My New Home

[Abu3baid]

I wanted to share some good news.  I am finally a homeowner now.  We decided to buy a house while I was vacationing and was able to give a power of attorney to my brother to do the necessary signing while I'm away.  [speaking of PoA I want to point out that we found out that Santander bank will not accept PoA unless it is an indefinite one, the one I gave my brother has a time limit (3 months) and for some unknown reason they will not accept this PoA.]

One of the best features of the house is the golf course that is basically less than 100 ft away. How convenient, right?

The worst feature of the house is that it seems the town is counting the square footage of the finished basement for tax purposes.  That sucks!!  At least it's a deductible I can use.

I will be going through all the ups and downs of maintaining a home while away, and I hope I can share my experience and have others benefit at some point.  It will not be easy, but I'm hoping it will be worth it.  

First step is figuring out what security company to go with, and which smart thermo to go with!  

Do you guys have any pitfalls I should look out for?  

 

 

[CarlSpackler]

Congrats!

[iacas]

21 minutes ago, Abu3baid said:

Do you guys have any pitfalls I should look out for?  

The pitfalls of home ownership?

Uhhhh… Now's not the time for that depressing and massive list.

Congrats.

[Club Rat]

Congrats on your first home.

Become familiar with your home in respect to mechanical systems and operations of the structure.
Inspect the heating, hot water, electrical services periodically. If needed call or find a professional to offer suggestions on what to watch for such as wear and aging effects of the equipment. Watch how rain drains away from the home along with if the guttering system works properly. Water causes extensive damage and problems if not noticed and preventive work can possibly save a situation before it becomes extensive and costly. Look up at your ceilings for watermarks and check thru roof for possible problems. Snow can also create many problems. The winds can tell you a lot about the efficiency of the home as it absorbs cold and heat during seasons.

Cosmetic features usually take longer to deteriorate, but should not be left unattended.

Enjoy your home, keep it maintained and it will benefit you many years.
 

[Dave2512]

I remember the first home feeling and it's a good one. Don't go nuts with repair and upgrades, easy to get sucked in.

[Abu3baid]

2 hours ago, CarlSpackler said:

Congrats!

Thank You!

2 hours ago, iacas said:

The pitfalls of home ownership?

Uhhhh… Now's not the time for that depressing and massive list.

Congrats.

 

 

aaah yes.. I agree..  I'm going to wait a few weeks, let it all sink in and then start asking about that massive list :)

Thank You!

44 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

Congrats on your first home.

Become familiar with your home in respect to mechanical systems and operations of the structure.
Inspect the heating, hot water, electrical services periodically. If needed call or find a professional to offer suggestions on what to watch for such as wear and aging effects of the equipment. Watch how rain drains away from the home along with if the guttering system works properly. Water causes extensive damage and problems if not noticed and preventive work can possibly save a situation before it becomes extensive and costly. Look up at your ceilings for watermarks and check thru roof for possible problems. Snow can also create many problems. The winds can tell you a lot about the efficiency of the home as it absorbs cold and heat during seasons.

Cosmetic features usually take longer to deteriorate, but should not be left unattended.

Enjoy your home, keep it maintained and it will benefit you many years.
 

 

 

Great advice.. Thank you so much..

First thing I'm going to do is get a free home enery audit done by Mass Save HERE

The items you mentioned I'm going to really need to pay attention to.. especially the Heating/Cooling systems since they will be the ones sucking most of the energy.

The drain system is actually pretty good from the little I have seen, but I plan on hiring a landscaping company year round that I hope will pay close attention to the guttering system ect.

I am lucky in that I bought a house that the previous owner really took care of it, and kept up with maintenance.  Really, my two concerns are the ones I mentioned above (cooling/heating) since they are the original machines.  Obviously, I do have a concern for the roof, but I am planning on putting a little away every year for the next 5 - 7 years, and then hopefully just replace the whole thing if it starts to break down.

Thanks again, great post!

23 minutes ago, Dave2512 said:

I remember the first home feeling and it's a good one. Don't go nuts with repair and upgrades, easy to get sucked in.

ahhh yes, this I will be careful with.. right now I'm trying to find the best deals to furnish the whole house, and as of right now my best option so far is bobs discount furniture.. I know it's not exactly repairs/upgrades.. but once the house is furnished we all know whats next, it's finding ways to improve and upgrade.. ughhh :) 

[David in FL]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

The pitfalls of home ownership?

Uhhhh… Now's not the time for that depressing and massive list.

Congrats.

Add to that, if your first priority is figuring out which smart thermostat to install, you're also in for a rude awakening!  

Congrats!

[Ernest Jones]

Congrats on become a home owner, plumber, electrician, and painter. Lol. When I bought my first house my dad recommended I buy stock in home depot.

[14ledo81]

About the mechanical systems, the most efficient (per rating) is not always the least expensive to operate.  Many of the high efficient systems, have quite a bit higher up front costs, that you need to get back. They also tend to be more finicky and service calls are more expensive.  When adding all incumbent costs, and taking into account expected lifetime, sometimes the cheaper, less efficient option is the way to go.

[Golfingdad]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

The pitfalls of home ownership?

Uhhhh… Now's not the time for that depressing and massive list.

Congrats.

LOL.

Make sure you get home warranty (one year or so) and then take a sledge hammer to everything that looks like its on its last leg.   I'm kidding.  We prayed that our AC would break during our first year because it looked ready to die.  It finally died last month and this is 10 years later.

Good luck!

[mchepp]

2 hours ago, Ernest Jones said:

When I bought my first house my dad recommended I buy stock in home depot.

Must have gone there 30 times in the first 2 months of my first house.

[nevets88]

18 hours ago, Ernest Jones said:

Congrats on become a home owner, plumber, electrician, and painter. Lol. When I bought my first house my dad recommended I buy stock in home depot.

Carpenter, landscaper, interior decorator, masonry, etc... 

Having experienced both sides, condo/apt vs house, much prefer the former. Way way, way prefer the former. House is a money pit time suck I think of all the things I could have been doing, but no, I'm at Home Depot again or dealing with contractors going in and out, WTF is broken this time. I'm a little biased - I have to deal w/an old house. 

Congrats on the new house.

 

 

[boogielicious]

17 hours ago, Abu3baid said:

I wanted to share some good news.  I am finally a homeowner now.  We decided to buy a house while I was vacationing and was able to give a power of attorney to my brother to do the necessary signing while I'm away.  [speaking of PoA I want to point out that we found out that Santander bank will not accept PoA unless it is an indefinite one, the one I gave my brother has a time limit (3 months) and for some unknown reason they will not accept this PoA.]

One of the best features of the house is the golf course that is basically less than 100 ft away. How convenient, right?

The worst feature of the house is that it seems the town is counting the square footage of the finished basement for tax purposes.  That sucks!!  At least it's a deductible I can use.

I will be going through all the ups and downs of maintaining a home while away, and I hope I can share my experience and have others benefit at some point.  It will not be easy, but I'm hoping it will be worth it.  

First step is figuring out what security company to go with, and which smart thermo to go with!  

Do you guys have any pitfalls I should look out for?  

 

 

Eyad,

You didn't mention where the house is. If it is New England, I highly recommend having a way to drain the water from the pipes during the winter. We call this, 'winterizing', the house. If power goes out, and no one is home, the pipes can burst. Bad things can happen, as you can imagine.

The best way to do it is a low point drain. Most houses will have a hose outlet outside. You can shut off the water at the main, then drain the house via that outlet. Open the faucets and let all the water drain. If the hose isn't the low point, you can drain to the hose outlet first, then drain inside the rest of the water.

For the toilets, just put in a small amount of anti-freeze. The hot water heater should be OK. You can also install a system that will notify you if the power goes out.

Also, shut off the water to the washing machine too. These hoses can burst if they are old.

[Abu3baid]

On 9/19/2016 at 11:40 PM, David in FL said:

Add to that, if your first priority is figuring out which smart thermostat to install, you're also in for a rude awakening!  

Congrats!

 

 

 

Well, I am new to this so yeah I probably have my priorities mixed up :)

The reason why it's important to me though is because I am only going to be at the house 1 month out of the year, so the rest of the year I need a way to be able to manage the temp. and know what it is in the house year round.. This way I can manage it on my phone as long as I have internet access.

I will also probably get a company to do 24/7 monitoring, but it's good for me to have access ect especially before the winter comes.

Thank You!

On 9/20/2016 at 0:12 AM, Ernest Jones said:

Congrats on become a home owner, plumber, electrician, and painter. Lol. When I bought my first house my dad recommended I buy stock in home depot.

Thank You!

I was already a big fan of home depot.. now I'm not only a fan but will be a big client as well LOL

 

23 hours ago, 14ledo81 said:

About the mechanical systems, the most efficient (per rating) is not always the least expensive to operate.  Many of the high efficient systems, have quite a bit higher up front costs, that you need to get back. They also tend to be more finicky and service calls are more expensive.  When adding all incumbent costs, and taking into account expected lifetime, sometimes the cheaper, less efficient option is the way to go.

 

 

 

Do you have any examples or advice on how I should address this?  Should I ask before buying what the level of maintenance is?  How do I vet it out I guess?

 

21 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

LOL.

Make sure you get home warranty (one year or so) and then take a sledge hammer to everything that looks like its on its last leg.   I'm kidding.  We prayed that our AC would break during our first year because it looked ready to die.  It finally died last month and this is 10 years later.

Good luck!

 

 

 

I like that idea.. Can I ask why you were praying for your AC to break in the first year?  

Thank You!

 

10 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Eyad,

You didn't mention where the house is. If it is New England, I highly recommend having a way to drain the water from the pipes during the winter. We call this, 'winterizing', the house. If power goes out, and no one is home, the pipes can burst. Bad things can happen, as you can imagine.

The best way to do it is a low point drain. Most houses will have a hose outlet outside. You can shut off the water at the main, then drain the house via that outlet. Open the faucets and let all the water drain. If the hose isn't the low point, you can drain to the hose outlet first, then drain inside the rest of the water.

For the toilets, just put in a small amount of anti-freeze. The hot water heater should be OK. You can also install a system that will notify you if the power goes out.

Also, shut off the water to the washing machine too. These hoses can burst if they are old.

1

 

Yup, I will have to deal with NE weather in Mass right near the cape.. usually it is a couple degrees hotter than boston so that's a good thing :)

I will most likely not winterize the house, but rather keep the heat low like 45* or so.  The house has a generator set up, so if the electricity goes off it will kick in and support it for a few days or longer I believe if necessary.  I am also going to have 24/7 monitoring on the house, so if there ever is a sudden change in temp conditions in the house they will take necessary action (call my parents for example).

Winter in NE, what a treat we have :)

[Abu3baid]

btw.. so as it turns out, the first action and money I will be spending on the house other than what I put down for it is..........

Changing all the door locks and installing a deadbolt on the front door to prepare for my keyless entry system within a month or so.. $300 for time and labor 

and I'm on my way now.. :)

[newtogolf]

12 minutes ago, Abu3baid said:

I will most likely not winterize the house, but rather keep the heat low like 45* or so.  The house has a generator set up, so if the electricity goes off it will kick in and support it for a few days or longer I believe if necessary.  I am also going to have 24/7 monitoring on the house, so if there ever is a sudden change in temp conditions in the house they will take necessary action (call my parents for example).

Winter in NE, what a treat we have :)

45* won't be warm enough to keep pipes on outside walls from freezing.  You might consider pipe warmers or keeping the temperature closer to 60* - 65*

[Golfingdad]

32 minutes ago, Abu3baid said:

I like that idea.. Can I ask why you were praying for your AC to break in the first year?

I was being somewhat facetious but ... the home warranties are pretty good deals in that they pretty much have a flat service call fee anytime you need them and then you don't pay anything else.  I wouldn't recommend continuing to keep one, but for that first year when you don't really know the condition of the appliances and things you were left with, it could turn out to be valuable.  If something big like AC or a dishwasher would break, you'd get a new one for very little money.  If nothing breaks, then you're out the cost of the warranty, which was likely only a couple hundred to begin with.

The only time I ever used my warranty was when our garbage disposal "broke" in our first townhome.  The guy came out to (I thought) replace it for $50 service call, but it turned out that it was only jammed.  So I ended up paying $50 for some knowledge and a small allan wrench.

[JonMA1]

I'm really happy for you Eyad. Despite all the pitfalls that have been mentioned, home ownership is very special. Hard to explain but you likely already understand it.

Perhaps someday when I'm too old to climb a ladder, I'll get something with less maintenance. But for now, I love most of the responsibility and work that comes with home ownership. This from the least mechanically inclined person on the planet. (Thankfully, there are YouTube videos for everything).

You'll surprise yourself by how easy some of these seemingly daunting tasks turn out to be.