We have officially been home owners for six months! When we started the house buying process I thought I’d document the before, during and after aspects of house shopping, narrowing down our options and then deciding on the “right one”. Turns out the whole adventure was too stressful to even think about anything else! We ended up with a bit of a fixer-upper so we also started remodeling THE SAME DAY that we closed on the house! Crazytown, I’ll tell ya! I do have pictures, I’ll eventually share but for now let’s start with the basics.

We have certainly learned a thing or two in these few months and I also asked some friends to chime in. If you own a home please leave your advice in the comments, perhaps we’ll do a part 2.

Homeownership: Planning & Money

• I remember during the “shopping” phase how weird it was the large dollar amounts being thrown around. We found ourselves saying things like “well, that one is only $15,000 more.” Umm, hello? Never in my life have I dealt with such large figures in such a nonchalant way. So advice number 1: This is not play money! You will be on the line for it, for 15 or 30 years.
• Make a plan for how you will budget and spend house money before you get in and get swept away by all the excitement. If you plan on doing any remodeling it’s important to decide how you will budget for it. Some people opt to do most of it upfront with money that’s been set aside. We decided to do one area of the house at a time. We started with the Master Bathroom the day we closed on the house. We had 10 days before we needed to be out of our apartment so we used that time for demo-ing, painting and cleaning.
• Plan on budgeting for downpayment AND repairs. A highschool friend Reanon said, “I would specifically say to not just think about the down payment when you are saving for a home. That’s certainly important, but you have to have both the down payment, and the stash for repairs. It’s amazing how quickly something can break after you put your name on that line.”
• My friend Elle said “During the 10 day option period get an inspection as soon as you can schedule (most inspectors will come out on weekends) and if there are issues that they cannot figure out then get a specialist out there to inspect (HVAC, plumbing, electrician). I had the seller look into an AC issue at my house and they said it was fine…two weeks after I moved in I had to buy an entirely new AC unit in August in TX…looking back I should’ve gotten my own inspector. Also, might be wise during this time to see your cable and internet options…my community only had one option available and I had no idea until I moved in.”
• Put your money where you mouth is. I find it amazing how many people have opinions about things in YOUR home. Especially things that have cost associated with them. Rory and I have a 72 line-item excel file with all our wishlist items. But for some reason it really irritates me when someone comes into our house and says “you should get different counter-top”. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had friends give great advice like “go to this store to get this item for a much better price.” And we so much appreciate that kind of input but the general, here’s a thing that costs a lot of money you should do… not very helpful.
• RealPoshMom, who has owned a few homes in different States, says “Always have cushion of cash for home repairs.”
• Money and repairs were a recurring theme when I asked for advice. I’d say James Loomstein summed it up pretty well:

1. It’s more expensive than you think. 
2. You’ll end up knowing your way around Home Depot/Lowes like you do your supermarket 
3. You end up watching an amazing amount of HGTV. You think, I can do that. No, no you can’t.
4. And, it’s more expensive than you think.

Homeownership: Seasonal Expectations

• We closed on our house in mid-May. In Texas, May is just the beginning of super hot Summer. We had our A/C checked early on in the deciding process. I’d highly recommend having more than one professional check the status of your A/C and heating devices.
• Speaking of very large machines that can cost a lot, I’d also recommend getting a home warranty. We went with Nations Home Warranty because they are local and we know them personally. My friend Tom said “I  needed several repairs within the first year of buying my house, but due to the warranty none of them cost me more than $50.”
• Research your Utility Companies: I’ve lived in apartments for the past 10 years, so Utility companies were almost always chosen by the apartment management company. While we were deciding who to use for electricity we thought about two things: reliability and how it fit with our lifestyle. Two nerds live in our house, which means we have a lot of gadgets. We decided to go with Reliant for a few reasons, they have a great reputation, I love their commercials (did I mention I’m a nerd) and I really wanted a NEST! I am also excited to announce that I have been chosen to be a Reliant Ambassador! So for the next year or so I’ll get to pass along energy conserving resources that I get directly from Reliant!
• Deciding on an Electricity plan: I spent some time talking with Reliant reps and reviewing their website before we ended up with the Learn & Conserve Plan. The main reason we decided on that one was, we had no idea how much electricity we’d be using so we too were eager to learn how to conserve energy in larger space.
• Energy audit: I’m not sure how many companies offer this feature, but Reliant sent out a representative to walk every part of our house with me. He showed me energy readings on our windows, told me stats about ice makers, and gave me a list of suggestions both large and small to improve on our overall energy usage in the house. Our house was built in the 80s so some of those suggestions are larger budget, but a few things were easy and cheap to fix! If you want to know specifics about how Reliant’s Energy Audit works My Dallas Mommy did a thorough review.
• Seasonal maintenance calendar: being a nerdy couple, we have a shared Google calendar that we’ve used mostly for social events. Rory found a great resource from the Art of Manliness with weekly, Quarterly and Monthly maintenance checklists. One weekend we sat down and went through the whole list and put in recurring calendar reminders for the items that were relevant to our home. Most of the list applied to us, but there are a few “prepping your A/C for snow season” type items that don’t really apply in Texas.

Homeownership advice: Decorating & fun stuff

• My favorite part of owning a home has by far been the decorating. I started planning (thanks to Pinterest) well before we closed on the house.
• Stay in budget. Are you noticing a trend? There are still a few rooms that I haven’t finished decorating yet because I’m watching for sale items. I’m pretty particular about my decor. But I also love finding items at a discount, so I’m fine with waiting until the right piece is available at just the right price!

Homeownership advice: Repairs & Remodeling

• This tip comes from Simon Salt: “Learn your home. Understand the fusebox, the plumbing, etc. So you don’t get ripped off by service people.” I could not agree more. It’s certainly a continual learning process.
• Another Dallas friend Victoria Harres, has quite a few pointers: “make wise choices in the things that add value to your new investment. Good, nay excellent insulation and efficient windows will save you money. Also, find a good plumber and an HVAC person before you are in an emergency situation. And, make friends with your neighbors. You will become a clan that looks out for each other”. We are still working on a few of those tips in our own home – first off the check list was new insulation.
• Find a contractor that you reallllllyyy like. If you opt to hire someone to help with remodeling you will be seeing this person a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. I was really happy with the guy we used for our bathroom remodel. When we are ready to budget for the next room I will certainly use him again.

• Be patient: it will take longer than you expect. Seriously, if you have family coming in from out of the country don’t start a remodel. If you are on any type of set time schedule, plan on it taking double what you think.
• On that note, Lauren Finegan who just bought her first house a few weeks ago says “budget with a list of priorities…and whatever you need or want, keep adding to the list. Also, ask and look around for estate sales/internet for great deals/services before unloading a lot of unnecessary cash.”
• Michael suggests being selective with your remodeling adventures. “If your first home is going to be a starter home you don’t plan on staying in long term, try and focus any DIY projects to something that will add value to your home rather than something you like. The rainbow colored backsplash and tile job in the kitchen you love may be a deal breaker to the next potential homebuyer.”
• Similar to Michael’s point Sue said “Don’t overspend and price your house out of the surrounding market”. I’m really glad we ended up in the area we are in for this exact reason. We have room to improve without pricing ourself out of the neighborhood.
• I love this advice from Mardon: “Stephen Covey, wrote an entire chapter on ‘Begin with the end in mind’. If our home is one of our biggest investments, then maybe we should do what wealthy people do. We should think like investors and buy with the sell in mind. Therefore, the home projects, do not skimp on quality. Become very acquainted with Angie’s List. Find and hire a professional and reputable handyman. The best decision you’ll ever make. You’ll thank me on this. I guarantee it.”

Are you overwhelmed yet? This is why buying your first home is such a big (and stressful) decision! The good news is there are so many resources available! One very helpful place to look for advice is Houzz. You can post specific questions or look at other’s design challenges. It’s a never ending flood of pretty pictures and helpful people! Here’s 11K forum discussions related to new homeowners… that should keep you busy.

If you own a home, what advice would you give to a first time homeowner?