buying a home – jnicolette.com

Buying a house is a dream come true for many people. It's the ultimate badge of adulthood. The moment you stop throwing away your hard-earned cash on someone else's mortgage. A place to call your own and decorate or renovate whichever way you want.But what we often aren’t told is that homeownership doesn't just come with pride and joy. It comes with a long list of surprises, hidden costs, lessons and responsibilities that you might not be prepared for. The things that never crossed your mind, nor kept you up at night, when you were a mere renter.Someone asked, "What’s the one thing about owning a home that no one warned you about?" and fortunately, many people chose not to gatekeep. From endless water problems, to issues with "digging, chewing and burrowing," they shared the big and small dramas they've faced since buying a house.Bored Panda has put together a list of the best responses, not to scare you away from signing that mortgage, but rather to prepare you for what might be lurking around the corner. Feel free to add your own homeownership nightmares in the comments section below.#1All creatures of the earth both great and small make it their life's mission to destroy your house via digging, chewing, and burrowing.HarmonicasAndHisses:Last night a raccoon broke into my completely enclosed vegetable garden. On the Ring cam, I watched this fat demon rip open my mesh fence with his asshole raccoon hands, trounce all over my radishes for funzees, then dig up all the carrots trying to figure out how to escape. He finally settled on simply tearing apart a second part of the mesh. He didn’t even eat anything, he just wanted to destroy!Lotan:We bought a beautiful house that’s in the woods. I always say, “The thing about living in the woods is that everything in the woods wants to live with you.”© Photo: fingerofchickenBeing able to finally buy your own home is a big deal, but it's no easy feat. CNBC reported last year that the typical homebuyer would need to save for seven years - just to be able to make a down payment on a house. And then there are the monthly mortgage payments...Experts say that 2026 is expected to be a "transitional" year in the housing market."Home prices are expected to rise slowly, and mortgage rates might dip modestly, although borrowing costs will still make buying expensive for many households," explains CNBC. As it stands, around 65.1% of American homes are owned by their occupants. That's according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.#2Water is satan’s handyman and is out to destroy your home.© Photo: photogypsy#3Neighborhoods change. I bought this place partially because of all the kids running around. It seemed vibrant and alive.Now 20 years later the kids have moved out and no young families have moved in. It's all old people. Like me I suppose.© Photo: KnoWanUKnow2Redfin has labeled 2026 as the year of the "Great Housing Reset" but don't expect changes to happen overnight."The Great Housing Reset will be a yearslong period of gradual increases in home sales and normalization of prices as affordability gradually improves," explains the finance site. "It will start [in 2026], with incomes rising faster than home prices for a prolonged period for the first time since the Great Recession era."#4How much like wack-a-mole it is... I NEVER can catch up on projects and repairs. Now that I am tight on money it's worse, and I feel like my house is slowly decaying around me. =(.© Photo: RichardCleveland#5That we have to redo caulking every 5-10 years?? Everyone was acting like it was common knowledge!© Photo: MorteSaava#6How much maintenance needs to happen regularly in order to keep it nice. Like right now I need a new deck because the old one is literally rotting away. I need new carpet upstairs. I need new windows or at least have some of the windows resealed because of it rains hard and the wind blows the rain into the windows hard enough some of them will leak.Also, don't use your insurance unless you really have to. We had 2 water damage claims in less than 5 years and our insurance dropped us for using the service we pay for too much. The first claim could have just been a plumber call and been the same as our deductible, but it was a claim because we didn't know we would get cancelled. The second one was needed. We ended up having to redo one of the bathrooms, new tub, subfloor, floor, vanity. But if we didn't have the first one we wouldn't have been dropped. Now our insurance is like triple because we are high risk.© Photo: BlaquKnite#7That the list of things to do to keep it up is endless. I knew there was some work, yeah, but until it became real I didn't realize how much of a part-time job home ownership truly is.The other thing I was oblivious to is how much WATER WANTS TO DESTROY MY HOUSE. A spring thunderstorm used to be relaxing. No longer.© Photo: matt314159#8Finding a competent, affordable pro for repairs or improvements is nearly impossible.© Photo: CaeliRex#9That practically everything requires a permit! (Caveat: We live in a city, so this may be different elsewhere.)I wanted to fence in our front yard because we have small dogs. That translated to navigating a maze of city websites and ordinances to learn it could be no more than 3.5’ and the spacing between slats had to be a certain width, etc. Then, I had to draw it on a map of our plot and submit it for approval. Which required a fee, of course.© Photo: eeekennn#10That every home you buy has some problem(s) that weren't found in the inspection, and once you close on the property, the problems are yours to address.One of my properties had a gas leak that was nigh impossible to locate. It took about a year to find it, and several nights I went to bed thinking "I sure hope my home doesn't [end] me tonight!" (I called the local gas utility several times during the first year; they weren't able to locate the leak, either).Another place had water leakage around the basement windows and the sump pump was failing, so in the first heavy rain I had a small mess to deal with. But it was only a small mess, thankfully.At my current place, the previous owner installed bluetooth speakers in the bathroom ceilings and there is no way to turn them off except to go into the not-finished attic and physically disconnect them; or to go the circuit breaker panel and turn off the circuits, which also turns off power to the bathrooms. I learned of the problem one night when an unknown neighbor accidentally connected to my speakers and the noise abruptly woke me at around 2 AM.© Photo: Seeking_Balance101#11No matter how strong something is built, nature is stronger. Or if you prefer: “ life uhhhhh finds a way”.© Photo: Fatmanpuffing#12That my amount I pay every month is going to go up. My property tax has doubled and my home insurance is going up. You can easily be priced out of the house the bank told you that you can afford. I making 30k more than I did when I was approved and it’s still a lot.© Photo: icedcoffeeheadass#13Every project inspires another project. This has been my life since January:1. Heater started to go. Hm. Better look into that. 2. Heater broken. Btw, your central air isn’t rated to a house this size. You’re going to fry in the summer. (It was true. I thought it was me not knowing how to use it correctly.)3. Energy efficiency tests needed to be done to get state rebates for the work. 4. Nothing in the basement is sealed properly. 5. During sealing, discovered French drains aren’t working, neither is sump pump. Basement demo!6. Btw, the insulation that was in the attic and the finished part of the basement is the wrong kind and needs waterproofing and replacing. Basement Reno!7. Window in the bathroom rotted off the wall. Probably mold back there. Bathroom Reno!© Photo: savantalicious#14That there is no standard and everything is basically "good enough" lol.© Photo: trippinmaui#15We just spent the past couple of weekends replacing our aging kitchen cabinets ourselves. Yesterday Spouse stood on a step ladder for almost 4 hour fitting in the last cabinets above the refrigerator. After admiring our hard work, we sat down on the sofa with a cup of coffee for a well-deserved rest. Not five minutes after sitting down, we heard a huge crash, and lots of small crashes from our garage. Ran out to find that a 12 foot wire rack tore its bolts out of the concrete wall and fell to the ground, with everything we had on it. This is a prime example of home ownership. You're never finished.© Photo: aeraen#16The amount of filters I have to clean/replace. Like I knew about some, but the discovery there is a filter in my washing machine AND my dishwasher? And I'm supposed to clean out the washing machine one once a month? No one warned me, never once did I see my parents cleaning out a filter in the washing machine, but maybe it is a front loader thing.#17The cast iron and copper pipes in your home have lasted for 80 years with no issues but have never emotionally matured. If you give them a slightly suspect glance they will self destruct and spring leaks like a tween being told to clean their room and wailing how everyone is picking on them.#18Homeowners insurance is a scam. Calling maintenance is a luxury that you’ll never have again. You are the maintenance person. But at least you don’t steal your own stuff when you have to fix your broken dryer.#19I was prepared to have to spend lots of money on home maintenance. I was NOT prepared for the fact that home maintenance expenses are not a consistent & predictable expense.In an apartment, you know from month to month almost exactly what your living expenses are. But when I got the house, I had to save one month, then shell out hundreds of dollars to fix or improve something the next. A lot of big ups & downs. It's weird to adapt to thinking of saving/spending in a whole new way.#20Your options in dealing with bad neighbors is extremely limited. The cops rarely help if at all and it seems like more often sides with [jerks]. Always check out the neighborhood and neighbors. It can make or break any situation.ChuckEweFarley:Bad neighbors you can’t escape from.DeElDeAye:We’ve been here 30 years. I expected nonstop yardwork, maintenance, repairs, and replacements. But what no one really warned us about is how seriously damaging bad neighbors can be.Other people can ruin the emotional enjoyment of being in your own home or yard. Other people can absolutely destroy your property value when it comes time to sell like we want to do right now.Neighbors across the street don’t maintain things and elderly man right next door to us just had his house painted bright royal blue to match the huge US and US Navy flags he put up. I have no complaints about his patriotism or his flags. But the formerly classic cream house-paint now looks like the Cookie Monster lives there.#21I wanted to replace a doorknob. Then was like, I should do them all so they match. Then was like, well these doors are old and should get replaced. Then was like, well, now the walls look shabby, and the flooring…and I wanted to get rid of that one wall anyway. And I need a window over here.So, that’s how you end up with a $70k doorknob.#22It's more expensive than renting.#23I really hate cleaning and the bigger the house, the more cleaning is supposed to be done. I sometimes wish for the days of my studio apartments. Cozy, easy to clean, can't have too much stuff….#24Spend the money on an inspection. It’s so much better than the surprises. House surprises are NOT like birthday surprises.#25Trash. In an apartment, you have a giant dumpster that you can use at your disposal (pun intended).In a SFH, you have your one weekly bin. Christmas tree? Gotta pay extra or cut it up into small pieces New floors? Make a giant pile and either slowly throw it away or pay extraPulled out some hedges? Pay someone to come grab itLarge cardboard boxes? Gotta cut them up into tiny piecesI feel like I spend so much time managing garbage!#26We learned that we needed to cap our chimney to keep out the FLYING SQUIRRELS, which we didn't even know lived here in New England.#27The trees. I have so many trees, and trees are nice, right? Until 6 of them, that we didn't even realize were; technically on our property and [not alive], came down partially into the street during a storm. That was a fun $2k the first winter we were in our house. Keep an eye on your trees, make sure they are healthy, said no one.#28That you hope every unexplainable noise is a ghost, and not something you’re going to have to spend hundreds of dollars on to fix.#29That there is a honeymoon period with the home that ends too soon, and then buyers remorse sets in. You think you found your forever home, it gives you warm fuzzies just to see it, you can’t wait to get back to it every day. And then you find the previously unknown and very expensive plumbing, electrical, pest, …problem. Life tip: Never love with something that doesn’t love you back.#30Tile and stone must be re-sealed every year. Sweep, mop, steam, deepclean, steam again, open all the windows and respirator up, seal with extra-deadly industrial bad chems, wait 24 hours. Yeah I know how to do it, no I'm not doing it. I swear the next time I do a kitchen it'll be with industrial open equipment and one singular wet wall with access panels on the back. Stainless and linoleum and a floor drain. Unnecessary maintenance can lick my toes.#31That your escrow will change from year to year.#32That you'll spend a lot of time thinking about how poorly HVAC systems are set up. Just so much common sense tossed straight out the window.#33Of all the sounds I worry about, water is the worst. Plumbing, gutters, shingles. Heavy rain. Standing water at the foundation. Basements flooding, sump pumps failing. Ice damming in the winter, backing up into the attic. Impossible-to-find roof leaks (I SWEAR the water must be going UP the shingles! 3 roofers couldn't find it). Shutoff valves in the vanity not shutting off. Water heaters and washing machines spontaneously failing, dumping gallons of water.Many of these can be mitigated by inspection, replacement, quality work and quality materials.So, no, you're not alone. Feel better now! LOL.#34Visitors. I didn't know I'd become a free AirBnB. I live in a tourist destination. with over 150,000 hotel rooms but they all charge to stay.#35As soon as one thing breaks, gets repaired, then paid off then something else will break. I just had to replace a well pump and toilet. The woodstove almost burned down our house us because the pipe wasn’t connected in the attic. We are going to have to hire someone to do major brush clearing and remove 20 trees. Now the fridge is making a weird noise and I’m scared of it going out too. We’ve owned this home for 5 months. It never ends.#36That utility companies can basically can come in and do whatever to your property in the name of the “public good.” Our local electric company just came and destroyed every single yard in my neighborhood because they’re putting in underground wires. And as the homeowner we have to pay to fix it.#37How much damage a bad owner can do.Ours was completely renoed in 2009 and one bad owner from 2015-2023 destroyed it all. I'll be spending the next decade on repairs. I'm just glad they took a $265,000 bath on the sale.#38No one thinks about closet space until they don't have it.#39We've been in our house for 2 years now. The other night while my wife was showering, I heard a ticking coming from the walls. I was walking around with my ear up against all the walls trying to figure out where it was coming from and was setting up a ladder to get into the attic when my wife got out of the shower to ask me wth I was doing. Turns out our pipes just make noise when the shower is running - I never knew that.That you've got to pour bleach (like a cap full) down the drain pipe of your AC. Didn't know that was a thing and it got clogged up, causing the AC to not work. We learned this during the summer while living in Alabama. (Also you should spray off your exterior unit once a year at least).#40Another thing: it’s REALLY important to know a guy. You’ve gotta know a guy who does this or that. A contractor friend. A plumber. Someone who services the furnace. You NEED to have good close contacts you trust for emergencies.#41My #1 Mission is to keep water away from house or coming in….. always setbacks- concrete crumbling, gutter cleaning, caulking. Begging workers to do smaller jobs.#42How grout would become the bane of my existence in every house I've owned, forever and ever, amen. I hate it with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. Why humans have decided to put an absorbent material that cracks in SHOWERS is something I will never understand.#43No one told me that as soon as you buy the house, all the most expensive things in said house will break about a month after closing. Also like the owners Jerry-rigged everything to work during walk thru’s knowing that [something] was gonna break as any minute.#44You have to drain your water heater and check the anode rod every year. Your washing machine probably has a secondary lint filter that you need to check regularly. 90% of maintaining a home is keeping water where it should be and away from where it shouldn’t be.#45That a good, honest handyman is worth his weight in gold.#46You *need* a good wet/dry canister vacuum far more than you need any other vacuum.You may need a special tool to turn your water off.Vinyl windows have channel drains that need cleaning.High vaulted ceilings may require tall step ladders to access lights, fans, smoke alarms.Water heaters require regular service and maintenance.Foundation drains need cleaning.When you replace your roof you should have fall protection anchors installed.There are old skin mags hidden under the insulation in the attic.#47The day we got possession of the house, my dad told me that one skill to develop is to learn what you can ignore. This was in response to me commenting on the huge amount of mushrooms in the front yard but still. That would have been nice to start working on earlier!#48Property taxes, mortgages,house repairs, daily upkeep. I was led to believe that owning a house was the American dream.#49Everything is in a constant state of decay, including us.#50That you have to supervise those lower cost contractors.#51I honestly thought it would be around $2,800. I found out real quick that wasn’t the case more like $10K to $15K where I live. Total sticker shock.It’s my first home, and I’d always lived in military housing after high school, so I had no idea what stuff like that actually costs. Definitely one of those “welcome to homeownership” moments.#52[Stuff] NO ONE TELLS YOU:1. New home builds seem to need 2x years of taxes paid within the first 12-14 months, otherwise your escrow balance will have a shortage and your monthly payment will increase by a few hundred per month until that balance is paid down.2. Home warranty work isn't prioritized. Once you close on your home, it's not a high priority to take care of your little fixes.3. Plumbing fixed cost a lot of money. Pay extra for thorough plumbing inspections before buying a home. Seriously, I will always spend $500-$1000 for a solid plumbing only inspection before buying my next home. Much less expensive than finding major problems later that aren't disclosed.#53The number of conversations I’d have with other homeowners about lawn care. I used to be fun.#54...yard work just never ends...#55A cautionary tale:What is that seeping from under the house? What do you mean we have to have the interior slab dug up because of a sewage line disintegrating? What do you mean there’s a sink-hole of sewage under the house that must be excavated and backfilled? What do you mean it’s not covered by our insurance??? It’s going to cost how much!!? Why no payment plan? WTH!!This was our experience 25 yrs ago and is not uncommon. We will never again buy a home without having a sewer line inspection first.#56Updating plumbing, electric & sealing doors & windows. All the constant expenses.That's why I'm selling & moving into an apartment. Yes, an apartment will cost $300 extra each month, but I won't have to worry about all those d**n home ownership bills.#57It’s the homeowners insurance going up every year. Surprises us every time. You’d think we would get used to it.#58When you need repairs done you need to get multiple quotes and ask them what materials are they using to fix. I recently needed a new roof so I asked roofer my neighbor was using he gave me a piece of paper written tear off and replace roof 28,500. Never specified what roofing material he was using or what leak guarantee is. To make matters worse my neighbor said he charges him 19k for his roof mine was not much different same age etc.#59I wanted property. Yall think a home is bad!!. Try owning 5 acres! 😆 🤣 poison oak, English ivy, broken branches, making wildfire piles, blackberries, hornets nests, snow and ice is scary with all the trees around, gravel for the driveway every few years, keep it mowed, trim the fruit trees, put up a perimeter fence, buy a brush cutter, buy a chainsaw, buy a pole saw, buy a dr mower walk behind, buy a weed torch, buy weed killer and stump killer, on and on and on. . . i have a creek fed deep pond though that's so dope. Built a floating dock and makes it all worth it.#60The purchase price of your home is a fraction of the actual dollars you will pay on a 30 year note.#61My cat caught a mouse in the kitchen. After crawling around the floor with my iPhone flashlight I discovered the creature had chewed through wood moulding behind the bathroom pedestal sink. I got to change things up and crawled around the moulding stuffing steel wool and filling the space between wall and floor with caulk. Ah, the joys of homeownership.#62Dealing with something now that hadn't occurred to me. Built a house 10 years ago. Smoke/CO2 detectors expire after 10 years. They are not super cheap. Just replaced 12 detectors at a little over $600.On the plus side, I'm now really good at swapping a detector. (Which required in my case, to replace the pig tail wiring for the plug for each one).#63How often SOMETHING leaks! In the past year, I’ve had leaks at dishwasher, washing machine, bathroom sink, main line, roof vent, water heater, and a roommate spill. I have monitored water alarms which give me a heads up before any damage happens. But I’ve been surprised how many alarms I’ve had and how those water alarms have paid for themselves.#64Replacing everything! I’ve got a list of stuff that needs to be done taped to the fridge. Rotting deck that’s a safety hazard and your insurance wants to drop you over if? 11-20k. Front porch roof needs to be replaced? 3-4K for materials and build. Kitchen sink sprung a leak and ruined the oak cabinets underneath. You learn to treat and sand yourself so they don’t charge you $500 to put in a new false bottom. Squirl gets in your attack and chews up AC drain lines😡.#65We have 10 acres. I didn't realize how much work this was going to be as I was getting older. Maintaining yard and home, then any out buildings you may have. I'm in my 50s now, and my husband is in his 60s. I didn't think it would get this hard this soon. Sometimes, it feels like there is just no end to the money it takes to maintain.#66Raccoons are a menace & I no longer find them cute. They are much stronger than you'd think & they can climb very well. They will pull siding & fascia down, burrow inside you roof or anywhere really. They're also incredibly smart & once you trap one, the rest of their clan will now know to avoid even the most tempting of traps!😂.#67Moles and squirrels.Love/hate relationship with the oaks.Learn to fix things yourself to save money.Property taxes.Sorry, that's four... in no particular order.#68Winter heating bills.#69I never knew until getting a mortgage how much goes to interest in the first years of paying it off. I always thought it was a set amount going toward the interest the entire time. I actually kind of like this, though, because it's satisfying seeing the amount that goes to principal go up every month.Other than that, I can't really think of anything, and nothing was really unexpected about owning itself. Homeowner 5 years now.#70That if you have a dryer connected to ductwork, you should clear it out with a brush or hook up a leaf blower and blast the residual lint outside every few months. I found about 5 gallons worth of lint and messed up our ductwork trying to clear it out, ended up having to cut open the wall. What a headache. Start with one project and find three more!#71I actually bought my 100 year old house to keep me busy in retirement. I learned that everything cannot be a DIY project. Like the surprise $10,000 replace the water pipes cuz the cold was blocked right after I moved in. But I am good at replacing electric now and used shark bite to replumb my kitchen sink. So many surprises, but the taxes, insurance and mortgage is less than rent and nobody can kick me out so that makes me happy. And you can paint any color you want!#72You never know if your house is on the sinkhole and it's not covered under insurance.#73One thing I didn’t expect before buying a 90 year old house is how many random noises you hear at night. I’m the most pragmatic person I know, but I’ve definitely laid in bed at like 2 or 3 in the morning and wondered if my house is haunted or if someone secretly lives in a hidden room and comes out at night. Also, when I bought my first house, I did not expect the deluge of junk mail you receive that reference your home loan. Like PILES of it.#74One that I've embraced - being up to "code" isn't really that devastating. I'm not talking about that 2nd floor balcony that the PO made with scrap lumber and chewing gum, im talking about things that are old and outdated. My house was built in 54, and it still has the Union Pacific breaker box, as well as the genius wiring. So many people would freak out about it, but it hasn't failed in 71 years. ....just annoying to find out that not all outlets in the same room are on the same breaker.#75That good monthly mortgage payment will not be there anymore when the first year's property taxes hit that next year.#76Doing it alone financially is very difficult, things break have, savings. Having a double income would make a massive difference in my life.#77Suddenly Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards are a lot more fun to walk through.#78SO. MUCH. DUST.#79Mice.#80Put a dehumidifier in your basement if you have one. Maybe put two.#81If you have A/C, learn about your coil drain pan(s), and how it interacts with your house plumbing!#82No one warned me that each problem you fix is one less you have to worry about in the future. The first several years can be tough but then it's easy mode while rents climb.#83Even if you live in the woods you have to rake all of the yard or else it messes up your drainage then washes the dirt from around your foundation and cause your house to flood. We are old enough to know better!#84You’re supposed to drain your hot water tank every couple of years to flush sediment…UNLESS YOUVE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE, in which case DONT drain because the sediment could be holding it together. If you’ve recently purchased your home and don’t know whether the previous owners maintained their water tank, then you’re shot outta luck. . Source:Boredpanda