Below is a list what most surprised homeowners after they bought their first home.
The Amount of Maintenance a Home Requires
About 32 percent of buyers expressed having buyer’s remorse after purchasing a house that needed more work or maintenance than they expected.
How much maintenance is required depends entirely on the home. For example, there’s likely to be far less maintenance to tend to with a condo, which typically has a homeowner’s association to handle service requests for common areas, like the exterior, landscaping, and shared hallways. (But even with a condo, you, as the homeowner, generally are responsible for maintaining and repairing appliances and taking care of your unit’s interior.)
Some things you may learn: how amazingly fast grass grows, why it’s important to clean your gutters regularly, and how to clear a clogged drain.
Changing Costs of Taxes and Insurance
When you buy your home with a fixed-rate mortgage, you may think that the amount of your initial mortgage payment will remain the same for the life of the loan. But the monthly payment almost always includes property taxes and property insurance, which the mortgage servicer collects in an escrow account and pays for you. Those costs change over time.
How Neighbors Can Affect Your Quality of Life
As much as you love your home, life there can be gloriously elevated or horribly impacted by the people living around you.
Check out the neighbors! Not just a quick drive by. Walk through the neighborhood, and talk to the people who live there.
Amount of Knowledge Required
Remember when something broke and you called the landlord or property manager to fix it? You’re that person now. Think about the things that make your home cozy and functional: working heating and air conditioning systems and appliances, unobstructed sewer pipes and water-tight plumbing. If something breaks, you’ve got to fix it yourself or hire someone to do it.
Know your house: the sprinkler system, water and gas valve shut offs, the hot water heater, water softener. Learn how to fix things.
Yearly Maintenance
Some systems in your house require annual inspections and tune-ups. Here are some of those things:
You need to have your furnace and air conditioning serviced yearly.
You have to drain your water heater once a year.
Clean your gutters, pay attention to your roof, and take note of when to paint your home’s exterior or replace rotted pieces, things like that.
Degree to Which You Become Attached to Your Home
Live in a place for any length of time and memories – and feelings – will quickly attach to it. Leaving those memories behind can be difficult, especially if you’ve made improvements yourself that have left you with a feeling of accomplishment.
You may fall in love with the place and have a very hard time leaving (selling it) – that’s the good news and the bad news.