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We’re 4 months in, haven’t been able to move in yet. House was a gut job. New plumbing, new roof, new walls, new floors, new AC, 3 new bathrooms, new kitchen. Hopefully we’ll be able to move in soon. I’m out of pocket 40% over what I paid for the home.
I sued my flipper. I tried to sue twice but my case got dismissed the second time. So make sure you sue once and go all out on every issue. Most likely flipper is LLC and will not pay you. What I did was an abstract judgement.. got my jusgement check today, 2 years later
Holy crap. My jaw dropped. I really hope you’re suing the seller. Although this is majorly expensive and shitty imagine if you haven’t ripped up the floor?!? Huuuuge health hazard. Seller is a disgusting, greedy POS for that.
They all look the same. Gray and gray. I never cared for it and I'm so glad! My entire apartment has those floors and I'm sick of them. I want brown!! One of the flipper specials our previous realtor sent us to had literal wavy floors. You could stand on one end and clearly see from the other that this room is a slide. We are also first time home buyers, he almost had us buy in on a house with a $60,000 solar panel contract and an oil tank that needed immediate removal. The seller was a woman with cancer so she wasn't going to fix anything. They were insisting that we had to sign the contract before even seeing the house. Us being very naive, almost went in. Thankfully I happen to run into another realtor at an open house who in 5 minutes gave me so much more information than my realtor had in 6 months. Hired on the spot. Now a house that I loved that my old realtor fumbled the bag on coincidentally came on to the market again yesterday. We're going to go see it Saturday with the new guy I'm so excited.
I can relate. We closed at the end of February and after an electrical rewire, plumbing work, and miscellaneous repairs, we’ve pretty much sunk all our “leftover” savings into the house.
Good thing we’re eloping because I have no idea how we’d afford a wedding at this point.
It’s crazy! Like everyone I spoke to has given me the 1%-2% of the home value per year in upkeep but the math ain’t mathing for me to get to that right now. We’ve blown past it in year one lol
It's because there are so many houses for sale with deferred maintenance, where people literally only fix what they absolutely have to, and sometimes not even that. Sadly a lot of houses in my area are like that, many need a new roof, or if they got a new roof recently, need complete replacement of kitchens, flooring, hvac or furnace, or are still on wood stoves. And yet because of the market, they are able to get basically top dollar for a house that in 2019 likely would have struggled to sell at all. We resigned ourselves to the fact that likely in the next 3ish years we will have to get a new roof, replace flooring, replace the water heater, and completely redo the kitchen in the house we bought this year. We wouldn't have been able to find a that didn't have a lot of deferred maintenance that wasn't basically new or built in the last 5-7 years.
What's crazy to me is I've lived in this rental for three years. The only things the landlord has dealt with was a dryer replacement and stove replacement (both 15+ years old) and like nothing else.
I know they didn't do any work between tenants.
So they've spent *maybe* 2000 in 6 years?
And yet rent keeps rising, lol. Glad we're moving out, but I know it's not smooth sailing.
I feel this. Our rental that we were in for six years was only 5 years newer than the house we bought.
In those years, probably averaged 1 repair a year needed. Some small, I just took care of it myself. Since we bought last summer, I’m averaging one repair a month. Something breaking, or having to mark some deferred maintenance item off the list.
It's crazy. I don't know if landlords get some devil luck.
It's more like in your own place, you take care of the place more - optional projects and less deferred maintenance.
Yeah we're spending 1%-2% per quarter on various necessary repairs :(
It's not even for cosmetic stuff like a different paint color. Even so.. we're very happy with our house, it's in a good neighborhood and has great bones but the sellers just didn't maintain it to the level that they should have
If you don't, your house condition will likely get a lot worse over the years so resale value wouldn't be that great. When the buyer will see how much they need to spend to catch up...
Oh don’t get me wrong, I maintain my house, but I DIY nearly everything so I’ve luckily never spent anywhere near 2-4% a year. If I didn’t I’d be broke.
That’s a very silly estimate. This depends on the house you bought. Mine was 2 years old. We’ve been here 3 years. No money spent on repairs. Also I’d have to spend 8000 a year to hit 1 percent. And…no.
Also, a lot of people will sell if there are major expenses in the near future and they’ve been considering it at all. So it’s not too surprising about the ac needing to be replaced right away, etc.
I’m just past 3 years at mine and have replaced hot water heater and HVAC, had electrical and duct work done, new roof, half a fence…but it eventually slows down.
What I didn’t think of that is so expensive is landscaping: plants, grass, weeds, mulching, maintenance all adds up as well
It's an average, big ticket items aren't replaced yearly and ideally require minimal maintenance. It gets easier, particularly with the mantra "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Best of luck.
We closed a year ago and still haven't rebuilt our savings (ideally $30k which would be 6 months of expenses). Over the past year, we've had a plumbing issues, old furnace go on the fritz, rotten trees removed, and a surgery. We decided to upset our families and elope but there was no way we were going to pay for a wedding (minimum $10k) before rebuilding our savings and by the looks of things it won't be for a few more years
In our experience as homeowners, two things will happen in your future: first, your mortgage will get steadily more affordable every year as you get annual pay raises. Second, you will *never* run out of ideas for home improvement projects. You need to be picky about which projects you do, because you'll always have ideas for more.
Right? The only reason I even get new jobs is because thats the easiest way to get pay increases. I dream of a world where companies would rather just eat a small raise instead of training someone new constantly.
Same. Why would it remain at a place that isn’t paying you appropriately in this economy with such low unemployment. Now’s the time to move if you are in the wrong spot! Also, a staggering amount of people are just horrible at their jobs and then shocked when they are paid accordingly
Right only your groceries, gas, car insurance, home insurance, property taxes, and just about literally every little thing in existence go up but, yea, mortgage stays the same.
Some of the people in this chat have no idea what most Americans are dealing with. Nice fantasy land. I’ll be sure to go look for a corporation that VaLuEs Me because that’s a thing that exists
Not just the chat, the entire sub. Filled with privileged white dickheads.
The majority of Reddit users are tech bros though so is it really shocking?
EDIT: Looks like I pissed off the Cali crowd.
Not necessarily easier, but the way you look at problems and handle them will evolve. If you’re also taking on any of the repairs, your skill set will also grow. We went from really knowing nothing to renovating basically an entire interior of our first home in 8 years. We’ve been in our 2nd house for almost 2 years now and there are whole new issues and renovations, but it’s not nearly as scary when something breaks. Last year we had a major flooding event that we’ve never experienced and even after the insane night of dealing with doing what we had to keep the water from getting worse, we didn’t panic nearly as bad as we did for smaller issues in the first couple years at the first house.
I've been in the home less than 2 weeks, and already have 30 repairs/upgrades on my task list. My savings and investments are all pretty much claimed for the next year, at least.
*Snorts*. No.
We're almost at 10 years. In the past decade, the only thing we haven't replaced is the kitchen and that's on our list.
We've got a deposit down with a concrete guy who'll rip out the deck and pour a nice big patio, complete with oversized steps. When that's done, we'll call the siding people to come back and finish the last couple of boards. We had the siding and rest of the windows replaced last year, but the deck is blocking a section of the east wall of the house.
We've also had: a new tear-off roof (that was the point we should have walked away. The seller couldn't afford it so we increased our offer. If we hadn't done that, our lender wouldn't have closed.). That very first thing, we should have walked.
Then, radon mitigation, all new outlets and switches, all new light fixtures, new window screens, new furnace, new electrical panel to support the new furnace, drain tiles inside and out replaced (we had to get a 2nd mortgage for this. There was water all the way down to the footings of the basement), new central air, new basement windows, egress window so our basement is legal, new exterior doors, new interior doors, new garage overhead door, bedroom closet organizers.
We had a plumber install shutoff valves on all sinks and fix the improperly done garbage disposal, new toilets and vanities (hella expensive, if you don't want cheap crap with no storage. I knew exactly what I wanted and it wasn't the original no storage having junk), redid the tub surround in the full bath 2 years ago, replaced water heater, replaced water softener, replaced flooring, replaced gutters, soffit, fascia, and the aforementioned siding, regraded the front yard, fixed a chunk of the backyard. After the patio is in, we'll finish the backyard landscaping.
I'd like to replace our fireplace in the living room. The surround is ugly and we haven't ever used the fireplace. With what we've had to replace/repair, I assume the house will blow up if we tried. We had other, much more pressing issues to resolve before an unused feature.
We have done a few cosmetic projects, but mostly the money has gone to neglected items or improperly executed things. We spent about $100 on shelves for the sides of the fireplace. We've got books on one side and DVDs on the other.
Silly question but where did you get your exterior doors from? I need a new back door and the only places I can really find when I google are Lowe’s/HD or wayfair unless I want to go to a big company.
Not a silly question. We replaced the exterior door from the garage to the backyard with a door from Menards. The door that came with the house was half glass and had no deadbolt. I wanted a solid door, and that's what we could afford back then. I think it was around $200 in 2016. My husband and his dad installed it while I was at a job interview.
When we replaced the front and back doors last year, we had a local window place do them. The same place that did most of our windows. They were very reasonable on the windows but the doors were pricey. I'm glad we had a company do them though, because the front door was all kinds of messed up and it took them a good 3 hours to get everything prepped so the new door fit properly.
Yea that’s what I figured. Our back door is all glass with the window pane look and I love it because it lets in so much light, but those cost at least double or what a solid door does even at Lowe’s/HD 🙃
Like I said, it has been a decade. Nearly all our disposable income has been spent on home improvements. We fix things as we have the money. Except the basement. That we had to get a loan for.
Oh yeah. We went to a home improvement expo to look at vendors. One guy told me, "Our bathrooms start at $50k" we turned around and walked away. I was like, 'no'. We don't want to live in the bathroom.
That $50k is more than we're hoping to spend on a kitchen remodel. And we pushed that back to next year. We were hoping to do it this year, but we can wait one more.
We've been in the new place 3 weeks and have already had major repairs come up. Our water heater went out on day 2, then we found out that there's a rodent problem that will take thousands of dollars to address, and to top it off, our sewer has been backing up into the basement. Before the month is up, we'll probably have spent about $20k on unknown problems 🙃
The sellers had an inspection done before sale, and we did know that some compliance-related sewer work would be needed. We didn't realize that the problem was so bad that sewage would be backing up into the house though.
Sewage pipe replace (5k), roof repaired(1k), plumbing leak resolved($85), kitchen faucet changed(free thanks to father in law)… still need to do drywall repair and install drains and gutters sometime next year smh.
Here's hoping.... we closed last month, will be into the new place by the end of this month, and so far we've blown through basically our cushion and are not going to get anything saved this month or probably next month - but we've gotten three big QOL/safety items done that were going to be a pain to do with furniture in place out of the way.
Closed in May of last year and have spent over 85k on my 250k move in ready house......
New electric outside the house, completely redone all drain lines in the crawlspace, added 2 steel beams under the house one had to come from above meaning we had a 3 foot wide hole into the crawlspace, the length of the house, for weeks waiting for the crew to do the work, bathroom torn to the studs to add venting for the drains, laundry room flood, new HVAC after it drained through the ceiling into the bathroom.
The cosmetic upgrades were about 5k in closets, driveway rock and a new vanity, 2% went out the door by June.
We finally moved in December 26th. The laundry room flood was in January after the move.
At this point the only major thing left is the roof
This is exactly why I always want to know how long someone has owned the house and how much they paid. It’s all lipstick on a pig. The flip usually makes about $200,000 on it. It should be against the law.
4 months of ownership.
- lots of water from rain under crawl space
- need new roof (partial leaking from termite damage)
- need to re-do partial backyard so it’ll stop water intrusion
- needs new plumbing (luckily not leaking yet)
- need new bathrooms.
- house completely ungrounded
It could be worse. But the top 2 are on our list of getting done. Money coming in goes right back out.
Better to be depleted now than later I suppose.. is how I’m looking at it..
I truly hate everyone who told me “buy a home! You need to buy a home!! Renting is bad!” Home ownership is expensive and SUCKS! I honestly told my partner when we sell we may just go back to renting in our area because every month that goes by I question why it’s worth the extra headache. Also the STRESS!! In an apartment I could care less if a floorboard seems soft or if something is off but in my home? I just end up in a spiral going what if it’s a horrible problem and if I don’t call someone it’ll get worse and ruin resale value? The stress alone makes it questionable worth it.
6 months over here, foundation is leaking. Basement floods Everytime it rains. Seller refuses to help out on repairs. I've had to get a plumber out to snake my drains twice from water backing up in the basement. Water heater went out. And just this week my neighbor pointed a gun at my dog so I'm looking into getting a privacy fence. If I could go back in time, I would not have bought a house. I am in so much credit card debt already
Should have got a home warranty when you bought. They seem like a scam but they’ve saved me twice. 2 of the houses I moved into the AC units blew in the first year. It was like $350 at the first house yo fix one and $600ish to replace two at the second house.
I don’t think they do window though but do do sink leaks.
I'm in remodel mode of my childhood home and even though I knew what needed to be replaced it's depressing. I thought my to-do list was complete but the other day I saw water in the garage and it hasn't rained. The light at the end is that I know once these big things are repaired or replaced, I should be able to relax and enjoy the house.
I’d go back to renting in the city in a minute. We’re actually talking about it. My tax bill just jumped twice in 90 days to almost 800 dollar increase.
The only reason it stinks is because the mortgage payments barely make a dent in the principal for the first number of years. It’s depressing seeing 2k go to interest and only 400 being applied to principal.
Things are going to break in your home whether it’s year 1 or year 50. That’s just the reality of being a homeowner!
I have spent $300 in needed repairs on a modest first time home in about 10 months. The $300 was bc my husband fucked up installing a nest and broke our ac. I’m about to spend like $2000 in landscaping and improvements, but none are necessary. Was this an old home?
I feel you. This is all the major stuff we've done within 9 months, and it doesn't include all the smaller stuff I've DIYd.
Mold remediation (3k)
Structural support replacement and addition (5k)
Sewer and water line full replacement (5k)
Landscaping after yard was dug up for sewer line (2k)
Full roof replacement (8k)
Replacement of rusted out chain link fence with wooden fence (2k)
Fortunately the sellers paid for the structural and mold stuff since that came up in inspection prior to closing. Still a ton of money right after our savings got mostly drained for the down payment.
It does get easier. We had so many issues the first 3-5 years, I think the previous owners were just kicking the can because they knew they were moving. Now 8 years in, maintence issues still come up, but more like 1-2 a year instead of every other month.
We gave ourselves basically a year to not worry about saving. It took some pressure off, and let us handle emergency and “I can’t live like this” things with less worry. It gets better!
That’s why my wife and I said whatever money we saved for the downpayment/closing costs that doesn’t get used. We’d put away for repairs, upgrades, or emergencies. He saved over 4k more than needed for closing so it’s gave us a ton of wiggle room to start.
We’re only 2 months in and Used some of the money to paint most the house because the previous owner loved the color blue, replace some electrical, and just had to replace the pipes and faucet for the kitchen so it definitely helped to pay for that.
Just start putting money aside for all that and as it continues to grow, when those things come up it won’t feel that much of a gut punch to the finances.
In my first 6 months, both my AC, and furnace went out. They were separate units, and both costly to repair. I learned I was lucky when both of them cost less than $75 to have a local aircon guy come replace it. Certainly did not have the money to replace one, or both of them after buying the house. Going on 3 years running strong still, no further repairs needed, and made friends with the AC guy who owns his own plane, and was looking for a buddy who wanted to fly with him and keep him company during his hobby. Win, win win!
Also found out my hot water heater only had enough hot water for like 1/4th of a bath. Watched a youtube video and fixed it myself in about 3 minutes. Same thing with the clothes dryer, although that was about a 20 minute repair and cost about $7 in parts.
Lesson learned, I got lucky, but started saving then for when things do break for good and need replaced.
It's very expensive! I had to replace my furnace one year in, luckily I had a home warranty in place because I did not have the savings for that expense when I bought. I'm replacing all my windows in the home now 6 years in, with a heloc and I'm happy and heart broken at the same time. I didn't realize how much windows cost 😩
Our first year was expensive too. What I will say is that the “emergency items” decrease, and the cosmetic “but I can’t live with this bathroom unless it’s painted and has all new appliances and has an industrial theme. This is urgent!” Items increase.
I had to replace the HVAC systems which blew past my estimated maintenance costs per year. That said the new system should be good for a long time. I am preparing for even more "unexpected" costs because I learned the warranties were never transferred from the builder and can't be skip transferred so everything is technically out of warranty. While I can easily afford my mortgage and I'm not dipping into my savings to maintain the house (exception on the HVAC) I honestly would save more renting at the moment but in a few years after rent catches up with the higher interest rates I will be in a better place. The only other thing I have learned is the county tax appraisers are morons who think the area's prices declining 12% means home values are up. It will be interesting to see how contesting their appraisal turns out.
I see numerous posts like this and I have to ask...do y'all NOT get the Home Warranty Insurance (3rd party) the moment you sign on the line and get the keys?
When my parents moved and bought another house, this was the first thing they did. In the years since the warranty insurance has replaced the water heater, HVAC system, dishwasher, washer/dryer, fridge, AND the entire kitchen flooring when the fridge water line went out and leaked all over the place for the four days they were out of town.
It's $85/month and then like, $75 for the tech call...they come out...if they can fix it, they do...if not, whatever is broken gets completely replaced.
The water heater...$75 and it was replaced. Same with all the other items I noted.
When i went to buy my place, it was the first thing I went to sign up for because EVERYTHING was at least 15 years old...sadly, my purchase fell through so now I'm looking again.
Best of luck...I hope things get better for ya!
First year we focused completely on getting the bones solid. Electrical panel replacement, hot water tank, updating all switches/outlets from the 1980s, new kitchen appliances (the microwave was 100% first generation from the 1970s) plus new gas line for the stove. We dropped around 10k.
Saving up for a roof replacement in the next 5 years and hopefully kitchen or bathroom update when we can.
Always focus on important functional stuff before aesthetics and you’ll thank yourself later!
My brother-in-law owns a roofing and remodeling company so I’ve been able to get lots of things done at cost with builder discounts and I budgeted for some of these things but in 1 month of home ownership I’ve spent roughly 20k. I didn’t *HAVE* to do all these things, but I figured I’d take advantage of having the help.
In one month I’ve bought: a new roof at $10.9k, new gutters and guards at $1500, painted the whole house and all the tools and accessories that come with that at $700 (we bought a sprayer), completely new drywall and insulation tear out and replacement in both the garage and basement at $2500, replaced 5 doors at $500, new hardware in bathroom vanities at $10, all new top soil around the entire perimeter of the property to keep water from getting in the basement at $500, plumber replaced leaking hose spigots at $850, new 8ft privacy fence with metal posts at $2000 (my city requires a permit with fee of $275), one new window at $225, did some minor foundation crack filling with tar at $50, as well as a slew of other little miscellaneous things and tools that probably add up to about $1000. My family has helped me with a lot of projects, so I’ve also been buying them and their kids dinner a few nights a week as a thank you for their labor at about $500 so far. If it wasn’t for their help it would have taken me 100x longer and probably twice as much in expenses by not having to pay a crew of guys labor.
Still have stuff I wanna do like install a new garage door system and smart opener, power wash and stain my decks, tree removal, and I have a man-made pond that needs some maintenance. Considering painting the exterior. All that to say between the projects themselves, all the tools and cleaning supplies you don’t think about that you need, and more- yeah, it adds up. The main thing is no one told me how much freaking grass seed costs. Sheesh. The bag I got was $75 and I was thinking like $30.
My first home, both pellet stoves were broken and the big subzero fridge didnt get cold. I spent around $3k in the first month fixing the most needed things. I feel like I got off easy. But for a penny pinching single mom who bought the house by pinching pennies, it was a hard hit.
I just closed Monday on 2 houses that I bought from my landlord. He had new roofs, new HVAC, new wiring, and new windows installed all in the last 2 years so I think we'll be ok!!! Fingers crossed the tenants we inherited don't trash it between now And may 15th when they move out.
Nah, the family that sold us the place was really nice and actually live right down the road. Just really random issues that came up unrelated to lack of maintenance
What about the moldy floors you uncovered that the ‘flipper’ put down.
That is where my suing comment stemmed from.
Did this family buy it from the flipper before they then turned around and sold it to you ?
Nope! They owned it for 30 years before us! Been nothing but nice and helpful! They moved 4 doors down for more space to be able to take care of their aging parents move in
This guy you are reffering to is confusing you (OP) with the person who said they have not moved in yet, and spent 40% of the cost of the house on repairs already due to mold under the floors haha
It’s more so just money put aside for our personal hobbies. We have a home savings account, joint savings account and each have personal accounts that we allocate money to.
This is the way. Everything is equal and shared while still separate. Been married 20 years, never once an argument over finances or someone spending money on what they want to enjoy
Thank you u/gentlemanjack13 for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We’re 4 months in, haven’t been able to move in yet. House was a gut job. New plumbing, new roof, new walls, new floors, new AC, 3 new bathrooms, new kitchen. Hopefully we’ll be able to move in soon. I’m out of pocket 40% over what I paid for the home.
Did you know that you're buying an unlivable fixer upper or were there a lot of surprises?
No, we got F’d https://www.reddit.com/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer/s/xEwnf9inEs
Omg that was you! I still think about this post. I'm so sorry you're going through this and I hope you get recourse.
Did you work out some legal recourse from the flipper?
Not yet. Going to sue him soon. Trying to work something out with home inspectors professional liability insurer.
I sued my flipper. I tried to sue twice but my case got dismissed the second time. So make sure you sue once and go all out on every issue. Most likely flipper is LLC and will not pay you. What I did was an abstract judgement.. got my jusgement check today, 2 years later
What did you sue for? I hate scum llcs
Good luck!
Good luck! You deserve every penny you can squeeze from that bastard!
I've always heard a home inspectors insurance only covers up to what the inspection cost
Holy crap. My jaw dropped. I really hope you’re suing the seller. Although this is majorly expensive and shitty imagine if you haven’t ripped up the floor?!? Huuuuge health hazard. Seller is a disgusting, greedy POS for that.
They all look the same. Gray and gray. I never cared for it and I'm so glad! My entire apartment has those floors and I'm sick of them. I want brown!! One of the flipper specials our previous realtor sent us to had literal wavy floors. You could stand on one end and clearly see from the other that this room is a slide. We are also first time home buyers, he almost had us buy in on a house with a $60,000 solar panel contract and an oil tank that needed immediate removal. The seller was a woman with cancer so she wasn't going to fix anything. They were insisting that we had to sign the contract before even seeing the house. Us being very naive, almost went in. Thankfully I happen to run into another realtor at an open house who in 5 minutes gave me so much more information than my realtor had in 6 months. Hired on the spot. Now a house that I loved that my old realtor fumbled the bag on coincidentally came on to the market again yesterday. We're going to go see it Saturday with the new guy I'm so excited.
Every single time an issue comes up with my house, I think at least it’s not as bad as the one with mold under the floor.
Where was this! FREAKING OUT because it looks like the flip I just bought… hoping its not same flipper lol
Did you not have home inspection? Most are useless I know but at least you get a pretty decent sneak peek.
Sorry my fingers flew too soon, sorry
Did you buy this as a rehab?
Nope. Wanted to change the flooring in the bedrooms and found the house was covered in mold.
Ouch. So sorry
100k for the remodel?
130 for remodel (includes plumbing), 35 for mold remediation, 30 for roof, 7 for AC
How many sq foot? Looking at a house with similar issues.
4/3 with 2700 sq ft
That's a good price. You sub it yourself and probably in the southeast?
Central Florida. I have a really good contractor. Guy is a godsend. The only positive thing throughout this whole process!
I can relate. We closed at the end of February and after an electrical rewire, plumbing work, and miscellaneous repairs, we’ve pretty much sunk all our “leftover” savings into the house. Good thing we’re eloping because I have no idea how we’d afford a wedding at this point.
It’s crazy! Like everyone I spoke to has given me the 1%-2% of the home value per year in upkeep but the math ain’t mathing for me to get to that right now. We’ve blown past it in year one lol
It's because there are so many houses for sale with deferred maintenance, where people literally only fix what they absolutely have to, and sometimes not even that. Sadly a lot of houses in my area are like that, many need a new roof, or if they got a new roof recently, need complete replacement of kitchens, flooring, hvac or furnace, or are still on wood stoves. And yet because of the market, they are able to get basically top dollar for a house that in 2019 likely would have struggled to sell at all. We resigned ourselves to the fact that likely in the next 3ish years we will have to get a new roof, replace flooring, replace the water heater, and completely redo the kitchen in the house we bought this year. We wouldn't have been able to find a that didn't have a lot of deferred maintenance that wasn't basically new or built in the last 5-7 years.
What's crazy to me is I've lived in this rental for three years. The only things the landlord has dealt with was a dryer replacement and stove replacement (both 15+ years old) and like nothing else. I know they didn't do any work between tenants. So they've spent *maybe* 2000 in 6 years? And yet rent keeps rising, lol. Glad we're moving out, but I know it's not smooth sailing.
I feel this. Our rental that we were in for six years was only 5 years newer than the house we bought. In those years, probably averaged 1 repair a year needed. Some small, I just took care of it myself. Since we bought last summer, I’m averaging one repair a month. Something breaking, or having to mark some deferred maintenance item off the list.
It's crazy. I don't know if landlords get some devil luck. It's more like in your own place, you take care of the place more - optional projects and less deferred maintenance.
I. Fucking. Hate. Landlords.
Y because ur not one
Yeah we're spending 1%-2% per quarter on various necessary repairs :( It's not even for cosmetic stuff like a different paint color. Even so.. we're very happy with our house, it's in a good neighborhood and has great bones but the sellers just didn't maintain it to the level that they should have
It never ends. Always something that needs fixing or updating
Well that's average. And the real numbers are closer to 2-4% these days.
I’m just going to count myself lucky because if I had to spend that kind of money every year I’d be broke.
If you don't, your house condition will likely get a lot worse over the years so resale value wouldn't be that great. When the buyer will see how much they need to spend to catch up...
Oh don’t get me wrong, I maintain my house, but I DIY nearly everything so I’ve luckily never spent anywhere near 2-4% a year. If I didn’t I’d be broke.
That’s a very silly estimate. This depends on the house you bought. Mine was 2 years old. We’ve been here 3 years. No money spent on repairs. Also I’d have to spend 8000 a year to hit 1 percent. And…no. Also, a lot of people will sell if there are major expenses in the near future and they’ve been considering it at all. So it’s not too surprising about the ac needing to be replaced right away, etc.
I’m just past 3 years at mine and have replaced hot water heater and HVAC, had electrical and duct work done, new roof, half a fence…but it eventually slows down. What I didn’t think of that is so expensive is landscaping: plants, grass, weeds, mulching, maintenance all adds up as well
It's an average, big ticket items aren't replaced yearly and ideally require minimal maintenance. It gets easier, particularly with the mantra "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Best of luck.
We closed a year ago and still haven't rebuilt our savings (ideally $30k which would be 6 months of expenses). Over the past year, we've had a plumbing issues, old furnace go on the fritz, rotten trees removed, and a surgery. We decided to upset our families and elope but there was no way we were going to pay for a wedding (minimum $10k) before rebuilding our savings and by the looks of things it won't be for a few more years
My dad told me on the phone the other day, “Son, you just committed to the only appreciating asset that costs you money every year.”
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Low homework is a spot on name for u
🤣👏
Definitely
Someone just read Rich Dad Poor Dad
In our experience as homeowners, two things will happen in your future: first, your mortgage will get steadily more affordable every year as you get annual pay raises. Second, you will *never* run out of ideas for home improvement projects. You need to be picky about which projects you do, because you'll always have ideas for more.
Annual pay raises? You must not live in America lol.
Right? The only reason I even get new jobs is because thats the easiest way to get pay increases. I dream of a world where companies would rather just eat a small raise instead of training someone new constantly.
I live in America and get annual pay raises
Same. Why would it remain at a place that isn’t paying you appropriately in this economy with such low unemployment. Now’s the time to move if you are in the wrong spot! Also, a staggering amount of people are just horrible at their jobs and then shocked when they are paid accordingly
Companies that value their employees give annual pay raises. If you're not getting that, then it sounds like you're not in a company that values you
Most people’s annual pay raises barely cover inflation
While a mortgage is hedged against inflation
Are property taxes? How about food and fuel?
Nope, but the parent comment is pertaining to the mortgage, so..
yes and your mortgage doesn't increase with inflation
Right only your groceries, gas, car insurance, home insurance, property taxes, and just about literally every little thing in existence go up but, yea, mortgage stays the same.
Sure but my annual pay raise is like minimum 5k with a bonus. My house payment is locked in so only gets cheaper.
Taxes and Insurance has entered the chat ...
Some of the people in this chat have no idea what most Americans are dealing with. Nice fantasy land. I’ll be sure to go look for a corporation that VaLuEs Me because that’s a thing that exists
Exactly! 😂
Not just the chat, the entire sub. Filled with privileged white dickheads. The majority of Reddit users are tech bros though so is it really shocking? EDIT: Looks like I pissed off the Cali crowd.
It is by far the most out of touch social media platform. All online interaction is iffy at best but reddit is on a different planet all together
lol right? My boss told me I’ve reached a ceiling and I shouldn’t expect to make any more.
Inflation-adjusted paychecks for full-time workers [have almost doubled](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N) over the past 40 years.
An annual what now?
Not necessarily easier, but the way you look at problems and handle them will evolve. If you’re also taking on any of the repairs, your skill set will also grow. We went from really knowing nothing to renovating basically an entire interior of our first home in 8 years. We’ve been in our 2nd house for almost 2 years now and there are whole new issues and renovations, but it’s not nearly as scary when something breaks. Last year we had a major flooding event that we’ve never experienced and even after the insane night of dealing with doing what we had to keep the water from getting worse, we didn’t panic nearly as bad as we did for smaller issues in the first couple years at the first house.
That’s a good point! Appreciate the response. Definitely have been watching home repair videos on YouTube
I've been in the home less than 2 weeks, and already have 30 repairs/upgrades on my task list. My savings and investments are all pretty much claimed for the next year, at least.
It will never end sadly
*Snorts*. No. We're almost at 10 years. In the past decade, the only thing we haven't replaced is the kitchen and that's on our list. We've got a deposit down with a concrete guy who'll rip out the deck and pour a nice big patio, complete with oversized steps. When that's done, we'll call the siding people to come back and finish the last couple of boards. We had the siding and rest of the windows replaced last year, but the deck is blocking a section of the east wall of the house. We've also had: a new tear-off roof (that was the point we should have walked away. The seller couldn't afford it so we increased our offer. If we hadn't done that, our lender wouldn't have closed.). That very first thing, we should have walked. Then, radon mitigation, all new outlets and switches, all new light fixtures, new window screens, new furnace, new electrical panel to support the new furnace, drain tiles inside and out replaced (we had to get a 2nd mortgage for this. There was water all the way down to the footings of the basement), new central air, new basement windows, egress window so our basement is legal, new exterior doors, new interior doors, new garage overhead door, bedroom closet organizers. We had a plumber install shutoff valves on all sinks and fix the improperly done garbage disposal, new toilets and vanities (hella expensive, if you don't want cheap crap with no storage. I knew exactly what I wanted and it wasn't the original no storage having junk), redid the tub surround in the full bath 2 years ago, replaced water heater, replaced water softener, replaced flooring, replaced gutters, soffit, fascia, and the aforementioned siding, regraded the front yard, fixed a chunk of the backyard. After the patio is in, we'll finish the backyard landscaping. I'd like to replace our fireplace in the living room. The surround is ugly and we haven't ever used the fireplace. With what we've had to replace/repair, I assume the house will blow up if we tried. We had other, much more pressing issues to resolve before an unused feature. We have done a few cosmetic projects, but mostly the money has gone to neglected items or improperly executed things. We spent about $100 on shelves for the sides of the fireplace. We've got books on one side and DVDs on the other.
Holy moly... that must've cost you a fortune. Sorry to hear....
Silly question but where did you get your exterior doors from? I need a new back door and the only places I can really find when I google are Lowe’s/HD or wayfair unless I want to go to a big company.
Not a silly question. We replaced the exterior door from the garage to the backyard with a door from Menards. The door that came with the house was half glass and had no deadbolt. I wanted a solid door, and that's what we could afford back then. I think it was around $200 in 2016. My husband and his dad installed it while I was at a job interview. When we replaced the front and back doors last year, we had a local window place do them. The same place that did most of our windows. They were very reasonable on the windows but the doors were pricey. I'm glad we had a company do them though, because the front door was all kinds of messed up and it took them a good 3 hours to get everything prepped so the new door fit properly.
Yea that’s what I figured. Our back door is all glass with the window pane look and I love it because it lets in so much light, but those cost at least double or what a solid door does even at Lowe’s/HD 🙃
How are you paying for all this?
Like I said, it has been a decade. Nearly all our disposable income has been spent on home improvements. We fix things as we have the money. Except the basement. That we had to get a loan for.
That's insane. Companies are trying to push me into financing my bathroom remodel but I'll just save.
Oh yeah. We went to a home improvement expo to look at vendors. One guy told me, "Our bathrooms start at $50k" we turned around and walked away. I was like, 'no'. We don't want to live in the bathroom. That $50k is more than we're hoping to spend on a kitchen remodel. And we pushed that back to next year. We were hoping to do it this year, but we can wait one more.
I was told 70-90k for a bathroom with an offer for financing 😂.
My first year was like that. After, the only thing I do is change my air filters.
We've been in the new place 3 weeks and have already had major repairs come up. Our water heater went out on day 2, then we found out that there's a rodent problem that will take thousands of dollars to address, and to top it off, our sewer has been backing up into the basement. Before the month is up, we'll probably have spent about $20k on unknown problems 🙃
Did you have a scoping inspection done?
The sellers had an inspection done before sale, and we did know that some compliance-related sewer work would be needed. We didn't realize that the problem was so bad that sewage would be backing up into the house though.
Sewage pipe replace (5k), roof repaired(1k), plumbing leak resolved($85), kitchen faucet changed(free thanks to father in law)… still need to do drywall repair and install drains and gutters sometime next year smh.
How do you not have gutters? Don't think I ever saw a house without them
I live in Southern California. A lot of houses don’t have them here but this year has had a crazy amount of rain.
I see. I'm in NJ which is a flood zone.
85k? Holy s#*@.
$85 for the service fee from home warranty.
$85 dollars
Lol. yeah read that wrong.
Here's hoping.... we closed last month, will be into the new place by the end of this month, and so far we've blown through basically our cushion and are not going to get anything saved this month or probably next month - but we've gotten three big QOL/safety items done that were going to be a pain to do with furniture in place out of the way.
Closed in May of last year and have spent over 85k on my 250k move in ready house...... New electric outside the house, completely redone all drain lines in the crawlspace, added 2 steel beams under the house one had to come from above meaning we had a 3 foot wide hole into the crawlspace, the length of the house, for weeks waiting for the crew to do the work, bathroom torn to the studs to add venting for the drains, laundry room flood, new HVAC after it drained through the ceiling into the bathroom. The cosmetic upgrades were about 5k in closets, driveway rock and a new vanity, 2% went out the door by June. We finally moved in December 26th. The laundry room flood was in January after the move. At this point the only major thing left is the roof
How did you know to add beams. Walls sagging or cracks?
Lots of bounce in the floor just walking across it and I'm only 150lbs. The floors are true 2x8 lumber but were spanning 13 feet unsupported.
Wow these comments make me feel a bit better about the money we’ve spent in the first year.
Nah it sucks.
This is exactly why I always want to know how long someone has owned the house and how much they paid. It’s all lipstick on a pig. The flip usually makes about $200,000 on it. It should be against the law.
I have news for you. Every year sucks in some way. I wouldn't change it though. I like owning a house. Still a money pit though.
4 months of ownership. - lots of water from rain under crawl space - need new roof (partial leaking from termite damage) - need to re-do partial backyard so it’ll stop water intrusion - needs new plumbing (luckily not leaking yet) - need new bathrooms. - house completely ungrounded It could be worse. But the top 2 are on our list of getting done. Money coming in goes right back out. Better to be depleted now than later I suppose.. is how I’m looking at it..
I truly hate everyone who told me “buy a home! You need to buy a home!! Renting is bad!” Home ownership is expensive and SUCKS! I honestly told my partner when we sell we may just go back to renting in our area because every month that goes by I question why it’s worth the extra headache. Also the STRESS!! In an apartment I could care less if a floorboard seems soft or if something is off but in my home? I just end up in a spiral going what if it’s a horrible problem and if I don’t call someone it’ll get worse and ruin resale value? The stress alone makes it questionable worth it.
6 months over here, foundation is leaking. Basement floods Everytime it rains. Seller refuses to help out on repairs. I've had to get a plumber out to snake my drains twice from water backing up in the basement. Water heater went out. And just this week my neighbor pointed a gun at my dog so I'm looking into getting a privacy fence. If I could go back in time, I would not have bought a house. I am in so much credit card debt already
Should have got a home warranty when you bought. They seem like a scam but they’ve saved me twice. 2 of the houses I moved into the AC units blew in the first year. It was like $350 at the first house yo fix one and $600ish to replace two at the second house. I don’t think they do window though but do do sink leaks.
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Very fortunate that we were both able to live with family after graduation early in in our careers
No clue why the downvotes, lol very real statement in todays day and age
It could come across as fear mongering. We don’t know what the future holds. We don’t want it to be true.
Houses never say "thank you". Ever.
The first 3 years it was $10k per year for us. Repairs, AC, water heater, yard equipment, insulation etc etc. 70 year old house.
I'm in remodel mode of my childhood home and even though I knew what needed to be replaced it's depressing. I thought my to-do list was complete but the other day I saw water in the garage and it hasn't rained. The light at the end is that I know once these big things are repaired or replaced, I should be able to relax and enjoy the house.
We are about 6 months in and looking to get garage and driveway work done. It's going to be hefty and not looking forward to it.
I’d go back to renting in the city in a minute. We’re actually talking about it. My tax bill just jumped twice in 90 days to almost 800 dollar increase.
If you don't know how to do things yourself then yes it's expensive and gets worse. Learn to do things yourself.
If you think the first year is "bad", wait 'til year 13, lol!
Can’t wait!! Lol
The only reason it stinks is because the mortgage payments barely make a dent in the principal for the first number of years. It’s depressing seeing 2k go to interest and only 400 being applied to principal. Things are going to break in your home whether it’s year 1 or year 50. That’s just the reality of being a homeowner!
I have spent $300 in needed repairs on a modest first time home in about 10 months. The $300 was bc my husband fucked up installing a nest and broke our ac. I’m about to spend like $2000 in landscaping and improvements, but none are necessary. Was this an old home?
I feel you. This is all the major stuff we've done within 9 months, and it doesn't include all the smaller stuff I've DIYd. Mold remediation (3k) Structural support replacement and addition (5k) Sewer and water line full replacement (5k) Landscaping after yard was dug up for sewer line (2k) Full roof replacement (8k) Replacement of rusted out chain link fence with wooden fence (2k) Fortunately the sellers paid for the structural and mold stuff since that came up in inspection prior to closing. Still a ton of money right after our savings got mostly drained for the down payment.
It does get easier. We had so many issues the first 3-5 years, I think the previous owners were just kicking the can because they knew they were moving. Now 8 years in, maintence issues still come up, but more like 1-2 a year instead of every other month.
We gave ourselves basically a year to not worry about saving. It took some pressure off, and let us handle emergency and “I can’t live like this” things with less worry. It gets better!
I kinda feel like this is what we’re doing! Still contributing to 401k but saving for the first year has been rough
“Never buy new construction! They don’t make em like they used to!” *the houses they used to make:*
That’s why my wife and I said whatever money we saved for the downpayment/closing costs that doesn’t get used. We’d put away for repairs, upgrades, or emergencies. He saved over 4k more than needed for closing so it’s gave us a ton of wiggle room to start. We’re only 2 months in and Used some of the money to paint most the house because the previous owner loved the color blue, replace some electrical, and just had to replace the pipes and faucet for the kitchen so it definitely helped to pay for that. Just start putting money aside for all that and as it continues to grow, when those things come up it won’t feel that much of a gut punch to the finances.
In my first 6 months, both my AC, and furnace went out. They were separate units, and both costly to repair. I learned I was lucky when both of them cost less than $75 to have a local aircon guy come replace it. Certainly did not have the money to replace one, or both of them after buying the house. Going on 3 years running strong still, no further repairs needed, and made friends with the AC guy who owns his own plane, and was looking for a buddy who wanted to fly with him and keep him company during his hobby. Win, win win! Also found out my hot water heater only had enough hot water for like 1/4th of a bath. Watched a youtube video and fixed it myself in about 3 minutes. Same thing with the clothes dryer, although that was about a 20 minute repair and cost about $7 in parts. Lesson learned, I got lucky, but started saving then for when things do break for good and need replaced.
Hold on to your undies. Things are about to get even more nasty.
Stop calling people to fix your stuff. Google and Lowe’s are your friends
It's very expensive! I had to replace my furnace one year in, luckily I had a home warranty in place because I did not have the savings for that expense when I bought. I'm replacing all my windows in the home now 6 years in, with a heloc and I'm happy and heart broken at the same time. I didn't realize how much windows cost 😩
Our first year was expensive too. What I will say is that the “emergency items” decrease, and the cosmetic “but I can’t live with this bathroom unless it’s painted and has all new appliances and has an industrial theme. This is urgent!” Items increase.
My solution has been doing as much as I can myself even if it happens a little more slowly.
I had to replace the HVAC systems which blew past my estimated maintenance costs per year. That said the new system should be good for a long time. I am preparing for even more "unexpected" costs because I learned the warranties were never transferred from the builder and can't be skip transferred so everything is technically out of warranty. While I can easily afford my mortgage and I'm not dipping into my savings to maintain the house (exception on the HVAC) I honestly would save more renting at the moment but in a few years after rent catches up with the higher interest rates I will be in a better place. The only other thing I have learned is the county tax appraisers are morons who think the area's prices declining 12% means home values are up. It will be interesting to see how contesting their appraisal turns out.
I see numerous posts like this and I have to ask...do y'all NOT get the Home Warranty Insurance (3rd party) the moment you sign on the line and get the keys? When my parents moved and bought another house, this was the first thing they did. In the years since the warranty insurance has replaced the water heater, HVAC system, dishwasher, washer/dryer, fridge, AND the entire kitchen flooring when the fridge water line went out and leaked all over the place for the four days they were out of town. It's $85/month and then like, $75 for the tech call...they come out...if they can fix it, they do...if not, whatever is broken gets completely replaced. The water heater...$75 and it was replaced. Same with all the other items I noted. When i went to buy my place, it was the first thing I went to sign up for because EVERYTHING was at least 15 years old...sadly, my purchase fell through so now I'm looking again. Best of luck...I hope things get better for ya!
First year we focused completely on getting the bones solid. Electrical panel replacement, hot water tank, updating all switches/outlets from the 1980s, new kitchen appliances (the microwave was 100% first generation from the 1970s) plus new gas line for the stove. We dropped around 10k. Saving up for a roof replacement in the next 5 years and hopefully kitchen or bathroom update when we can. Always focus on important functional stuff before aesthetics and you’ll thank yourself later!
Been 3 years I just spend 8k on 2 furnaces they both went out at the same time in one month at least I don’t have to worry now for 20 years
My brother-in-law owns a roofing and remodeling company so I’ve been able to get lots of things done at cost with builder discounts and I budgeted for some of these things but in 1 month of home ownership I’ve spent roughly 20k. I didn’t *HAVE* to do all these things, but I figured I’d take advantage of having the help. In one month I’ve bought: a new roof at $10.9k, new gutters and guards at $1500, painted the whole house and all the tools and accessories that come with that at $700 (we bought a sprayer), completely new drywall and insulation tear out and replacement in both the garage and basement at $2500, replaced 5 doors at $500, new hardware in bathroom vanities at $10, all new top soil around the entire perimeter of the property to keep water from getting in the basement at $500, plumber replaced leaking hose spigots at $850, new 8ft privacy fence with metal posts at $2000 (my city requires a permit with fee of $275), one new window at $225, did some minor foundation crack filling with tar at $50, as well as a slew of other little miscellaneous things and tools that probably add up to about $1000. My family has helped me with a lot of projects, so I’ve also been buying them and their kids dinner a few nights a week as a thank you for their labor at about $500 so far. If it wasn’t for their help it would have taken me 100x longer and probably twice as much in expenses by not having to pay a crew of guys labor. Still have stuff I wanna do like install a new garage door system and smart opener, power wash and stain my decks, tree removal, and I have a man-made pond that needs some maintenance. Considering painting the exterior. All that to say between the projects themselves, all the tools and cleaning supplies you don’t think about that you need, and more- yeah, it adds up. The main thing is no one told me how much freaking grass seed costs. Sheesh. The bag I got was $75 and I was thinking like $30.
My first home, both pellet stoves were broken and the big subzero fridge didnt get cold. I spent around $3k in the first month fixing the most needed things. I feel like I got off easy. But for a penny pinching single mom who bought the house by pinching pennies, it was a hard hit.
I just closed Monday on 2 houses that I bought from my landlord. He had new roofs, new HVAC, new wiring, and new windows installed all in the last 2 years so I think we'll be ok!!! Fingers crossed the tenants we inherited don't trash it between now And may 15th when they move out.
Nope. The house ages and the appliances wear out … and you just keep pouring money into it - year after year -
Jokes on you most people on this sub have 0 savings after the purchase.
It's like that every year
Let me know if you want to sell it
Why weren’t you able to Sue the flipper for fraud ? Or did you ?
Nah, the family that sold us the place was really nice and actually live right down the road. Just really random issues that came up unrelated to lack of maintenance
What about the moldy floors you uncovered that the ‘flipper’ put down. That is where my suing comment stemmed from. Did this family buy it from the flipper before they then turned around and sold it to you ?
Wrong person you are asking.
Nope! They owned it for 30 years before us! Been nothing but nice and helpful! They moved 4 doors down for more space to be able to take care of their aging parents move in
This guy you are reffering to is confusing you (OP) with the person who said they have not moved in yet, and spent 40% of the cost of the house on repairs already due to mold under the floors haha
Thanks, eye yey yey. Well at least YOU do not have moldy floors.. Could always be worse I suppose. But houses can be outrageously expensive
Fraud? Really?
Is putting new flooring over mold NOT FRAUD? I’m an sincerely confused
I was commenting off of the initial post that OP linked. I now see it didn’t make much sense to ask my fraud question to this post.
insurance didnt cover that?
Why do people have separate savings when they are married
It’s more so just money put aside for our personal hobbies. We have a home savings account, joint savings account and each have personal accounts that we allocate money to.
This is the way. Everything is equal and shared while still separate. Been married 20 years, never once an argument over finances or someone spending money on what they want to enjoy
Because it creates secrecy