The joy$ of home owner$hip

[disneysteve]

For all those people who yearn to buy a house and think that if the mortgage payment is close to their rent payment, they can afford it, here is something to think about.

Last night, someone knocked on our door. I assumed it was trick or treaters but it was our next door neighbors. Their handyman (ours too) had been doing something on their roof yesterday and noticed that the tree between our houses, which belongs to us, was hanging over their roof. Two problems with that - the leaves clog their gutter and they're afraid that if a branch comes down it could damage their house, a perfectly valid concern. So I'll be calling the tree service tomorrow to at least trim and possibly remove that tree. Removal will probably cost at least $2,000 as it is a pretty good sized tree. Just one more of those little things that you don't plan for when buying a home.

[frugalgirl]

I agree 100%. Unexpected things will and do come up. We just paid $300 today to replace the springs on our garage door. One snapped on Sunday making it almost impossible to raise the door and the other one looked like it could snap at any moment. We weren't planning on spending that money-heck, I didn't even know the garage door had springs- but it's coming out of the home repair fund.

[briandownie]

Think that's fun? A friend who lives in the country just asked me how much it is going to cost to install a new weeping bed for his septic system, no sewers in the country right?

I told him mined cost $5000 and that was about 15 years ago.

He said he thinks he'll move back into town!

Brian

[mdcrim]

In Virginia, a neighbor is not responsible for the portion of their tree that hangs over their neighbors property, unless the tree has a problem with it that is obvious. Meaning, if your healthy tree were to drop onto a neighbors roof in Virginia, your neighbor would be responsible for damages. Your neighbor would also be allowed, at their expense, to have the portion of your tree over their property trimmed, although they would be responsible if your tree died as a result of their trimming it. Not sure what the law is in your neck of the woods, but it may be worth looking into. And I'm sorry to hear your tree clogs your neighbors gutters...

On another note, I agree that there are sometimes many unplanned for costs associated with owning a home.

[buildmybudget]

Just another reason to get started with an emergency fund!

[GREENBACK]

I bought my first home with about 15k saved for various emergencies as well as furnishings, etc.. I blew thru most of that stash in a year or two. It cost a lot more than most imagine. If I had it to do over I would have saved twice as much as I thought was neccesary.

[disneysteve]

In Virginia, a neighbor is not responsible for the portion of their tree that hangs over their neighbors property, unless the tree has a problem with it that is obvious.

That could be true but it wouldn't be very neighborly for us to have them point out a problem and we just ignore it. If the situation were reversed, I'd certainly hope our neighbor would correct an issue that was impacting us.

I bought my first home with about 15k saved for various emergencies as well as furnishings, etc.. I blew thru most of that stash in a year or two. It cost a lot more than most imagine. If I had it to do over I would have saved twice as much as I thought was neccesary.

Exactly. I think a lot of non-homeowners don't realize the potential costs involved in becoming a homeowner. Suze Orman says to plan on expenses 40% above your mortgage expense, so if your payment is $1,000/month, plan to need $1,400/month to cover all of your costs. It is a lot more than people realize when trying to figure out if they can afford the house they are considering.

[Seeker]

I agree 100%. Unexpected things will and do come up. We just paid $300 today to replace the springs on our garage door. One snapped on Sunday making it almost impossible to raise the door and the other one looked like it could snap at any moment. We weren't planning on spending that money-heck, I didn't even know the garage door had springs- but it's coming out of the home repair fund.

$300 to replace those springs? Did you get estimates? I think you got taken advantage of.

Those parts are like $20 each at Home Depot.

And while labor costs, at that estimate, I seriously consider converting to roll up garage doors (ie. no springs). To have a roll up installed with an automatic garage door opener motor costs approx $500 like maybe 5 years ago.

[Seeker]

Exactly. I think a lot of non-homeowners don't realize the potential costs involved in becoming a homeowner. Suze Orman says to plan on expenses 40% above your mortgage expense, so if your payment is $1,000/month, plan to need $1,400/month to cover all of your costs. It is a lot more than people realize when trying to figure out if they can afford the house they are considering.

While this is true and keeping the house/home in good repair is always an expense that people who rent may not have to deal with, it is also true that in many areas, a house/home ownership costs less than renting would have cost over the same term of time.

The uncontrolled rise in the prices of houses caused many problems... so now everyone berates ownership. But over the long term (plus 7 years) it usually makes more sense to purchase than to rent.

If anyone wisely purchased what they could comfortably afford, and did not get into more than they could afford, much of this problem now would not exist.

[marvholly]

My brother is a lawyer & has done numerous closings for clients, friends & family.

His theory is that houses have nervous breakdowns when ownership changes. All the appliances have at least serious illnesses and/or die. this was certainly true for both my DDs in their homes. I do not remember here as it has been SOOOO long (1976).

[disneysteve]

While this is true and keeping the house/home in good repair is always an expense that people who rent may not have to deal with, it is also true that in many areas, a house/home ownership costs less than renting would have cost over the same term of time.

The uncontrolled rise in the prices of houses caused many problems... so now everyone berates ownership. But over the long term (plus 7 years) it usually makes more sense to purchase than to rent.

If anyone wisely purchased what they could comfortably afford, and did not get into more than they could afford, much of this problem now would not exist.

I agree completely. My post was not intended to berate ownership. I'm a big fan of ownership, but only affordable ownership. You are correct that the housing bubble arose in part due to people buying houses that they couldn't really afford. Prices wouldn't have skyrocketed had there been no buyers willing to pay those prices. Of course, lax lending rules fueled the fire but the ultimate responsibility rested with the buyer.

Our monthly payment, PITI, is about 10% of our gross income so we can easily afford the house and the costs that go along with it. When I see people posting that their payment is 35 or 45 or 50% or more of their income, I wonder what they will do when the heater breaks or the roof leaks or a tree needs to be cut down. Buy a house that you can comfortably afford, preferably on one income, and you'll be in good shape if anything happens.

[nick__45]

The funny thing is that when I was living in a very old apartment, nothing ever happen. We never had to call the handyman/landlord for anything. Things were old but they worked. The fact that it is built next to a river and the porch is 10 from the water would make me think it would have problem but nope.

The day I close on my house I found a major leak in the upstairs bathroom. The leak cause the ceiling of the first floor to sag and bubble in one stop. I have a trusty handyman fixed it for 300 dollars and am sure a regular handyman would have charge me 10 times that amount and get away with it.

For the earlier poster, are you sure about the tree removal and damage law in Virginia. My mechanic friend had a tree from the neighbor's yard fell on his garage roof and the insurance from the neighbor had to pay out. Since the roof needed replacement anyway and he does the work himself, he made money on that deal.

I would never plant a tree within 15 feet from the house. I have one big tree that has a lot of branch in my front yard that I take good care off since moving in last year. I water it and make sure its root are strong and sturdy in the ground. It provide great shade for that area of the house and a car can park there in piece from the sun but it almost brings a lot of birds, which **** on cars. I have a short front yard but with high hill so it is fall naturally, it would fall down hill. I don't know if it would hit the house or not, very close I know that. I think it's about 15 feet from the house but I would prefer it being a little further down the driveway and slightly closer to the property line. If it falls and hit on house, I can have it clean up by myself in 2 days. Since my neighbor has a fireplace, he'll take the woods.

[wincrasher]

The thing with trees vary by state.

In my state, if you let a tree die and become a hazard, if it falls your insurance company doesn't have to pay. You do.

If it's a healthy tree and the wind knocks it or a branch down, then your insurance pays for your damages, and your neighbor's insurance pays for his.

[cicy33]

$300 to replace those springs? Did you get estimates? I think you got taken advantage of.

Those parts are like $20 each at Home Depot.

And while labor costs, at that estimate, I seriously consider converting to roll up garage doors (ie. no springs). To have a roll up installed with an automatic garage door opener motor costs approx $500 like maybe 5 years ago.

I am in agreement here. Someone charged alot for this! We just bought these to replace one on our investment property. We are going to do the work ourselves but shouldn't take even an hour according to the other half. (of course that is with the breaks! lol)

[mdcrim]

My neighbors healthy tree fell on his next door neighbors roof and did some damage to the roof, the siding and the gutters. Both insurance companies told them that the insurance company of the "victim" would cover the damages, because it was a healthy tree. If the tree had been visibly dead or dying, the insurance company of the neighbor who owned the tree would have to have paid out. This is true for fences being damaged, too. In Virginia.