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“Study Your Potential Neighbors”: Homeowners Share 40 Things They Wish They Had Known Before Buying Their First Houses
There are likely a million thoughts racing through your mind when purchasing your first home. What are the neighbors like? Will my dog like the backyard? How are the schools in the area? Is there lots of road noise at night?
No matter how hard you try to cross off every box and inspect every inch of the home, there’s probably still something that you missed. So to spare others the trouble of making the same mistakes they did, first-time homeowners have been opening up on Reddit about the lessons they had to learn the hard way.
Take note of anything that you want to remember when you’re house hunting, pandas, and keep reading to find a conversation with Jaime Seale of Clever Real Estate!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
#1 — Avoid buying a home with an HOA like it’s the plague!!!
Tee Rat 1 year ago
Absolutely! The better than thou individual that started the first HOA (home owner's associations) should be villified until the end of time. For those unfamiliar, an HOA is a group, in certain housing divisions, that is elected to keep the area following certain bylaws that have been set in place by the board. If you want to install a fence around your yard, put up a mailbox, change your house color etc., it must fall within the guidelines. Some HOA's won't let you park in the street or let you leave your car in your driveway. People pay thousands of dollars a year in HOA fees to live in these sanitized communities. Before you close on a house you will know that it's an HOA, but every once in awhile some Karen will try to get a petition going to make the subdivision an HOA. It's freaking crazy.
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#2
Any home improvement project, whether DIY or contracted out, will take longer than you expected and cost more than you originally thought.
To gain more insight on what it's like to be a first-time homeowner, we reached out to Jaime Seale at Clever Real Estate, and lucky for us, she was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. When it comes to the biggest mistakes first time home-owners make, Jaime says one of the most common is buying more house than they can afford. "This is especially common if they’re fixated on finding their 'dream home.' About 1 in 4 homeowners (28%) regret spending too much, making it one of the most common regrets," she noted.
"First-time buyers are usually desperate to become homeowners, and as a result, they’re willing to take more financial risks to own a home," Jaime continued. "For example, 42% of first-time buyers offered more than the asking price, compared to just 33% of repeat buyers. But nearly two-thirds of first-time buyers (63%) admit they overpaid for their home."
#3
The problems with your neighbors may be greater than the problems with your house!
StumblingThroughLife 1 year ago (edited)
Very true. Have a garden-party-neighbour with 5 very loud dogs. I made the mistake of viewing my house in the week. I should have gone to view it in the evening at a weekend - or at least take a walk around the area to get a feel re: neighbours. Can't afford to sell up and move in the current Cost of Living Crisis.
#4
Go for a house with a simple, straightforward roof design. The more complicated it is, the more expensive it is to fix and maintain it
Kira Okah 1 year ago (edited)
And not flat, they have shorter lifespans and all hell breaks loose if you don't know when it was last worked on. Still dealing with the aftermath of that - precautionary flat roof work after a storm because we didn't know when it was last worked on got delayed by the pandemic, and we got a flooded room.
#5
Make sure you know where and how to shut off the water
Tee Rat 1 year ago
My wife's ex FIL used scrap plumbing parts on her pipes leading to to the bathroom. When the fresh water line to the toilet started leaking from the faucet I ran downstairs and this man connected eight faucets together instead of piping. To top it off not one faucet would shut off the water, I had to shut it off at the main.
Jaime went on to note that nearly half of first-time home buyers (45%) exceeded their budget. "That puts them in a precarious financial position. About 65% of first-time buyers have struggled to pay their mortgage on time, and 61% have had to take on additional debt to maintain their lifestyle since purchasing their home," the expert explained. "Overextending their budget puts first-time homeowners at increased risk of foreclosure and makes it tough to meet other financial goals, such as saving for retirement."
But spending too much isn't the only common mistake home buyers make. Jaime says another is buying too quickly, with 30% of home buyers admitting that they rushed their decision. "Although sometimes it’s necessary to move fast, the real estate market is slowing, giving buyers more time to think through their decisions," she explained. "Homeownership is a big commitment of time and money, and buyers need to be sure they’re purchasing a home that meets their needs and fits their budget."
#6
Water is the enemy. Make sure it’s never pooling near your house.
When it comes to the most important factors first-time buyers should consider before purchasing, Jaime says they need to think about the additional costs of homeownership beyond the mortgage payment. "Annual maintenance, repairs and improvements can cost thousands of dollars each year. If buyers bought more house than they could afford, they may not have much money saved for emergency repairs, causing them to go into debt."
"Maintenance and repair costs are no joke, and one-third of homeowners (33%) say they regret buying a home that requires too much maintenance — making it the most common regret," Jaime continued. "Although older homes and fixer-uppers might seem like a bargain for first-time buyers who are strapped for cash, they need to consider if the costs to repair and maintain them are worth the lower listing price."
#9
Location -not just the neighborhood but the actual spot the home sits on- is important. My first home a great starter place, and I got lucky with no major issues until I'd been there for a few years. But I was on a main road, and it was noisy and DIRTY from the traffic. That was not something I could change or really work around, but I was so excited about the budget and the area and other things that I missed that major piece when I bought. (Young and dumb.)
You will never be totally prepared for all the things that can go wrong. I took a shower one day then walked down to the kitchen and found my tub was now leaking through the kitchen ceiling onto the stove top. Dinner, and my budget, were destroyed, and I went through three diy fixes before I had the money saved to call in a pro to fix it.
You can live with a lot of c**p when you can't afford to fix it. After kitchen ceiling/bathroom leak fix number two, I left the ceiling open and just taped a piece of cardboard over it to keep from having to look at the bottom of my tub from the kitchen, but to still leave it accessible for the inevitable fail of my latest fix. Cardboard duct taped to the ceiling is SUPER classy, but I forgot about it unless someone else was over.
Anyway, home number one taught me a lot, and when I sold it, I had a list of key things to find in place number two based on my experiences. Cosmetic things were not high on that list, but a bathroom that wasn't leaking into the kitchen was #1.
#10
Visit your perspective house at different times day and night. Don't get surprised by loud neighbors, etc
Edit: traffic noise changes, lighting at night, etc. Yes, absolutely neighbors change, be prepared for that.
Carrie Laughs 1 year ago
One person moves out and you get new neighbours and that can change the whole dynamic. Do all of these things but you can't future proof with neighbours.
"Buyers should also know that the market is cooling and shifting slightly back in favor of buyers, but it’s still a tough environment, and 46% of first-time buyers said purchasing a home in 2023 was more difficult than expected," Jaime continued. "Home prices remain high because of the housing shortage and there’s more competition for lower-priced homes that often attract first-time buyers."
#12
If you can't see it, it's probably more f****d-up than you think.
Bron 1 year ago
Our bathroom basin blocked up. I undid the trap, found a big blob of gross. Emptied it, cleaned out the trap (it is about 40 years old) and still had a leak. Hmm, the piece of pipe going through the wall has no thread, so no way to tighten. Seems the blob of gross actually stopped it leaking. Now we have to replace pipe with threaded pipe. Oh it’s go8ng to be fun (how many trips to the hardware? 😂 )
#13
You want a good/decent looking lawn. Try to kill it. That s**t will flourish. Don’t water or waste money on fertilizers. Just let whatever grow, grow. It all looks good. Actually that natural native diversity is even better and healthier.
Annik Perrot 1 year ago
And when water's scarce, don't waste it on your lawn. Just let it go brown, it will grow back as son as it rains.
#14
That small project that you think “oh yeah that should only take a couple hours at best” will actually take you 8 hours and 4 trips to Home Depot.
Literally even working on the smallest problems in our home (I.e. repainting the laundry room) uncovers something wildly unexpected.
Lauren S 1 year ago
Be prepared that if you open that wall, look behind that appliance, etc. you will find something else that is wrong and needs to be fixed. Even with the best budget planning there are unforeseen costs that will creep up on you. You want to put in new cabinets? Jokes on you, you found mold. Now there is removal of old stuff, handling of mold, and installing new drywall too. You want to replace your washer? Jokes on you, the electrical was jimmy rigged and is a fire hazard. Now you’re replacing electrical stuff.
We also asked the real estate expert if she believes buying a home is for everyone. "It’s hard to give a definitive answer because it really depends on a person’s goals and financial situation. On the one hand, real estate is generally a safer investment than stocks, and homeownership is one of the best ways to build generational wealth," Jaime says. "Although homeownership requires a large upfront cost, rent prices are rising so fast that a monthly mortgage payment can be cheaper than a monthly rent payment — depending on a person’s location, interest rate, and home price."
#15
Make sure you study your potential neighbors. Buying a house is way different than renting, so you can’t just up and leave. We’ve been here a year and have to file a civil suit against our neighbors.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
If you have kids it's also good to consider how many other kids live on the street. The last house I lived in, even though there was an elementary school not far from us, the entire small neighbourhood had just a handful of kids spread out. It was a really strange experience. Come Halloween, we had to go to other neighbourhoods for trick r treating as hardly anyone around ours participated.
#16
Never leave your hose on the faucet in winter
Ken Beattie 1 year ago
Depends where you live. If you don't have subzero winters it's not a big deal. We also have hose reel things that attach to the wall (like the fire hose spools you see in movies) I'm not detaching my hose from the tap while using them. But my hose reel is in the shade, so I don't need to worry about the plastic perishing.
#17
You spend your time listening for water leaks like it’s a hobby. Any running water whatsoever makes the heart skip a beat lol
"But it’s not always better to buy than rent," Jaime added. "Renting might be better for those who need more flexibility in their lives, for example, young people who are still building their career and are willing to move often for jobs. Many Americans may also prefer the convenience of renting. If there’s a maintenance problem, they can simply call their landlord, who will schedule and pay for the cost of repairs."
#18
Maintenance is a huge consumer of time.
#19
The fact that I have a mortgage is some part of the public record, and there are hundreds of companies out there that just scrape that data and send junk mail that's made to be confused with legitimate business in order to trick seniors into sending a check.
Peter Parker 1 year ago
These are bastards, I always make sure to leave a bad review if I get one of these pieces of misleading junk. That's borderline fraud.
#20
You don’t have anyone living above or below you and it’s awesome. There’s always gonna be things but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Love it.
Lauren S 1 year ago
I never minded people living above, below, beside. I think a bigger piece is having a yard area that’s yours. I also think the biggest benefit is you are not throwing your money at a landlord. You are slowly paying into and paying off something that you own, so the money basically goes back into your pocket, like an investment. Don’t get me wrong, we rented for many years and it sucked because we got nothing out of it. And we bought after the 2008 nonsense with everyone being upside down on their homes and before this most recent nonsense with values being ridiculously inflated. We weren’t smarter than others, we had lucky timing in when we were in a position to buy. I am very grateful for our timing and feel for those who were trying to buy in the last few years. Just know it isn’t anything you did wrong or irresponsibly. It’s just luck of timing. So eat your dang avocado toast. Last I checked, mortgages were more than the price of avocados. 🥑😊
"Even if homeownership is the right move, buying a home that’s not affordable isn’t the right move for anyone," Jaime says "If buyers can’t purchase a home right now, that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to in the future. Waiting will give them more time to save, pay off debt or repair their credit."
If you're considering buying a home of your own and you'd like to learn more real estate advice from the experts, be sure to visit Clever Real Estate's website right here!
#21
Your monthly payment can and probably will go up. As insurance costs and property taxes rise so does the need for more escrow.
Lauren S 1 year ago
Be mindful of your mortgage plan, make sure it doesn’t increased over time. Yes, the above things do change your mortgage too but it’s not too much. Our original mortgage was maybe $950 about 10 years ago, it’s now like $1100, so maybe percentage wise it’s a big jump. It’s changed a bunch because our property value has changed a bunch, which affects all kinds of things like taxes and other stuff I don’t understand.
#22
choosing which projects I want to f up myself and which ones I want to pay for
#23
There is good. There is never perfect. But it’s all yours.
That Goth Demon (zey/zem) 1 year ago
Omg I love the look of that picture I wish my home looked like that
#24
I’ve learned, a project can takes year to complete - like a bathroom remodel. Saves you a c**p load of money, but the pros can get it done in a day or two.
#25
Don’t use the inspector your real estate agent suggests.
#27
Y’know the quote “the grass is greener on the other side”? I recently heard it rephrased as “the grass is greener where you water it” and it’s really changed my mindset around a lot of things (including homeownership).
#28
Neighbors don't instantly becomes buddies. Takes years.
Ken Beattie 1 year ago
Also, neighbours may never become buddies, or may start friendly but end up bitter enemies.
#29
Don’t feel as if you have to do everything at once. Take care of Hvac, plumbing, and safety issues first, and then move on from there as needed.
#30
I’ve learned a lot about landscape, irrigation and odds and ends from beams to plumbing.
Looking for a home I didn’t check for things like where the placement of vents were in my house (they’re in odd places on the floor), didn’t check for outlet placement) or how furniture would lay out. It’s a historic home and I knew there were always gonna be issues like that after renting one, but I wish I’d though more about it since I plan to be here as long as possible
Verena 1 year ago
The furniture thing I don't get ... due to my job I had to move several times and had cardboard cutouts of my furniture (1:20 or so). Always asked the real estate agent for a floor plan or drafted it myself. So the moving crew got exact instructions about where to place what and it was clear which utems would get moved and which to be left back/sold/gifted
#31
Window treatments are expensive af. Just paid over $6k for 22 windows. And I did the install myself.
#33
Take high quality video walkthrough of place before buying...not just pictures. Then compare when you buy/after moving in.
Some people should not own houses, as they don't maintain them (or self repair) resulting in significant unforseen problems for the next owner.
Some inspectors suck, and miss a ton of things that they shouldn't have missed or are just lazy.
Visit your house a few times at different times before putting in final offer paperwork.
Some places have unforseen things. Eg: terrible neighbors, businesses, Loud businesses. Methhead on corner was an ahole before going to prison. Everything else was amazing.
Drive from the home to work before buying. Some routes/houses aren't worth the commute.
Ken Beattie 1 year ago
I don't see the point in taking video to compare after you move in. It's too late then. I'm really not sure what benefit there is in doing this?
#34
Here's an important one for those looking. If you buy underneath your comfortable mortgage budget it doesn't mean you automatically have that extra money to spend upgrading the house. Also, envision the rooms as they are don't count on blowing out walls here and there w***y nilly.
#35
That I don’t want to be a homeowner. Could be that we bought to much home (size wise), could be that I don’t care for the area. It was an amazing deal, we sold for close to double what we paid 4 years ago, and I can’t wait to get to our maintenance free, very nice but very manageable apartment rental space.
Always thought owning a home was a sign of success and being an adult, didn’t realize you had to actually WANT to do all the things homeowners have to do to make it worth it.
#36
Buy the tools as you need them for projects and DIY everything you can. Saves a lot of money in the long run.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 1 year ago
But you can't buy the knowledge on how to use them properly. That comes with experience.
#38
after a few years of ownership of an old house and learning to fix and maintain it, i honestly say I can be a professional home inspector or a handyman
#39
Not everything is an immediate issue. On the other hand, rake leaves.
#40
If you can’t spend $10,000 at a moment’s notice don’t buy a house.
What do you think ?
Annik Perrot 1 year ago
Even if your house is OK, do something every year, whether it's remodeling à room, updating the plumbing or the electricty. Don't wait until it breaks down or becomes shabby.
Chris Jones 1 year ago
Good advice. I'll just add don't DIY unless you know what you are doing with electricity and plumbing - especiallly electricity. FIre kills (many fires start with electrical faults), so do electric shocks. Plumbing might make a mess but is nowhere near as dangerous. Always use qualified electricians. The number of times I've heard 'I'll never touch plumbing but I had a go at the wiring' terrifies me!
Load More Replies...
James S 1 year ago
Do not do electrics, heating, water or roofing yourself (unless you're a trade professional). Hire an expert as these things need to be done properly to code. Everything else, painting, wall paper, tiling, shelves etc learn to do yourself.
Joann Hart 1 year ago
Unless you have a convoluted roof, it isn't rocket science
Load More Replies...
Klara Lorinczi 1 year ago
Have your own home builds wealth through equity. I bought my home in 2015 for $178,000 and now it’s worth about $400,000. The difference between what you owe (mortgage) and the market value is called equity and it’s all yours! Or you can rent and pay someone else’s mortgage. Your choice.
Load More Replies...
Annik Perrot 1 year ago
Even if your house is OK, do something every year, whether it's remodeling à room, updating the plumbing or the electricty. Don't wait until it breaks down or becomes shabby.
Chris Jones 1 year ago
Good advice. I'll just add don't DIY unless you know what you are doing with electricity and plumbing - especiallly electricity. FIre kills (many fires start with electrical faults), so do electric shocks. Plumbing might make a mess but is nowhere near as dangerous. Always use qualified electricians. The number of times I've heard 'I'll never touch plumbing but I had a go at the wiring' terrifies me!
Load More Replies... James S 1 year ago
Do not do electrics, heating, water or roofing yourself (unless you're a trade professional). Hire an expert as these things need to be done properly to code. Everything else, painting, wall paper, tiling, shelves etc learn to do yourself.
Joann Hart 1 year ago
Unless you have a convoluted roof, it isn't rocket science
Load More Replies... Klara Lorinczi 1 year ago
Have your own home builds wealth through equity. I bought my home in 2015 for $178,000 and now it’s worth about $400,000. The difference between what you owe (mortgage) and the market value is called equity and it’s all yours! Or you can rent and pay someone else’s mortgage. Your choice.
Load More Replies... You May Like People Are Sharing Their Decked-Out Bedrooms, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Amazing Ones This Group Celebrates The Most Beautiful Dream Homes And Here Are The 30 Best
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