The Joys of Homeownership - Help for First-Time House Owners

You moved out of your rental or coop into a townhouse; It’s great you have more room; you have a backyard and storage in the basement. You are living the dream! You are having fun decorating and planting the garden. All is going great until you notice a brown spot on the living room ceiling? Uh oh? What is it? Where is it coming from? Or perhaps you wake up one morning and find there is no hot water? Or there is a torrential rainstorm, and you get a backup in your basement. What do you do now?  

 

Ah, the joys of homeownership!

 

The place to start is before you even buy the house. 

•  Not all real estate agents have deep technical knowledge of properties. Our team is well-versed with problems in Brooklyn townhouse and brownstone housing stock which is a real asset to property-seeking clients. Your knowledgeable agent can be a great resource before you buy and when something goes wrong.
• Have a property inspection and take heed of recommendations made by the inspector.  
• Consider additional inspections for things like termites and the chimney.
• Anticipate the end of useful-life for components and mechanicals of the property.
• For example, if the hot-water heater is ten-years-old, it is out of warranty and nearing the end of its utility.  
• Ask the seller for a list of the service people, electricians, plumbers that they have used over the years.
• Being informed before you purchase helps you anticipate and prepare emotionally and financially when things go wrong.

 

Back to the problems; Who do you call when you notice that brown spot or the water goes out, or the basement backs up? 

 

Before moving in, consider work you might do to prevent problems: 

 

• For that basement backup, you might have a plumber check if there is a back-flow prevention valve on the sewer line and consider installing a sump pump in the basement.
• For the brown spot in the living room, check the roof, check the plumbing, check for leaks on radiators valves, are there gaps in the masonry on the outside wall, are the windows well sealed?
• For the hot-water heater: Is there a draft that may have blown out the pilot light? Learn basic maintenance skills like how to relight your device. If you have done your household due-diligence, you will be frustrated but not shocked if your old hot-water heater fails because of its age.

 

Another option is to keep a skilled and professional management company on retainer.   Just because you live in a building doesn't mean you want to do everything yourself. We have clients who retain our team’s services so that they have someone to call and manage the problems that will eventually arrive and so that they can focus on their family and life's work.