Biggest RE lessons learned/mistakes made

[Anonymous]

As a young buyer, can you share the bad choices you made/ the coulda/woulda/shoulda from your past real estate purchases?

I should have known that x meant they get water in the basement.

I should have known that y means mold is likely.

I should have asked the inspector to check for z.

I should have known they'd had a mouse problem before because _____.

And so on.

Pretend I'm your young single adult daughter..... Please let me know the worst mistakes you made when buying a house. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Change your HVAC air filters ever 3 months
Get your dryer vents cleaned yearly (fire risk)
If your plumbing has a studor vent (look it up), replace it every 5 years (learned this the hard way)
Install a battery backup on any sump pumps
Get your gutters cleaned regularly
Dont' let small maintenance items build up -- they will become bigger problems later.

[Anonymous]

Do not trust realtors. Even if you've done extreme due diligence, interviewed a few, and picked one that comes with great referrals from people you know. Just don't trust them. They are playing with your money, and their incentive is much more to push you fast and to either bid high (if you're a buyer) or accept a low offer (if you're a seller). Get their input, but verify it is what is actually best for you.

Read the chapter in Freakonomics about realtors if you want proof.

[Anonymous]

Any questionable items in HOA terms will come back to bite you. Don't brush aside concerns about HOAs - budget, the way it is run, what the letter of the CC&Rs say (they'll tell you they don't enforce something as it's written... until someone new is elected), etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any questionable items in HOA terms will come back to bite you. Don't brush aside concerns about HOAs - budget, the way it is run, what the letter of the CC&Rs say (they'll tell you they don't enforce something as it's written... until someone new is elected), etc.

Yep. Also, if comparing homes to buy, lean towards the one WITHOUT the HOAs.

[Anonymous]

Watch out for the gray plastic pipes used for plumbing in the 80s. Sorry, I can't remember the name of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Change your HVAC air filters ever 3 months
Get your dryer vents cleaned yearly (fire risk)
If your plumbing has a studor vent (look it up), replace it every 5 years (learned this the hard way)
Install a battery backup on any sump pumps
Get your gutters cleaned regularly
Dont' let small maintenance items build up -- they will become bigger problems later.

Is there a service to clean dryer vents?

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP for the HVAC filter reminder

We are on our second home. My advice is wait to buy. If you are in your 20's, you might feel the urge to get a jump on home ownership instead of "wasting" money on rent. However, if we could do it again I would've waited 5-8 years until our 30's before buying. Rent in a great location and enjoy your single 20's. Lock and leave. No maintenance. Go forth and be free!

Your starter home/condo/th will not be in the best location in DMV unless you have help with down payment. Cost of home ownership is so much more than the mortgage payment. Save your pennies, live free from home ownership burden, and when you find that special someone... then chart a course together. Trust me. It's worth the wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Change your HVAC air filters ever 3 months
Get your dryer vents cleaned yearly (fire risk)
If your plumbing has a studor vent (look it up), replace it every 5 years (learned this the hard way)
Install a battery backup on any sump pumps
Get your gutters cleaned regularly
Dont' let small maintenance items build up -- they will become bigger problems later.

Is there a service to clean dryer vents?

Dapper Ducts.

[Anonymous]

Get the water line insurance through Dominion if you're in Virginia. It's cheap, while water line replacement can be expensive and DOES happen in some streets/neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Don't buy a house where you have to walk up a set of stairs to get from your bed to the toilet.

Signed,
Been there, regret doing that.

[Anonymous]

Read Home Buying for Dummies. Seriously. Unless they've completely effed it up in some new edition since we read it back in 2003, it's a really good resource that lays out everything you need to know about the home buying process, who the players are, what different terms and clauses mean, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read Home Buying for Dummies. Seriously. Unless they've completely effed it up in some new edition since we read it back in 2003, it's a really good resource that lays out everything you need to know about the home buying process, who the players are, what different terms and clauses mean, etc.

Also, never buy the house at the bottom of the hill. You will have water issues.

[Anonymous]

Don't buy a house with obvious water issues. You'll end up paying for it in more ways than one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't buy a house with obvious water issues. You'll end up paying for it in more ways than one.

So true. I checked every backyard of the houses we looked at to see how the water would travel. Had the inspector check for any kind of water entrance in the basement. And I requested my inspection on a day I knew it would be raining.