Example of costs for first few months in new house

[Anonymous]

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

Np here, and I thought the same but wasn't sure. I've gotten a few Thumbtack estimates to install a pendant light in my bedroom and the foyer, and the electricians charged a minimum of $75 just to provide estimates.

[Anonymous]

It’s called home ownership. Just because you overpaid for a house in NW DC doesn’t mean a toilet can’t break or you can’t get pests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Thanks, super useful post! Can I ask how many windows you had to cover? Facing some sticker shock so it'd be good to know what is typical in this area ...

[Anonymous]

Live in upper NW too. Most of this stuff is normal yearly stuff.

Either you deep clean, or get a cleaner. We have greenery around, so you need to be vigilant about pests and do yard upkeep. Chimneys need regular maintenance

And another subset is stuff that most regular folks can do.

I mean new outlets are $1 each at home depot and rubber gaskets are 50 cents at ace. And where the hell can you find an electrician to do ALL the outlets for $300????? (same with plumber????)

Only two things stand out:
Your home inspection should have flagged the basement wetness issues. And DC literally has a public database for homes with lead pipes.

Even then,l $15K on a property that is worth 1-2M is a drop in the bucket, especially if nothing had been done for 20 years. You guys got an amazingly well kept home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for the useful post!

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

You can look up your home here: https://geo.dcwater.com/Lead/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s called home ownership. Just because you overpaid for a house in NW DC doesn’t mean a toilet can’t break or you can’t get pests.

Thanks for the insightful comment. We had assumed that the toilets could never break.

[Anonymous]

Any other lists for comparison?

[Anonymous]

This list can't be real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This list can't be real.

It’s so cheap yes? OP you have to share contractor here. We pay almost double for every item. Unless your house is very small, those prices are just amazing.

[Anonymous]

I'd add lighting. We ended up spending initially to get inset lighting through much of the house. Well worth it bc the house felt dark otherwise.

[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

The issues that should not have passed GO - Plumbing, lead pipe, electrical. Should have been a credit on your closing sheet for all of those issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This list can't be real.

It’s so cheap yes? OP you have to share contractor here. We pay almost double for every item. Unless your house is very small, those prices are just amazing.

It is small, and the scope of work was narrower that some of the PPs assumed (only a few outlets needed to be replaced - not every one in the house; plumbing was only the 3ish minor issues - we used the Drain Guys). We liked District Lock. http://districtlock.com/

Is there a particular item you're wondering about? I think we're overpaying for landscaping/ drainage stuff, but we need someone reputable to help with that. We stained the deck ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for the useful post!

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

You can look up your home here: https://geo.dcwater.com/Lead/

Also, DC Water does free sample testing https://www.dcwater.com/customers-can-get-free-lead-test. We did that asap, but should have started the pipe replacement process as soon as we closed. It takes awhile for the contractor to get their cost estimate approved by the city. I'd recommend checking the house when you're putting in an offer - some realtors do this and know about the city subsidy program but ours was clueless. https://www.dcwater.com/replacelead. Fewer than 50% of the houses on our block have the private line replaced, so it seems like a common issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some is pure nonsense. Somehow my old house made it 60 years without a chimney cap

This is an ignorant take and I wish our inspector pointed out the chimney cap issue so that we would have prioritized it. Now we have birds nesting in there. Several came into the fireplace and we had to call animal control to get them out (btw, DC animal control was great, they contract with the Humane Rescue Alliance and showed up very quickly). The animal control officer pointed out that we should get a cap installed as soon as the birds leave because bats are a very common problem that are difficult to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Any recommendations on this? We were thinking tankless/boiler combo