Example of costs for first few months in new house

[Anonymous]

We've been in our new house in upper NW for about 2 months. It was "move-in ready," but probably hasn't had any renovations in 20 yrs. Here's a breakdown of things we've had to take of asap, adding up to about $15,500.

Deep clean - 400
AC deep clean & adding surge protector (hadn't been serviced in over 10 years, lots of build up inside mini split units)- 2200
Termite, carpenter bee treatment- 600
Plumbing (broken toilet, washing machine that was only running hot water,, tighten kitchen faucet, etc) - 350
Electrician updated dangerously old outlets - 300
Changed locks - 300
Chimney sweep - 175
Chimney cap - 400
Shades for main floor - 3000 (including install)
Lead pipe service line replacement - est 2000 (not including 2000 paid by city)
Landscaping to improve drainage/ basement issues - 4000
Yard clean up, including leftover contractor debris from sellers - 2000
Traps for fly problem - 20
Deck stain - 40

[Anonymous]

Where did you get your shades, btw? I'm in the market, but quotes I've been getting have been much higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where did you get your shades, btw? I'm in the market, but quotes I've been getting have been much higher.

Shade store, with the 20% deal (they also send coupons in the mail). Cellular with slightly upgraded fabric, cordless. I found the cost estimator tool on their website to be accurate and useful for thinking of the tradeoffs of adding different specs. There were hiccups along the way but I think it was worth it to just go with them, the hardware and look is much nicer than the cheaper options I considered installing myself.

[Anonymous]

Things that you don’t think about when preparing to buy a home but really should. Thanks for sharing

[Anonymous]

Really useful post, OP. Thanks very much for sharing. You seem like a very good homeowner -- not sure I would have thought of many of those things, even though they are all important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been in our new house in upper NW for about 2 months. It was "move-in ready," but probably hasn't had any renovations in 20 yrs. Here's a breakdown of things we've had to take of asap, adding up to about $15,500.

Deep clean - 400
AC deep clean & adding surge protector (hadn't been serviced in over 10 years, lots of build up inside mini split units)- 2200
Termite, carpenter bee treatment- 600
Plumbing (broken toilet, washing machine that was only running hot water,, tighten kitchen faucet, etc) - 350
Electrician updated dangerously old outlets - 300
Changed locks - 300
Chimney sweep - 175
Chimney cap - 400
Shades for main floor - 3000 (including install)
Lead pipe service line replacement - est 2000 (not including 2000 paid by city)
Landscaping to improve drainage/ basement issues - 4000
Yard clean up, including leftover contractor debris from sellers - 2000
Traps for fly problem - 20
Deck stain - 40

[Anonymous]

No touch up painting?

Hvac filters (youll need to change them every 3-4 mo)

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the useful post!

How do you know if you need to do a lead pipe service line replacement?

[Anonymous]

Add hot water heater. If it hasn’t been replaced in the last 6-8 years, they always go when you invite your first houseguests over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been in our new house in upper NW for about 2 months. It was "move-in ready," but probably hasn't had any renovations in 20 yrs. Here's a breakdown of things we've had to take of asap, adding up to about $15,500.

Deep clean - 400
AC deep clean & adding surge protector (hadn't been serviced in over 10 years, lots of build up inside mini split units)- 2200
Termite, carpenter bee treatment- 600
Plumbing (broken toilet, washing machine that was only running hot water,, tighten kitchen faucet, etc) - 350
Electrician updated dangerously old outlets - 300
Changed locks - 300
Chimney sweep - 175
Chimney cap - 400
Shades for main floor - 3000 (including install)
Lead pipe service line replacement - est 2000 (not including 2000 paid by city)
Landscaping to improve drainage/ basement issues - 4000
Yard clean up, including leftover contractor debris from sellers - 2000
Traps for fly problem - 20
Deck stain - 40

Half that list is “honey do” stuff and a few is “up selling stuff. Some is pure nonsense. Somehow my old house made it 60 years without a chimney cap and paying someone $6,000 to clean up yard. Is crazy.

And some quotes are low. A electrician charging only $300, a plumber charging only $350 too low. But to throw out some stuff in yard $2,000. The dump is free.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the above poster. An electrician definitely cost more than that

[Anonymous]

Did you have a home inspector look at the house? You might have been able to negotiate for some of the repairs., especially the electrical and plumbing issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the above poster. An electrician definitely cost more than that

If the electrician added the surge protector for the AC and did the outlets, they might be itemized that way. The more you can have an electrician do on one visit, the more reasonable the cost per thing. There’s a lot of overhead to get them in the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where did you get your shades, btw? I'm in the market, but quotes I've been getting have been much higher.

Np, and I got nine windows covered for $2400 via Home Depot. They only charged $55 for the install.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you have a home inspector look at the house? You might have been able to negotiate for some of the repairs., especially the electrical and plumbing issues.

Home inspection in this market (not now) but when OP probably purchased was not winning a bid.