How to Succeed as a First Time Homeowner

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You've shopped and gotten your first mortgage and you've survived your first closing because you had the sense to engage an attorney to help. Now you're standing in the middle of piles of boxes wondering what you've gotten yourself into. Home ownership is the biggest investment that most people make and following these few simple tips will make it easier.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

House tool box
Supplies for recurring tasks
Files for household tasks

Step1

First, set up a file with all of your house papers--mortgage, insurance, closing papers. Start a separate file for receipts and warrantees for appliances, furniture and other purchases you'll make for your house.

Step2

Assemble a beginner's tool kit for your house. This should include hammers (claw and upholstery); screw drivers (slot and Philips-head) in various sizes; adjustable, combination and Allen wrenches (internal pipe wrenches are also handy); pliers (blunt and needle-nosed)and tack-pullers. Add spackle, a putty knife, paint scraper and a metal T or ruler with English and metric rules. As your projects progress, add specific-use tools as you need them and you'll soon have a collection where you can find whatever you need.

Step3

Set up a supplies shelf or cabinet. Keep extra furnace filters, a box of faucet washers (if your faucets use them), drain opener, light bulbs (invest in florescent for your most-used lights and extra decorative bulbs in the correct wattage for that chandelier over the table), sand paper (fine and medium grit), a paint brush or two. Save some of those nifty plastic coffee cans that come with handles in various sizes to use for paint. A sturdy professional drop cloth (the long, narrow kind) is a good investment that outlast most of the homes in your lifetime. Broom, mop, vacuum and cleaning supplies (keep these simple and green). Be sure to include wood glue, ceramic glue and, yes, it really is a necessity--duct tape. As for attaching things, keep a bag of 2-penny nails and a bag of 4-penny nails--you'll accumulate more nails, screws, nuts and bolts than you have room for eventually.

Step4

Establish a to do list for your house. This should begin with weekly tasks like watering house plants and progress to monthly, quarterly and annual tasks. For example, replacing or cleaning furnace filters is a quarterly task in the summer but should be done monthly during the heating season. Check warranty requirements and replacement recommendations for things like water filters and appliances. Your dryer lint screen should be cleaned after ever load but vacuum as far down as you can monthly and check the exhaust quarterly to make sure that the lint's not migrating through the exhaust. Use that brush attachment to vacuum under and the back of your refrigerator while you're at it.

Step5

Make a to do list for the outside of your house if you have a yard, too. From basic maintenance like mowing and fertilizing to more decorative tasks such as tending your herb garden or dividing perennials, there's plenty to do when the weather's fine. If you live in a climate where it snows, there's no way to control when it happens but you can schedule buying a snow shovel (buy one to push and one to lift) before the first snowfall rather than having to fight for the last shovel after the first blizzard hits.

Step6

Make a long-range plan of changes or improvements you want to do. These may be weekend projects like starting a vegetable garden or expensive renovations requiring a contractor. If you have a plan, you'll always have something to do and you can plan your budget more effectively.

Step7

You must establish a budget. Now that the first glut of spending is complete and you know what lots of things you never even knew existed cost, map out those expenditures to allow you to save some money for nasty surprises.

Tips & Warnings

Find a place to keep your tool box and supplies where you can always easily get to them--and just as easily return things when you're finishes. Too often, tools and supplies end up in handy "junk drawers." The "junk drawers" proliferate until it's impossible to find things. Stow your stuff in a convenient place to start and you'll never end up with three basin wrenches.
Never be afraid to ask questions. Big box home and garden centers are nice but nothing beats the old-fashioned general hardware store, full of people who know what they're doing. If you are fortunate enough to have one in your neighborhood, patronize it. It will repay the few dollars more and the week's wait for a part time and time again. When you've been at the homeowner gig for a while and know all the answers, you can shop somewhere else.
Invest in a basic home maintenance how-to book (or find a complete website devoted to home maintenance) and a proper garden guide. Read them.
Owning a home isn't rocket science--but it's not for the negligent or lazy, either. If you're not willing to be disturbed by emergencies and are too shy to ask for help, consider a condo or apartment living. But if you're ready for the adventure, plunge in, never be afraid to ask for help and enjoy.