|
One serious question, straight up. How long are you planning on staying in this house? Is this the house that you're going to be in for the rest of your life, or is this a starter house that you're going to graduate from in five to ten years?
The reason I ask is this. If its a starter house, then everything you do has to have an eye towards resale, which means you have to "standardize" things in order for the house to be appealing to potential future buyers.
My wife and I are on our second house, and it is the house where we're staying, til death do us etc. Thus we can be a little eccentric. For instance, my wife and I are a bit on the tall side(I'm 6'5, she's 5'10). Normal size counter tops are really too low, but in our old house, we lived with it because we knew we were selling within ten years. This new house is getting countertops that are six inches higher for our comfort.
A few other things:
Before you start on decorative things, make sure that the basics of your house are solid. And that means starting with the foundation. Check it out, or have it checked for cracks, sinking etc etc. It doesn't do you a lot of good to remodel the house, make it all pretty, and then have cracks start appearing on the walls due to the foundation shifting.
Check your local codes for electric and plumbing, and make sure your house meets those codes. In fact, having somebody knowledgable about plumbing and electric check those two systems over is always a good idea. Otherwise you'll get your house all pretty and nice, and then have to rip out a whole wall in order to replace wiring or plumbing. If this is an older house, with either a fuse box or small capacity breaker box, replace it. With all of today's modern gadgetry, the electrical systems of older homes simply can't take the load safely.
When you're remodeling, always think energy efficiency. Replace those old single pane windows with new double panes. Insulate, Insulate, Insulate. You can even put an insulating blanket around your hot water heater, and it will save you more energy and money than you think. If you're in this house for the long run, and have the location for it, think about putting a couple of kilowatts worth of solar panels on the roof. The investment you make now will pay off in the long run, like fifteen to twenty years. Invest in a programable thermostat, so that you won't waste energy when you need to. In fact, with Peak Oil coming down the road, you might want to invest in a wood stove for heating. Check with your insurance company before installing one. Indoor wood stoves really jack your rates up as opposed to outdoor ones.
What kind of floors do you have? Carpet, linoleum, tile, wood, what? If you have old wood floors, and don't like the way they look, you can always sand them and stain them yourself so that they look nice. My wife and I are doing this with our floors in the upstairs(older) part of the house. Nice pinewood floors that looked like hell from years of neglect, but they come back looking great after sanding, staining, and putting on polyurethane finish. It is a long process to do, but well worth it once it is done.
Get your husband involved in this, don't let him do just the "man" stuff, get him into the stores with you picking out colors and such. Nothing can kill a house like having somebody dissatisfied with the treatment of it. You may think that burgundy is just fine, but he may find it horrible. Just think of the problems that would cause if you did the dining room in burgundy. So get his lazy ass out there and help choose stuff, its his house too!
Don't scrimp! That is a lesson I learned from my first house. I'm not talking about getting gold faucets or what have you, but make sure that your fixtures, fittings, both plumbing and electrical are of high quality. I learned this lesson the hard way with my kitchen sink faucet in the first house. It was leaking something ferocious when I first moved in, so I went and picked up a twenty dollar, plastic gutted faucet at the hardware store and put it in. It was leaking within a year. I went right back out and repeated the performance, and yes, within a year, that faucet was leaking(yes, I'm a slow learner sometimes). Well, after two years of that nonsense, I went out to Lowes and dropped a hundred dollars down on a Prices Pfister faucet with brass guts, and that self same faucet is still working fine. Going with short term savings will generally cost you more in the long run when you're dealing with a house.
And as far as paying the house off, here's a little secret. I'm assuming that you got the standard thirty year mortage, fixed rate. If so, here's a little secret to pay that mortage off in twenty years. Pay an extra ten percent of the required payment every month towards your principle. For example, if your house payment is $1000.00 per month, pay any extra hundred(or more, if you can afford it) every month on the principle. Most mortages are structured so that the initial ten years of payments are going towards the interest owed, not the principle. If you start cutting down the principle, the time that you have to pay will shorten, and the amount you have to pay will go down.
Also, escrow accounts are your friend. Escrow your home insurance and property tax. That way, you're paying a little each month rather than having to scramble at the end of the year to come up with money.
Good luck to you both, and have fun. Remember that fixer uppers are quite fun to work on and play with, and ultimately satisfying in the end, they can also get on your last nerve too. Take this into consideration when you're becoming frustrated at the leaking plumbing, and don't take it out on your hubby, or vice versa. If things are getting to the point where there is that much acrimony about the project, then you folks need to take a break for awhile. Remodeling and fixer uppers are long term projects, so don't be frustrated if you're still working on it a year or two or more from now.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
