Man........I closed on my townhouse on Monday, and ever since then, I've been running through money like its water!!! I'm having the place painted, and I was originally told it would be $550, then the guy calls me today and says there was a lot of patch and prep work, so its gonna be $850! Then I went to Home Depot last night to get a new shower head and toilet seat, and I came back with 2 floor lamps, 3 new ceiling light fixtures and the stuff I intended to buy....$350! I bought my new TV A Samsung 46" DLP with matching stand and 5 year extended warranty...$2500!

Linnens N Things = $350 (bedding and pillows for couch)
Khols = $150 (misc. stuff)
Bed Bath and Beyond = $250 (bathroom stuff and some kitchen stuff)
Walmart = $125 (cleaning and misc. stuff)

....and of course, my beater car (1989 Cutlass Supreme) has an exhaust leak, needs a tune up and oil change...and the idle is rough and surges sometimes...so its at a shop getting fixed, so who knows how much thats gonna be

Not to mention the 20% down on Monday!

My parents bought me all of my furniture ($4000 worth!) (PRAISE THE LORD!!!!)....without my parents help, I don't know what I'd do!!!!

For all of those people out on there own....that don't have the help I had.....my hat is off to you!!!! This home-ownership is really expensive, and I'm not even moved in yet!!!!

 

Post pics of the place when you move in! And decorating it is the fun part!

 

Decorating it is what is denting my wallet!!!

 

I'm looking at having to put siding on my house, at least 2K. I need a water purification system, new carpet, landscaping, a new heater, The roof needs work, the pipes leak, and I LOVE THE SHIT OUT OF IT.

* I bought my house in 1999 at 139K. With nothing really done to it, it appraised recently for 335K.

* I can stomp on the floor, yell and scream while running with scizzors and nobody gives a rat's ass.

* I can play loud music at 3:00 am and nobody can hear me next door. God I hated living in apartments.

* I have a place to work on my car.

* I get a HUGE tax write-off.

* AND THE #1 REASON I LIKE HOME OWNSERSHIP:
I'm not throwing my money away in rent.

 

Good choice and good luck with the house.

 

do you have to pay a monthly association fee? Around here... the average is about $400 a month!!! (that's on top of the morgage)

 

Bingo. One of my unused upstairs bedrooms is going to be Brandon's Machine Shop and Armory. Gun safe, reloading equipment, most of my tools are going to make it up there. Add a small stereo and/or a TV and I can be the psycho white boy in the suburban neighborhood (the quiet type) reloading ammo while watching a Marilyn Manson video in my underwear.

Right now the realtor is paying for the hole patching and cleaning. I will have to front the inside being painted, new carpet, a fridge, washer and dryer. Then of course the big TV and some other odds and ends. By the time I actually move in, I expect to have paid an extra $8K.

 

escrow on my townhouse started yesterday...

i am gonna have to get so many things~
its gonna get expensive

panic mode

 

My association fee is only 26 bucks a month. I have water access, beach front access, three parks, and the only thing I can't do is hang a dead cat from my flag pole.

 

LOL I moved to my condo in November of 04 and I'm still decorating. I still need barstools for the breakfast bar, and all my windows only have blinds - no curtains yet. And there's nothing hanging on my walls

I had $5k set apart at closing for expenses just like these so no stress. If you plan things right you'll be fine. The problem isn't money - it's time. Getting time to do all the shit you need to do gets hard after a while.

 

Hey Nick:

It's been a long time since we have talked.

First, congratulations!

Now, squirrel away some money for the really important stuff, and a lot of this depends on the age of the property you bought. In my case, the place was 18 years old.

In seven years of ownership, I have had to replace the water heater ($400), the furnace ($1,750, nothing beats getting up in the middle of winter and the house is at 56 degrees), the stove went south, and the dishwasher was leaking, so I replaced the stove, refrigerator (I at least got an icemaker out of that deal), dishwasher and range hood ($3,600).

All that is left is the A/C condensor outside, and that would be another $1,700.

You can live without a floor lamp, you cant live without a furnace.

 

Congrats.

When you get that DLP running can you post a review of it?

 

I don't know how you put up with restrictions like that.


Nicky,

SET A BUDGET!!!!! There are lots of things you WANT, but be sure it's those things that you NEED.

Your wallet is a collander right now, make sure you plug some of the leaks before there's nothing left.

I bought a brand spanking new TH in October and I can't believe how much money I've put into it.

 

It's generally less-expensive than renting, Dice. :jealous:

Congrats!

 

 

Congrats!

 

I'm looking at buying now too Nicky. I have $7k set aside for jyust move in essentials.

Washer/dryer/fridge/diushwaser=$2500-$3000 (easy)
lawn mower=$300
& misc things


Lucky for me I already own couches/furniture and a 65" widescreen (im in a apartment)

Ya, it's $$$$.

COngrats man! I've been looking at houses for 3 weeks now... still a little trigger shy until I find the one I'm positive about.

 

Awsome man, yeah it sounds like that can get expesive quick!

 

I feel ya Nicky... Recent purchases for me include:

$4000 - All new windows
$1500 - Carpeting
$2000 - redo small Bathroom

And I still need to do my kitchen and fix a damn water leak in my basement (that comes in through the wall somewhere - I need to post a thread about it....good reminder

Eventually I will redo my basement so I can make it a chill room, but for now - Im strapped...

Moral of the post is that your not alone, and it sure beats living in the parents basement Good luck w/ everything!

 

can't wait to buy our own also

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of home ownership. We dropped about 10K in the first month....just threw another 10K at a new kitchen.

 

yup, i spent an extra $6k+ on appliances, furniture, etc after buying my house

luckily i closed 2 weeks before my bday so my family chipped in and bought me a fridge and weber grill as housewarming/bday gifts.

 

The good thing is...the girl that lived there before me had a dad that owned a remodeling company. The kitchen is 6 months old. The appliances are a 6-7 years old, so they are not that bad. A new furnace was put in 2 years ago (but my father owns a HVAC company so no real worries with water heaters, AC or heat!). The bathroom was also completely redone 8 months ago. Everything is pretty much new. I went there last night for a couple hours....the place is almost totally painted. I'm gonna do the second bedroom/office my self next week ( I took the whole week off!) Everything is getting delivered Saturday! As for wall decorating....I'm a graphic designer that has access to a large format printer at work, so I just buy frames and print pics at work ( up to 36" wide x 72" high!)

When I get into anything like this (car/townhouse/any big purchase), I have a good plan of attack...I think about things....alot, maybe a little too much!

 

Congrats on the house, but you're being a teensy bit dramatic here...you don't know what you'd do without your parent's $4000 furniture donation, but you went and bought a..........$2500 **television**? C'mon now....somebody's acting a mite spoiled.

 

If my parents didn't help me, I would have financed it....no interest until 2007. It just so happens my parents got an inheritance and wanted to help....which enabled me to buy the big TV. I've been working full-time for 3 years, since I graduated college, and I saved close to $50K....so I'm not spoiled...I just know what I want....AND I figured out how to make it all work. I'm beyond greatfull for everything my parents do for me....and I try to repay them whenever I can!

 

consider yourself lucky you can even find a house. i went to an open house today that had over 30 cars show up in the first 10 minutes.

 

Yeah, nothing like home ownership...$2000 on eavestroughs..yippidityfuckindooo!

 

my house has been a money pit...partially because i get stupid ideas about knocking down walls and ripping things apart for no good reason. it looks good but i'll be damned if every single project i get into ends up costing me 500$+. itll be worth it in the long run but it hurts in the short run.

 

Good deal! That sounds better.

 

I know your pain...my fiancee and I are building our first home (they should be pouring the slap this week) and it's already getting expensive. Just to get the loan amount less, we're putting 50k down just to keep our monthly payment affordable. It's going to be fun, but stressful at the same time.

 

just wait until you build a home... you think it's bad now?

Just wait!!!

 

Congrats on your new home!!!

Our new home is only 2 years old and is upgraded throughout so we won't have to spend too much on it right away. We will be shelling out the dough for a new dining room set, couch + 2 love seats and the 4th bedroom that will be converted into a den. I'm so glad that I did a good job saving money over the last few years because its really coming in handy now.

 

nicky, sounds like you have a great house, with few of the problems that can plague new or nearly new housing. Howver, after the first splurge of costs related to fitting it out, you need to back off, figure out what your midrange and longrange budgeting for the house and its fixtures are - and avoid trying to do too much in the first year. Sounds as if the place is more than liveable. Now's the time to look carefully at other acquisitions, and make sure you buy furniture and appliances (if needed) that have long-term utility value rather than an immediate use, then have to be replaced a few years down the road. But congrats' the place sounds like a "find" given that it has had some tlc by a doting dad before you bought it......

 

I'm done...I want room darkening shades for the 2 bedrooms and new verticles in the living room....thats all I plan on doing.