5 Lessons I Learned In My First Year Of Homeownership

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5 Lessons I Learned In My First Year Of Homeownership

What should you expect as a new homeowner?

This past Sunday marked 1 year of homeownership for me. I bought my home at 25 years old and it’s honestly been amazing. I’ve absolutely loved being a homeowner.

There have been a few hiccups throughout the year, and definitely a few things I’ve been putting off (wasps seem to love making nests on my soffit…) but all in all, I have no regrets.

Many might think 25 years old is too young to buy a home and “settle down”, but the truth of the matter is it has given me an incredible sense of security that was much needed for 2020.

So if you’re currently renting and considering owning a home, I want to share the top 5 things I’ve learned about homeownership this past year.

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1. Beware Of code violations (even if you live in a non-HOA neighborhood )

We specifically avoided deed restricted communities when we were house shopping because we didn’t want the extra fees, or the hassle of having to constantly keep our home looking perfect. Turns out HOA’s aren’t the only things we should have had concerns about.

Our first month into homeownership I received a letter from the county violations department. I immediately panicked and was worried my title company missed some code violations in their permit searches!

Luckily, it wasn’t anything that drastic, but a neighbor of mine reported our overgrown lawn to the county. Not exactly the welcome I was expecting…

We had not gotten around to buying a lawn mower yet so we let our lawn get carried away, but we’ve learned our lesson. The county didn’t end up charging us anything and let us go with a warning.

2. Service your AC regularly

For about a week, I passed by my AC handler closet and heard a dripping sound but didn’t think twice about it. Eventually I decided to check it out and, lo and behold, my AC was leaking buckets.

The drain line was clogged and I had to get an AC technician out ASAP. Luckily it only cost me $50.

In order to avoid a major blockage, pour some vinegar down the drain line monthly!

BONUS: Don’t forget to regularly replace your air filters too! I have to do mine monthly since my pets bring a lot of dirt into the home.

3. Check Your Window Seals

We keep our kitchen pretty clean but for some reason I kept seeing little trails of ants emerging by our stove. I would kill them, wipe everything down but it was to no avail. They would relentlessly come back the next day as if nothing happened.

It took me almost a week to figure out where they were coming from! Turns out my kitchen window had a small gap in the caulking and they were entering that way.

I resourcefully sealed the crack with some play-dough and they haven’t come back! (Yes, I agree that I should really buy some caulk…) Definitely purchase caulk for your first year of homeownership.

4. You’ll love the financial security of homeownership

When the pandemic first hit, my business came to a screeching halt. I didn’t have a sale for three whole months with no clear end in sight. During that time I felt incredibly grateful for owning my home and knowing I always had a place to live. I was thankful that I didn’t have to worry about my rent going up and that I could rely on a fixed payment for the foreseeable future.

I also knew that if my emergency fund dwindled any further, I could rent out my two spare bedrooms to cover the majority of my bills.

The financial security of being a homeowner is one of the things I’m most grateful for in 2020.

5. Clean out your dryer lint

Somewhere along the line I’ve forgotten the importance of cleaning out your dryer lint. Last spring we were running our dryer 2-3 times in order to dry our clothes and I thought I would have to get them replaced soon. Turns out our dryer lint tray was just clogged..

A lot of home maintenance is preventative and takes a few minutes to do in order to prevent larger problems. So the biggest lesson I learned in my first year of owning a house is to be proactive with home maintenance.

Some tips for new homeowners:

I’ve been lucky this year, my only unexpected expenses were $75 for a new garbage disposal, and $50 for an AC service.

But, here are some items you should expect to pay for during the first year of homeownership:

Do you know an aspiring homeowner? Please share this with them so they know what to expect!

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