What's the best advice you can give a new home owner?

All the answers have sound advice although it's mostly common sense.





My advice is don't cheap-out on improvements. You may feel the urge to go a cheaper route so you can afford to do more, not wise. If you can't afford to do a top notch job on a certain improvement, just put it on the back burner until you can afford it. For example, in one question, someone asked where they could find peel-n-stick crown moulding. Perfect example of cheaping-out on an improvement. It will not add value to the person's home and may actually detract from the value (cost of removal, repair and replacement).





On a personal note (someone above me mentioned warranty cards and that reminded me), this isn't as important as above but still handy. As a new home owner, you could be making a lot of purchases (washer, dryer, stove, etc), and everything comes with a manual. Me and my wife have 1 file cabinet drawer dedicated to all the manuals we've accumulated. This really comes in handy when something breaks and I know right where to find the manual. If you don't think this is important, type ';manual'; in the Answers search bar and see how many people come here looking for help because they can't find their manual.What's the best advice you can give a new home owner?
Make your mortgage payment on time!!What's the best advice you can give a new home owner?
Try to make an extra mortgage payment each year with your tax refund to help bring down the principal of your loan faster. It will save you thousands in interest =)
dont piss off the neighbors!
Don't try to fix/remodel everything at once. You'll make yourself crazy!
only do things to the house that will add to your investment...and don't miss a mortgage payment
Congrats!!Make sure that you save all of your warranties... take care of your investment....Good Luck
Take care of your investment....it's probably the biggest one you'll make! Maintain your property value and it will definitely have its rewards!
Be prepared for it to cost more than you were expecting! There are always things that you weren't thinking of - window coverings, bathroom things, towels, so on - moving costs are always more than you may have thought.
Get a home warranty esp if it is an older home, it costs about a dollar a day, but last year i saved 5,000 in home repairs. I had several ';plumbing issues'; which would have each cost me between 500-1000 bucks but i only had to pay 75$ co-pay for the visit. Pay the mortgage on time, and try to pay a bit more than the bill to principle each month, even if it is only 20 bucks every little bit adds up %26amp; it will end up saving you a bunch in interest. Avoid ARM (ajustable rate mortgages) %26amp; Balloon loans like the plague, and prioratize repairs, keep on a repair schedule, a small problem ( like a little leak in the basement) can become a BIG problem really quick (like a rotton wall or black mold infestation)
pay your bills in time
Depending on the age of the home. I've had both older homes and new ones. With the older homes, be careful of being too ambitious in remodeling. Start with the basic infrastructure, making sure the electric is in good condition, plumbing and heating are in good condition etc.





With either home, do a layout of what you need to know in an emergency - escape routes in case of fire, location of water shut off, gas shut off, electric circuit breakers etc.





Finally, be methodical in your remodeling. Make a list and prioritize according to your budget, skill levels and room importance.