There are a lot of lessons to learn as you make the transition from living at home or renting, and becoming a homeowner yourself. For a start, if something goes wrong then you can’t just call your parents or the landlord to come and fix it – that’s down to you now, with all the expense and hassle that it entails.
So while it’s fair to say it’s a learning process, sometimes, it’s tempting to want to try and speed that process up for people. If you’re planning to buy your first home, then maybe you can learn some of the important ways of thinking and planning that can make the adjustment all the better. Why mar the excitement of having your own home for the first time with boring things like learning lessons?
Let’s get that bit over with, take what you need to know, and then you can go on with delighting in having your own space. While everyone is different, there are a few things we’re all guilty of assuming about homeownership – maybe some of these will sound familiar…
Assumption: You can do what you want when you want. After all, isn’t that the best thing about making the investment choice to buy your own home? You make the rules. If you don’t want to tidy up, then you won’t have to tidy up. No one is going to tell you to clean if you don’t want to. As for being asked to turn your music down, or being told by a landlord you can’t put the nails in the walls? Those days are over.
Reality: Well… sort of. Of course, you get to set your own rules, but it’s probably going to get boring living in a mess of your own making. As for the music and the walls – well, you’ll still have neighbours who will be less than impressed with the noise (luckily we’re an end-terrace!). And the walls, if you change your mind, will be yours to fix… so you might have to concede your landlord had a point.
Assumption: You’ll click into home maintenance like a duck to water. It can’t be that hard, can it?
You’ve probably never thought about home security before, the fact that someone has to look for robust alarm systems and maintain them. Unless you had a very forgiving landlord, you’ve probably never had to choose a colour scheme or decorate a room so everything matches. And you’ve definitely not had to think about the structural integrity of the building. But hey – you’ll pick it up!
Reality: There’s no sudden dawning knowledge that hits you the moment you cross the threshold to your own home. When it comes to home security, you have to learn – and quickly, before you learn in the worst way imaginable. Get to know the new systems that you don’t understand and learn the warning signs for structural problems in your home. The sooner the better!
There’s a huge amount of upsides to owning your own home, but it does bring with it a new layer of responsibility that can take some getting used to. So take the time to learn about your house, how to maintain it, and how not to infuriate the neighbours – then you’ll really have it all.
