What do you wish you had done that you didn't do after closing on your home? What advice/tips do you have that you wish someone had told you?

On my mind:
- Already taking care of the material issues that the inspection report uncovered. (Replacing fogged windows, some roof maintenance and fixing some wood rot on fascia)
- Spackling some cracks on the wall interior
- Repainting interior before moving all my **** in
- Steaming/deepcleaning carpeted rooms
- Installing water softener
- Bringing electrician out to see if they can install an outlet above fireplace for a TV mount
- Installing smart thermostat in home and carbon monoxide detector in garage
- Hiring a handyman to fix smaller issues from inspection report
- Termite prevention treatment (home has never had pest infestation issues)
- Buying a mower, weedwhacker, edger
- Buying broom, mop, vacuum cleaner (indoor and outdoor wet dry vac), ladder
- Any tips on dealing with stucco on exterior? Foundation is fine. A couple hairline cracks here and there that I've heard I should touch up with elastomer paint.

Until most of the above is done, thinking about only moving my bed into the house and keeping all my other ****/furniture I'm keeping in the garage.

Other Qs…

- Sprinkler system in yard. Best way to mow around the heads/ensure the blades are high enough?

- Also. I ****ing loathe wasps and dirt dobbers of all types. Any tips on preventing those jagoffs from making my home their home besides sweeping with Raid twice a month?

- No HOA fees but there are deed restrictions and an "architectural committee". How do I find out who I need to contact for approvals (ie roof updates). Does this usually come with title work? Part of me just wants to see how much I can do before getting a slap on the wrist and claiming plausible deniability

Thanks OB, I'm about to be a naive homeowner and don't know **** about home maintenance frankly.

Getting a head start with your advice is appreciated!

Curious, why not install a smart thermo?

Only 2 of the rooms have carpet. We don't mind keeping it for those rooms, but this has come up in conversation.

Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

Where is the house? What type of foundation?

Centex. Slab over limestone. No foundation issues

Oh nooooo LOL

For this very reason, I've never come to agreement on something faster with her when she brought up interior painting after we signed the contract amendment to buy

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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What do you wish you had done that you didn't do after closing on your home? What advice/tips do you have that you wish someone had told you?

On my mind:
- Already taking care of the material issues that the inspection report uncovered. (Replacing fogged windows, some roof maintenance and fixing some wood rot on fascia)
- Spackling some cracks on the wall interior
- Repainting interior before moving all my **** in
- Steaming/deepcleaning carpeted rooms - Depending on quality, consider replacing
- Installing water softener
- Bringing electrician out to see if they can install an outlet above fireplace for a TV mount - agree this is important
- Installing smart thermostat in home and carbon monoxide detector in garage - Why?
- Hiring a handyman to fix smaller issues from inspection report
- Termite prevention treatment (home has never had pest infestation issues)
- Buying a mower, weedwhacker, edger - Unless you feel some kind of accomplishment about doing your own lawn, hire someone to do it
- Buying broom, mop, vacuum cleaner (indoor and outdoor wet dry vac), ladder
- Any tips on dealing with stucco on exterior? Foundation is fine. A couple hairline cracks here and there that I've heard I should touch up with elastomer paint. - Be careful, you may end up having to paint the entire area to make it match

Do your outdoor kitchen ASAP, I waited 8 years to do mine and I wish I had done it sooner, we use it several times a week year round.

Until most of the above is done, thinking about only moving my bed into the house and keeping all my other ****/furniture I'm keeping in the garage.

Other Qs…

- Sprinkler system in yard. Best way to mow around the heads/ensure the blades are high enough?

- Also. I ****ing loathe wasps and dirt dobbers of all types. Any tips on preventing those jagoffs from making my home their home besides sweeping with Raid twice a month?

- No HOA fees but there are deed restrictions and an "architectural committee". How do I find out who I need to contact for approvals (ie roof updates). Does this usually come with title work? Part of me just wants to see how much I can do before getting a slap on the wrist and claiming plausible deniability

Thanks OB, I'm about to be a naive new homeowner and don't know **** about home maintenance frankly.

Getting a head start with your advice is appreciated!

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Install a base for a robot mop and vacuum.

Put in the mow over kind of edging.

Ideally, set it up for a robot mower.

Insulate if needed/possible. Especially in bedroom/bathroom walls.

Similarly, solid doors for bedrooms and bathrooms.

Master water cut off inside the house, water cutoff tool at a set location.

Fire extinguisher place/cabinet by the stove and dryer.

Install gas line to dry, if you have gas. Similarly, gas line to stove, if you have it.

"Fill" faucet, in addition to the aerated "rinse" faucet kitchens come with.

Upgrade all the cut offs on the sinks, toilets, etc.

Put freeze proof spigots/hydrants outside.

(Mostly, the basics builders would do, if they had any pride.)

Women think a new house means new furniture too, so keep some money around for that.

If the attic isn't decked, deck it before you start putting stuff in it. Simply nail some plywood down.

I made this mistake with my first house.

Ask your title company for a copy of the restrictions and any amendments. The architectural control committee will be named in there. Without a HOA, it is usually the developer.

It all depends on how old the house is. If 15 years or older, I would:
Replace the hot water heater
Replace the water supply lines AND the stops on all sinks and toilets, washing machine, etc.
Paint everything inside and out, change any flooring. If adding hardwood, do all of the downstairs and the stairs. Or your wife will want to do this eventually

Detailed list/map of your breakers. Know every outlet and switch

Lot of people say you should have a soft start on your AC and it will last longer.

Have a competent AC tech check all your vents and ducts so you have consistent cool/heat throughout your house.

I don't have a "learning" thermostat, but I do have the wireless smart thermostat

I already have Alexa spying on me, I don't need my HVAC doing it too.

Plus with the ecobee you can have the additional sensors to put in bedrooms, etc.

I don't care what the hallway temp is when I sleep, I want the bedroom to be XX.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

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Much easier to keep the floor clean and is resistant to staining.

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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Also, why epoxy the garage? Debating putting a gym into the garage too.

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Get a metal building for that. Insulate it, and put a fan in it/timed heater and it will be tolerable.

Put a mini split in the garage. Coming out to a heated/cooled car/having an air conditioned space for projects/detailing the car etc is really nice.

For wasp prevention I have found this to be best:

In the spring when you first see wasp activity remove any nest & spray all your soffits, porches, really anywhere that they like to build with Bifen I/T. I have done this the last few years and as long as it is a surface that doesn't take direct rainfall you will not have any wasp in that area for the season.

I have a ring and had the same issue. It would adjust temps on its own to save on electricity. There is a setting you can change to prevent it from doing that. Once I changed that, everything has been great.

ag0207 said:

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For wasp prevention I have found this to be best:

In the spring when you first see wasp activity remove any nest & spray all your soffits, porches, really anywhere that they like to build with Bifen I/T. I have done this the last few years and as long as it is a surface that doesn't take direct rainfall you will not have any wasp in that area for the season.

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Thank you sir. Just added 1 gal Bifen I/T and a Chapin 1 Gal pump sprayer to my Amazon cart.

I ****ing hate wasps. Thank you.

Tell me about Hailstorms in Centex/North Austin/Georgetown.

If I convert half my 2 car garage to a gym/workshop with the mini split idea above, can a car cover do enough to keep one of my vehicles mostly protected from the hailstorms I've heard so much about?

highvelocity said:

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Try to negotiate seller paying as much of the closing costs as you can

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Yes, they're covering 75% of my closing costs. That'll take care of 2 of the most expensive necessary repairs (windows/roof maintenance)

I like the idea of a robot mower. The yard is pretty small though, and I have several landscaping islands and fence gates I need it to work around. It is likely no more than a 15 min mowing job every other week, so likely will find a push mower to get the job done. With the robot, I'd have to do a lot of weed whacking anyway.

A metal building for a gym in the backyard… Sounds like a lot of money. I think garage is what I'll go with