First time homebuyers are probably a little naive when it comes to buying a house! I know we definitely were! We had no real idea of what it took to keep up a house! But let's back up a little. We didn't even know what it took to find the right house and the right realtor to help you find that right home!
Almost 10 years ago we decided to buy our first home as a couple and family. We had three kids at the time, our oldest was three, our twins were one and I was pregnant at the time and we needed more space for everyone.
We started looking online at the homes that were within our price range and had enough bedrooms for us, with some room to grow. We called on a home and got a realtor to take us thru this house. We didn't care much for the house, but ended up using this realtor to look at more houses. She was ok and helpful, but we found a home that was brand new on the inside. It was duplex that someone had built but had never finished. Someone else came in and bought them and finished them to sell.
We loved the thought that everything was going to be brand new, including appliances and everything! We were told by the realtor that we needed to put an offer on it because it wouldn't last and it was great for us. It had 4 bedrooms and 2 or 3 bathrooms, which was great, the only thing I wasn't sure of was that the master bedroom was upstairs and all the rest were in the basement, which would have been fine if our kids were older, but not when they were so young!
We put an offer on the house but in the back of my mind things just weren't right. I decided we needed to change our search and look for something that we could finish a basement to make more room. I found a home that I liked the pictures and the lay out and decided we had to see it.
We came in and walked thru and just knew this is where we were supposed to be. It had e everything we wanted and especially the fenced yard for the kids to play.
We pulled our offer from the other home and put an offer on our home. We had great financial help with it all, but in the end, we should have shopped around for a better realtor that would have listened to us more.
We have loved our home and would totally stay, if our kids weren't getting so big. But over the last 10 years we have learned it takes a lot of work to keep up a yard and especially a house. Here is just a few things that we have learned and I'm passing on to you because maybe you don't know either.
Tile grout has to be sealed at least once a year. No one told us this and our shower grout and caulk has gone black because we never did.
When you have a leak in your shower, fix it quick and then make sure it hasn't damaged your flooring. If it has, fix your flooring quick and seal your sub flooring so you don't get mold and rotting wood.
Check your toilets reguLarly for leaks and running water, it can add a lot to an already high water bill.
Learn how to fix and replace sheet rock. This has come in handy, since we have boys and they get mad and punch the walls. We have fixed many holes and become pretty good with patching and sheet rock.
Clean your wood canisters reguLarly, especially around the table and if you have kids. They get very grungy and wood is harder to clean than other surfaces.
This is all just a small part of what we have learned as first time homebuyers and with our next home, we will be led to where we will be next, but I have some things in mind that I want in our next home and we have found a different realtor who so far has been great to listen to us and should be good to work with.
If you are a first time homebuyer, good luck. Don't be too naive, listen to your gut and go where feels right to you!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Has it really been over two months since writing last? Oh how time flies! It's also funny how your goals and desires seem to change so quickly!
After my last post, a sting of things happened in our lives and we decided to move up our date for selling our house. We began to make the necessary upgrades and fixes on the house in order to get it ready to sell.
We started with the easy things: fixtures and having our front porch railing powder coated. These were quick fixes and the railing was one we had someone come get and do for us.
When these were finished, we started on finishing the basement. Years ago we had added two more bedrooms down there but had never quite finished the cosmetic things like painting doors and moulding. In the time since, we had water get into the basement and have had to replace carpet and baseboards. We still haven't quite finished this yet, I need to paint the door frames and baseboards. :)
We took a little break from that and decided to start on the bathroom floors upstairs. We pulled up the linoleum only to find water had gotten under the linoleum and was causing huge problems in the sub flooring. We had to replace the top layer of sub flooring and found the bottom layer was not too bad, so we sealed it really good, put the new layer on, sealed it and then laid the linoleum tiles we got. I have become quite the handyman with our home, I filled the grout and sealed it and caulked the tub. The kids bathroom looks so good now!
We have done lots of painting and have gone thru six gallons of white paint in the bathrooms and a couple bedrooms and will probably go thru a couple more before we are finished!
We started pulling up the linoleum in the master bathroom to find a huge nightmare! Years ago, probably even before we moved in, there was a leak in the shower. We finally figured out what was causing it and fixed it, but apparently too late. We took off the top layer of the sub flooring only to find the bottom layer as well was just rotting and it's even rotting under the shower! Ugh, I had just finished grouting our shower, it looks so good! Now we may have to tear it apart, if the rotten board goes too far under the shower. I have been so upset and frustrated the last couple of days. In the meantime, I am getting all the painting done that we need to finish, so our bathroom may be the last thing we do. We are also working on replacing the flooring in the laundry room and half bath, but thankfully that is on concrete and it looks great, so no problems!
I have learned and was reminded yesterday, that patience is not something that we just have, it is something we are always striving for, so I will keep striving to have as much patience as possible and have faith that with God's help, we will make it through this trial and everything will work out how it is supposed to, and we will be happy!
Next I will tell you what I've learned through the last 10 years of home ownership and things we were never told but needed to know. Until then....
After my last post, a sting of things happened in our lives and we decided to move up our date for selling our house. We began to make the necessary upgrades and fixes on the house in order to get it ready to sell.
We started with the easy things: fixtures and having our front porch railing powder coated. These were quick fixes and the railing was one we had someone come get and do for us.
When these were finished, we started on finishing the basement. Years ago we had added two more bedrooms down there but had never quite finished the cosmetic things like painting doors and moulding. In the time since, we had water get into the basement and have had to replace carpet and baseboards. We still haven't quite finished this yet, I need to paint the door frames and baseboards. :)
We took a little break from that and decided to start on the bathroom floors upstairs. We pulled up the linoleum only to find water had gotten under the linoleum and was causing huge problems in the sub flooring. We had to replace the top layer of sub flooring and found the bottom layer was not too bad, so we sealed it really good, put the new layer on, sealed it and then laid the linoleum tiles we got. I have become quite the handyman with our home, I filled the grout and sealed it and caulked the tub. The kids bathroom looks so good now!
We have done lots of painting and have gone thru six gallons of white paint in the bathrooms and a couple bedrooms and will probably go thru a couple more before we are finished!
We started pulling up the linoleum in the master bathroom to find a huge nightmare! Years ago, probably even before we moved in, there was a leak in the shower. We finally figured out what was causing it and fixed it, but apparently too late. We took off the top layer of the sub flooring only to find the bottom layer as well was just rotting and it's even rotting under the shower! Ugh, I had just finished grouting our shower, it looks so good! Now we may have to tear it apart, if the rotten board goes too far under the shower. I have been so upset and frustrated the last couple of days. In the meantime, I am getting all the painting done that we need to finish, so our bathroom may be the last thing we do. We are also working on replacing the flooring in the laundry room and half bath, but thankfully that is on concrete and it looks great, so no problems!
I have learned and was reminded yesterday, that patience is not something that we just have, it is something we are always striving for, so I will keep striving to have as much patience as possible and have faith that with God's help, we will make it through this trial and everything will work out how it is supposed to, and we will be happy!
Next I will tell you what I've learned through the last 10 years of home ownership and things we were never told but needed to know. Until then....
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