I can’t believe I’ve owned my house for an entire year! I think part of it is because of how long it’s taken me to start these projects I wanted to do around the house – planting a hydrangea garden, painting the kitchen cabinets, etc – but this has been the most exciting, yet also the scariest year (especially financially) as a homeowner. Even still, I wouldn’t take a single day back.
I love my little house (and how perfect it is as a starter house), but the journey getting to home ownership wasn’t easy. Besides the fact that the market is so volatile right now with high interest rates, I also had so many unexpected bumps along the way. The original house I was going to buy in the Spring of last year ended up having so many issues that caused me to back out after the inspection. Then when trying to close on the house I ended up buying, I had so many issues with the lender while we were to close that we ended up having to switch lenders in under a 48 period. Even then we were already late closing.
All of those setbacks just made closing day so much more special. It was great to finally get to move into my own house. I still love the living room and its big windows. As I finish doing projects in other rooms, my love for my little home keeps growing. Even though it still has a long way to go (the yard is going to be a huge overhaul), I was looking back at stories I shared from when I first moved in and I can’t believe the transformation!
Here are 10 things or tips I have learned in my first year as a homeowner:
- You will be going to Lowes/Home Depot/Walmart/etc. a lot – This is so true, especially within the first few weeks you’re in the house. You think you have everything you need to get unpacked and settled in, but there’s always something missing, especially if this is your first house. I went to Lowe’s the most because it was the closest to my house and the hours are the best (6AM – 10 PM). The Lowe’s app was also easy for me to navigate to see if they had the items I needed in stock and what aisles they were on so that I could get in and out fairly easily. At first it will feel weird to go to the store multiple times a day, but just know that everyone does it when they first move to a new house.
- Be prepared for any sudden fixes – This is especially true if you buy an older house. My house was built in the 1950’s, so of course it’s going to have more problems than a newly built house. I had a plumbing issue that got worse as the weeks went on just after moving in that was missed during the inspection. Unfortunately, it was such a problem that I couldn’t use the washer or dryer and even had to time out flushing the toilet. I got lucky that my boss has a good relationship with a plumbing company, so they were able to cut a great deal to get it fixed for me, but I also wasted a lot of money shopping around for quotes. Always have a little bit of money set aside for any sudden problems that can and do pop up.
- Inspections won’t catch everything – As mentioned in the point above, the inspection won’t catch everything. My sudden problem shortly after moving was from an issue underground. Obviously the inspector isn’t going to catch that unless he was going to dig up the line or run a camera through it. I hired the best inspector in the area to do my inspection and even he missed a few things. No one is 100% perfect, so just know that something could always come up that was either not an issue during the inspection or just couldn’t be seen during the inspection.
- It will take time to get the house where you want it – Furniture and decor is so expensive! I just went out to buy a new door handle for the front door the other day and it was $158. Now, while Amazon is super helpful in cutting down the cost for things, when you have to buy everything at once, it adds up. This was the biggest tip one of my friends gave me after she had her place for a year and was really just starting to get it where she wanted it to be. I’m a year in and I still only have one area rug in the entire house, and I still haven’t started making the fixes I want to the dining room or living room. Granted, I have also spent my money on other things like trips and my hobbies, but even still, it’s going to take time to get your house where you want it.
- Learn to flip furniture – This tip isn’t applicable everyone. The thing I did before moving into my house was flipping a desk that I got for free. The desk turned out so well and I love it. This saves you so much money compared to buying an item new or even used. Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube are your best resources when trying to learn how to flip furniture or to get any inspiration on a piece of furniture you may see online. My next flipping project is a small cabinet that I got at a garage sale for $20 that I plan to use for an extra storage space in the dining room.
- Become friendly with your neighbors – Knowing my neighbors has been a godsend for me the past few months. I had met my neighbor originally back when I was looking at the house, but being my introvert self, I only gained the confidence to just wave at them when coming home. That was fine with me until a few weeks ago when I accidentally locked myself out of my house without a phone. I had to go over to their house to borrow their phone to call my boyfriend to come unlock the door. Since then, we have fostered a neighborly bond which includes keeping each other in the know whenever something odd is happening around the street, like when a pitbull was on the loose or people were walking up and down the street at night looking like they were scoping out some of the houses.
- Get a video doorbell ASAP – This has been a such a comfort for me since I work long hours. Being able to see all the activity around my house has given me a peace of mind. As an added bonus, I am able to see when a package arrives so I know to look for it when I get home. I have loved having a camera on my front door for this first year, that I’m actually hoping to get one for the back door during Black Friday.
- If it’s a cosmetic fix, don’t let it keep you from buying the house – You can hate the paint color and still buy the house. Everyone knows that I don’t like the color of the shutters on the house. But that’s a simple fix and not something that should keep you from buying the house you love. Same for wall colors in the house or light fixtures. Unless the house was recently fully flipped or fixed up, there are going to be some parts of the house that are outdated. Everyone also has different design styles, so there may be something in the house that doesn’t fit your personal style. As long as the house is structurally in good condition, everything else can be fixed over time.
- Budget out big projects – Eventually, I have to get a new fence and do a huge overhaul of the backyard. This is the only area of the house that the previous owner did not touch when fixing up the house before selling. This kind of overhaul is going to be pricey, so I’ve been looking around at different fences and pricing it out to see how much money I need to put aside to get it done. The fence project has now moved to the top of the list of a project that needs to be done as quickly as possible, but because we have been planning for it for a while the price of it doesn’t seem as daunting as it first did.
- Enjoy the process of turning your house into a home – This has been the best first year owning my house. Seeing my visions come to life and enjoying the hard work that I’ve put into it so far, especially the hydrangea corner of the house, has been the so satisfying. I have loved slowly watching this house transform and can’t wait to see how it looks next year!
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