AD | Collaborative post
Buying a house was one of the most exciting times of my adult life. A mortgage and somewhere to really call my own had been something I wanted for years so when it finally became a reality, that excitement kind of took over. Having only ever rented before this, there are lots of things that I wish I’d known before we decided on our first house!
Surveys
The buying process can be really confusing and stressful if it’s something you’ve never done before. We didn’t really understand the importance of having a good survey done on the house before the deal went through. We went for the cheapest option available to us at the time and it’s one of my biggest regrets.
Older properties
We live in a 1900 Victorian semi-detached property and older properties can come with certain issues. The previous owners didn’t maintain or update anything especially well and instead, left quite a lot to stay outdated and in disrepair. When we moved in we knew that the boiler was pretty ancient but we should have paid more attention to it. We now have a house with one of the humongous old boilers that take forever to heat the water.
We know that the boiler needs replacing ASAP and it will be one of the first things we do once we have some extra money. There are various options available such as oil boilers. If you, like us, don’t really know what you are doing when it comes to boilers it would be worth contacting and expert in your area such as Boiler Repair Leeds.
Regular maintenance
A couple of years ago we had some really bad rain and we ended up with some damage to one of our bedrooms. Something we didn’t know about was the pointing of the brickwork. The window of this particular room had some damage to the pointing which is why the water was able to get in. Unfortunately, as this is classed as wear and tear, our insurance company wouldn’t cover building damage (they did cover contents though).
Unlike in a rented house, you are 100% responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the building. This is something we need to pay more attention to in the future.
Never ending spending
When you own your own home it seems like there is always something that needs paying for. This might be a new boiler or heating system, it might be a new carpet or it might just be some new cushions for the couch. It doesn’t seem to matter what you do or how much work you do to your home, you can always find something to improve, something to fix or something pretty to buy. Having an emergency fund is so important just in case something crops up that you need to pay for.