First home buyer journey wrap up 🏠 FIRST HOME QUESTIONS 🤷♀
Hey there,
So, it’s been a year since we bought the house and I figured I’d round this serious out with an update and some of my own tips for anyone that’s been following this journey 😊
First, this is a story with a really happy ending. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about how much I love our house and how glad I am that we bought it. We are just really, really happy.
So, yeah – that buyer’s remorse that I was experiencing? It didn’t last more than a couple of weeks. Thank God!
We paid off our credit cards!!! Now that we aren’t putting money aside for a deposit, we were able to smash those off. It really does feel like we have so much money this year. Our costs are only slightly higher than they were when we were renting but now we’re not trying to save for a house.
This past year has been spent in the garden, trying to keep that under control. Buying a place with 900m2 of garden when historically I can’t keep an indoor plant alive was an interesting choice. But I’m actually really enjoying it. Who knew weeding was so relaxing?
We’re slowing working on the renos. We started with the toilet – not because it needed it, but because it was a good practice room, and the laundry is next up. We’ve also costed out floor insulation and chosen a colour to paint the roof.
We’re super excited to get an appraisal in another 12 months to see how much ‘sweat equity’ we’ve built up. We’re keeping an eye on what it could be worth through our online appraisal system, but that doesn’t include any of the work we’ve put into it.
Not that we plan on selling. We’re far too happy. But as you’ve probably learned, I do love to know everything 😉
My tips – the house
- We STILL live in a half-painted house, so I absolutely recommend getting that paint job finished BEFORE you move in.
- Don’t rush in to renovating. Live in the place for awhile before you make any major commitments. We thought the bathroom was unliveable and we’d need to renovate ASAP. Actually, it’s very liveable and we need to get air conditioning and re-mulch the gardens before we even look at the bathroom.
My tips – money
- Don’t spend every cent you have when you buy. Keep buffer money aside. In the past 12 months we’ve had to replace the fridge, the washing machine and a laptop and get a plumber out for a bathroom leak!
- Remember your water bill will be higher than it was when you were renting. Sewerage costs (which my landlord used to pay) are higher than I expected.
My tips – sanity
- Don’t get married and buy a house within a 3-month period. That will do your head in. Just chill and take one major life change at a time.
- Schedule daily time where you aren’t obsessing over Allhomes and make an effort to do something that brings you calm and joy after open homes are done on a Saturday
Mostly? Just try to have some fun with it. Use your networks. Get advice and opinions but also trust your gut, because you’re the one that needs to live there…
Good luck with your house hunt. I hope you end up as happy as us.
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