Other Pros and cons of owning a house. Your opinions.

I am hoping that by the end of the year I may be living in a house (as in my own)(no more roommates!).
So I am trying to get as much information as possible about what to look for in a home.
For example, heating.
Wood stove vs. gas furnace or electric heat. Which typically costs more. Which is costs more to maintain. Which drys out the air more, etc.

If you own a home, what are the worst things about it and what is the best feature about your home.
Or what is something that you always hear people complain about when it comes to thier home?
Or any pitfalls that new home owners get into because it was something they didn't think of or something that they didn't know about.
Information is power...

Thanks for any and all input.

 

I've owned my flat for 5 years. I don't live in it anymore, had to move away for work, but still rent it out to cover the mortgage plus a bit of profit.

Electric heating is generally gash, if you live anywhere slightly cold you'll appreciate central heating.

Whatever sort of mortgage or payment you use to buy the place, remember to save some extra - when you move in there might be some redecorating, repairing, or upgrading to be done.

 

Pro - you own it; therefore you can mod it
Con - you own it; therefore if you break it while modding it - you're buggered.

Home ownership in a nutshell there for ya!

 

That's pretty spot on, actually.

Back when we had an apartment, living was virtually maintenance-free. If something broke (toilet, sink, roof leak, etc.) then the apartment manager sent out the maintenance guy to fix it - typically while we were out.

The downside to renting is that we were stuck with whatever the apartment gave us. If we didn't like the faucets or the wall color, we had to live with it.

Now that we own our own home, we're free to decorate any way we please. We can paint the walls any color. We can put down carpet, tile, or wood floors at our discretion. We can remodel as much as we want. The downside to all the freedom, as Lorquis pointed out, is that I am now responsible for any and all repair. If I don't want to do the work myself, I can always hire it out - at my own expense.

Then there's the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly routine maintenance outside of leaks and repairs. You have to mow the lawn and keep up the flower beds. Occasionally the house needs some paint (or in the case of Houston, cleaning the mildew off the side). On the inside, you typically have more area to clean than an apartment.

Utility bills are generally higher, because you're dealing with a larger unit than an apartment. There is more water, more space to heat/cool, and more appliances to run.

For me, the biggest benefit of all is that I no longer have to share a wall with anyone. We once lived under this college kid - I swear he and his girlfriend were going to break down the walls one time. Now I can sleep in peace. The privacy is worth the increased costs and maintenance.

-monkey

 

Good stuff. keep it coming.

 

Pro: You have a place to live of your own,

Con: If you don't know what you're doing (like getting an adjustable rate) the bank will be after you quite quickly.

Pro: Privacy

con: It's bloody expensive.

 

Pro: You have a garden and everything to make BBQ's in a virtually restrict-less environment.
Cons: A house is big compared to an condo, so more cleaning.

 

I dont own my own house but recently moved from a Rented property with my family to one we own and Now one huge pro is I have more freedom with my room

And now I get to start modding as its a detached house so noise isn't a issue anymore just need a cheap case and some tools

 

I think privacy is a huge pro for owning your own home.
I hadn't thought about yard work. Or things like painting the outside.
I'm trying to figure out what a budget would look like. Not so much dollar amounts as I can do that on my own. But items to budget for.

 

You could always rent a room out to a lodger if you find the budget a bit tight at the start...

 

I could... but my experince with roommates has not been so great lately. Although if I do a month to month lease I could kick them out when I want.

 

Pro's: You have somewhere to live and shelter etc ////// Cons : You have to pay for it and then pay to keep it running (electric, gas, council tax etc) on top of everything else (cars etc) - in the case of a house being bought on a mortage

 

Just bought my place back at the end of April.

Pros:
ITS YOUR OWN HOUSE!!!!!
Great learning experience for repairs

Cons:
Utilities can get $$$
Repair work can seem never ending
Yard work
If you are not careful it will eat money

Even though it may not seem like it the Pros definitely outweigh the cons.

 

Im allowed to do pretty much what i like in my rented house, (no major structural work obviously) but walls, flooring, doors etc... can all be painted/changed if i want. We still have all the same bills as if we owned it, water/sewage,gas/electric,council tax plus any other bills. The upside is that if anything breaks its the landladies pocket the money comes out of.

We had the boiler go wrong a couple of months back, and a plumber was out the same day we rang her to sort it. It helps greatly if the landlord/lady is easy to get on with, ours is great.

My only problem is that my rent is more a month than a mortgage would cost me, but im not in a position to get a mortgage for another year or so

 

If you rent, you are simply paying someone elses mortgage.
If you buy, you're paying your own (and thus increasing your own net worth).

Yes, the DIY can be never ending - This year I've:
Recently spent a couple thousand (£) redecorating our lounge, but that does include a brand new wood-burning stove that heats both the lounge and the dining room.
Laid a path (lots of digging/weed control fabric/sand/blocks)
Replaced the front door
Built a retaining wall for the garden
Laid decking from said wall to the house to level up the patio
Replaced all the doors with solid ones
Replastered and decorated one of the spare rooms
Dug up the patio at the end of the garden, replacing it with a solid base for the shed, and more grass
Built and put up trellis for my cutting of the Family grape vine.

Dear god, please make it stop!

But thing is, I know for certain that all the DIY I do is increasing the value of the house, so it's in my best interest to do so.

 

Before buying a house, make sure that you have a detailed check done on it first (known as a full structural survey in the UK). This will cost (in the region of hundreds of pounds/dollars) but can save thousands if it identifies severe structural problems (e.g. subsidence, damp proof course failure, wall weaknesses) before you commit to any purchase.

Consider your preferences for the area - if you have (or plan to have) a family, the quality of local schooling is likely to matter. Local amenities (shops, public transport) may count if you wish to minimise (or avoid) car usage. Access to high-speed Internet connectivity may be a major concern, given you're posting here.

Check for any environmental issues (potential for flooding, local development work, any hazardous sites nearby). Getting a quote in advance for building/contents insurance may give warning of problems, if the premium is suspiciously high.

The biggest downside of home ownership is that you will need to gain expertise in home maintainence, which means learning about plumbing, heating, roofing, insulation, ventilation and/or decoration. However it shouldn't be necessary to do everything at once and you will, in most cases, be able to spread the cost (and time) for home maintenance/improvement to suit your budget or lifestyle.

As for finding a home, I would suggest visiting no more than 3 to 4 properties in a day. Rank them (from best to worst) and spend a few moments considering what lay behind your decision (e.g. room layout, building style, surroundings). This will give you a better idea of what you may really want house-wise. Some things (e.g. decoration) can be changed fairly easily while others (room layout, number of bathrooms) are much harder, so do need to be right from the start.

 

Pros: full gigabit network to every room in the house.
Cons: spent the last 4 weeks redoing the bathroom

 

Lots of good points here.
I'll add that another great thing about owning a property, is that with the increase in equity, rental income and savings as time goes by, you can very safely buy another property.
This cycle continues, and you can keep on buying more and more property

Most years things just keep on growing so you may very well be able to buy again, some years have little or no movement so you may not be able to buy another, and some years things can go a little backwards This is where you may need those savings to keep yourself afloat

You've got to have sufficient savings for things like not having a job for a few months, no rental income for a few months, maintenance, and enough cashflow in case interest rates increase, because all three things can happen

 

if you have the capital to buy a house its a no-brainer. do it. its an investment in your future and well worth it

 

I'm getting ready to close on my second house at the end of the month so I can definitely give you some things to look out for. Things might work a bit different up in Canada but this should give you some idea what you are looking at.

As others pointed out location is everything and is also a very personal choice. I for one like to be near shopping like grocery, Target, mall, etc. Short drive to the interstate is also a plus for me. I also was looking for an area with good schools because you never know what the future will bring. All these things added up to higher property prices but that also means the house will hold it's value better. A good tool I used is zillow.com, not sure if they cover Canada, which will give you a good idea what a house you are interested in is worth and what other homes are selling for.

Once you nail down some areas you are looking at look at the past sales and what homes are going for now. That will really help you see if the house will hold its value. With both the house I have bought I made sure to have a clause in the offer that gave me the right to cancel the contract within 7 days and right to inspection. This means that if the home inspector say came back and told me it the house needs 10k in repairs right now then I might be inclined to pull out. Without this clause I would have been out the "good faith" or deposit money I put down.

Here are the expenses thus far for me on the new house. As a reference point the purchase price is $255K:
"Good Faith" or deposit money - this is cash you are putting down to prove not only you are serious but can afford the house. What ever you put down will go toward your closing costs in the end. The Realtor holds the check until closing. $5000

Home and Pest inspection - this is a must as the inspector will be able to point out things that could cost you money to fix later on. A lot of times these repairs can be used to negotiate on price. $295

Homeowners Insurance - the bank will require you to have this and you are crazy if you don't. Shop around and also most agents can give you a quote on a house you are interested in over the phone. I ruled out a few houses this way and cost me only my time. To put the policy in place I had to pay a year in advance. $1100

Appraisal - an appraisal will truly tell you what the house is worth and they will compare it to other homes in the area that have recently sold to show you how it stacks up. This is where knowing the area is important because you can find yourself in a position where the house appraises at an amount less then the contracted selling price. You would either have to make up the difference or cancel and lose your deposit. Talk to the appraisal person and make sure they are also talking to your lender because trust me they can make it work out for you and get creative if needed. $325

Closing costs - these are the fees, taxes, and other crap you will have to pay. Both yourself and the seller will have costs that they have to pay. This is something that you can sometimes get the seller to cover all or part of these costs. You will need to put either "Seller pays closing" or "Seller pays $XXXX in closing" in your offer. On this house I got the seller to pay $5000 back to me for to cover part of the costs. $8300 without the $5k back

Home Owners Association dues - some neighborhoods may have HOAs that have a monthly or yearly cost. They very depending on the amenities including in the area. I looked at some places that had pools, tennis courts, and a golf course all for the residents. That one in particular was $100 a month. The purpose of an HOA is to over see the area and maintain the public spaces, plant flowers, make sure people keep their lawns mowed and that sort of thing. You can generally get a copy of the HOA rules of the net. Some are very anal and have set colours you can paint your house and such so watch out. My cost is $170 a year.

Moving expenses - best to call in favors and look for weekend deals on a moving truck. This is also an expense you can control. Figure $1000 to be safe.

Typically the major appliances such as fridge, stove, and microwave (if above stove) are included with the house. If not then push for this! A new fridge alone can set you back $800+ depending on features. I just spent $1900 on a Samsung stainless steel french door fridge as the one coming with the house is crap. You can also get lucky and sometimes get the washer and dryer to be included. Just make sure they are junk. New for a set you can find them for around $600

Other then that you are looking at just general up keep and such. I tend to do my own mowing but have in the past used neighbor kids to do it for $20 a week.

Remember one really important thing....the Realtor is there to work for you. If you don't like them then ditch em and find someone else. You want somebody who knows the area you are looking at. This way they can really help steer you in the right direction.

The biggest pro for me is that I own the place and do with it what I want. I am also able to deduct the interest and property taxes I pay every year from my federal taxes. This helps return some of the money I've spent over the year.

Con is that if the property values tank big time you might owe more then the house is worth. This is becoming less of an issue here in my area though.