Completely and absolutely off topic, but I’m really curious for those of you that own homes how do you deal with the “stress” of always having to fix things.
I bought my first house in my late twenties and was so stressed out about money, and things going wrong and the high cost associated with such that I eventually sold the house and went back to renting.
We just bought a new house about 2 years ago and it was good the first year, but it’s starting to feel like it did a decade or so ago. Always worried about things breaking or leaks and water damage and mold or other big things. Things always break and there’s goes another $300 bucks outta nowhere.
Just came home and the AC is leaking and just like- man I’m blessed to own a home but gosh this sucks sometimes.
Has anyone else been through this feeling and just like - how do you get over it. There’s no way everyone who owns a home feels this way all the time.
Funny enough, I try to be proactive as I can doing all routine things including a quick “inspection” once a month or so for leaks and stuff.
But I got WAY over the top in my last house to the point I would find anything even remotely wrong. Things most people wouldn’t even notice. For example small holes in caulk and I ended up spending so much time fixing this that didn’t need to be fixed it became an issue.
I say that to say I try not to be too proactive hahaha
It sounds like you have a bit of OCD with regards to your home. I can imagine how this might become a serious complication to home ownership if you let it get the best of you. You might be best served by talking to your physician about this.
I’m a very proactive person, and I dislike the idea of missing something that I could be active about in solving “now”. I’m very much an “activator” I like to discover and get things done.
Part of it is personality, part of it probably could be helped with some proactive anxiety treatment for sure, I may bring that up thanks!
I feel this on so many levels, that I wish it was just $300 here and there, lol. This year alone we’ve had (on a 2004 built home), the AC go out, some of the irrigation pipes crack, the vents had mold growing in them so we had to have them fully cleaned out and UV strips installed in the handlers, a pipe burst upstairs and flood through to the kitchen, so the ceiling in there had to be removed and replaced, our fence has rotted to the point of no return, 3 leaking sets of water supply valves, a gutter that was ripped down from a storm, the roof replaced because insurance was going to drop us just because of “age,” a leaking washer, and a fridge that got fried which we just had to replace. Among other things still on the to-do and maintenance list.
It’s incredibly frustrating, but we kind of keep having to just tell ourselves that the money and mortgage, etc., is at least going to us in a sense and something we will own, instead of just paying a company or complex who will continue to increase the rent on us every year for nothing in the end. Still definitely rough at times though, hahaha!
I feel you. We have a 1940’s home and boy I really wish we would have been a little more choosy when buying it. We didn’t do much looking because my girlfriend’s co-worker and her husband were selling it because it was his father’s home and he was being moved into a living facility. So we got an OK deal on it. In hindsight, I really wish we would have done more looking or negotiated a bit more than we did. We’ve been here for 9 years and there’s stuff that was on the initial inspection we’ve yet to deal with because it’s a huge pain and also costly AF.
The foundation has some cracks, crawlspace is so tiny almost nobody can fit in it so it needs widened. We really should re-wire the whole house because it has a mixture of old and new wiring. Previous owner ran some new wire in some places but all of his “DIY” jobs were so shoddy and not up to code. I did run some wire in the safe areas and replaced all of the outlets when we moved in. The biggest issue with the wiring is we’ve got asbestos wrapped duct work in the upper ceiling area, so we don’t want to disturb it. We need to have it fully abated but it’s ridiculously expensive and would take for-ev-er to get it out. Even then, I don’t know if I’d be comfortable going up there still.
We would also really like to get all of the plumbing replaced because most of it is cast iron. Heck our water heater is still kickin’ from the 70s! LOL! - The issue with the old pipes and water heater is the fact that the water rusts the tub and sink so we’re always having to keep them extra clean. We’re also on a well in the city because it was never switched to city water which is partially ok with me, I just wish the pipes were newer and it probably wouldn’t be so bad then. We don’t drink or cook with the water so it’s not a huge deal for now. When we moved in we had to have the well treated because it had ecoli built up in it. All of the walls are plaster, so that kind of sucks because it’s a huge pain trying to find the studs at times when hanging things.
There’s other things that annoy us about the place like how small the bathroom is and how binky the closets are but it’s not a bad house it’s just a bit irritating at times.
It still beats living in an apartment though. We don’t have to worry about being quiet or having some A-Hole screaming at his girlfriend at 2AM or other crazy stuff that we experienced living in an apartment like one dude threatening his girlfriend that he was going to drink toilet bowl cleaner because she didn’t buy him a tie dye T-Shirt at the concert she went to with her friends… LOL!
I would say it definitely helps to have some DIY knowledge. I was fortunate enough to grow up with my grandpa and dad both being handymen and they were able to fix anything so it rubbed off onto me (also because I was often involved when I was growing up) so it has helped a lot. Definitely took it for granted when I was younger but it’s paid off being older and realizing it was a key life-skill that was given to me that, unfortunately, many people lack these days.
I’d definitely suggest checking out the local library for books on the DIY topics you’re unfamiliar with there’s tons of great resources out there if you are unsure about something. Even if you don’t intend to do the work yourself, familiarizing yourself with the process or dissecting how something works helps. Especially if you’re hiring someone to do the work for you. You can kind of navigate your way through the jargon to make sure you’re not being taken advantage of.
I am a very handy person. Most of the time I cam fix things for the price of parts.
I know money is a issue, but buy the best replacement you can afford. Saving a few dollars now is not worth the hundreds you will spend later to fix it again. This includes upgrading during the repair. Buy once cry once.
We basically finance all our repairs with 18 to 24 month interest free loans. Get a pro to fix it, then pay it off before times up.
My house was built in 1962. From 2011 through 2018, it seemed like we had something we were paying. But over the last 3 years, we have been blessed with nothing major. Electrical Outlet ($7.99 and 20 minutes of my time). Plugged Bath tub ($27.00 Proffesional Liquid Drain cleaner).
Maybe look into home repair insurance coverage (Different from House Insurance) maybe find a plan that works for you. My neighbor swears by it.
Homes start at 800k here, so needless to say, we rent!
But I absolutely feel this. Personally, I love building things but hate routine maintenance. I’m the opposite of the type of person who loves to detail there car or loves to track their spreadsheets every week.
I desperately would like a home, and potentially the sense of permanence that goes with it, but do feel that the maintenance would be sometimes stressful, frustrating, even overwhelming.
I love that 2% rule. Personally, for things like that, I like to keep a separate bank account that auto transfers in funds every month. I use it for our emergency fund, unforeseen expenses, etc. that rainy day fund. Having it separate from the rest of our savings makes it a lot less psychologically stressful when we have to pull from it.
For non emergency home/car/whatever maintenance, for similar reasons, I like to schedule my time a week or more out, if it won’t drive me crazy in the interim. That lets me feel like I have control over my time and makes me doing the thing feel more like a choice and less like a reaction/fire/emergency.
Man have I had an expensive last year alone. Literally spent 5k on damages due to my dishwasher pump failing and flooding my house. If it wasn’t for insurance that figure would have been 25k…
I fixed the AC when a fuse blew cause screw having someone cone out for that. Similar fixed the furnace when the fire sensor went bad.
I’ve fixed a bunch of dumb issues and stuff myself but things like the roof or anything putting me on a ladder are always get someone to cons fix it cause I’m not gonna be Santa falling off the roof. No sir.
Heck my dog became a home owner issue and I’ve been in a legal battle with a neighbor all year along emotional issues over having to put down the dog and a fight with the HOA who have decided to take special notice or petty neighbor keeps reporting stupid stuff but I can match petty and rules lawyer and malicious compliance the HOA to the ground.
All that too say. Yeah renting was easier my landlord was chill and it was cheaper and less stressful but I also couldn’t put holes in my walls nor paint nor feel comfortable just absolutely changing something like running a wire through the wall so I could connect stuff to the TV without wires being seen. Silly stuff but I like owning my home snd while it’s a pain in the butt often I am never worried I might have to move cause my rent is going up or the landlord is selling or something
Also that 2% rule flew out the window this year I’m looking at like 12% if we include the dog drama if not more…
Whenever you think you’re doing well fiscally, just prepare for something to break or find damage lol. I use to get bad anxiety about the house, but now realize things will always happen and I’ll deal with them as best as I can, and that’s the best we can do.
