basically anything that makes your home feel less spacious and tidy. And it’s a constant battle, especially if you live with multiple people. The best way to combat it is to maintain a strict and routine schedule of cleaning but that’s a job unto itself.
The one problem with clutter in your own home, as opposed to a rental unit, is that you can possibly upgrade your rental without a lot of hassle. Most of us are pretty locked into our house payments and have to learn how to economize, downsize, or just not buy as much stuff as we would like to purchase.
9. Little to No Storage
Along with the above pain comes the other problem of not having anywhere to put this clutter. By storage, we’re talking about basement space and attics. As you live and grow in your current home, you will probably notice that you start to outgrow it in many ways.
This leads to the problem of clutter and the feeling of disorganization. Like we said with clutter, the more people you have in your home or the more stuff you own, the less space you’re going to be free to use.
10. Bills Are Too Expensive
Owning a home is very, very expensive. From taxes and fees to maintenance costs and routine expenses, keeping your home running is guaranteed to cost you way more than you budgeted initially and will still throw up surprises here and there throughout your relationships together.