Ever Been Overwhelmed By Keeping Up With Your Home Maintenance?

[Stitchfans]

No doubt everyone who owns a home has experienced this where several major things go wrong at the same time. Not to mention it will happen just after you decided to buy something really expensive like a car or something.

We just ordered a month ago a tub/wall unit from Bathfitters, which should be delivered any day now, and DH just bought a new truck. Now we discovered from some bad storms that our roof is leaking in two places. Watch the list will start to grow- huh? Always happens.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

DH and I often play the "how do they afford it" game. Yes I know it is none of my business -but we do wonder sometimes -are people in debt up to their ears? Rich Uncle? No retirement?

I've been playing that game a lot lately. I believe the answer is a combination of the 1st and 3rd. They have no savings and keep taking out loans upon loans. I actually know two people that are doing this. They have a total of about $20 to their name but they are way over their heads in debt. (And the only breadwinner has decided to defer his loans, go on vacation, and then quit his job of 3 months. ) Neither see past today. I have a feeling they think they are going to win the lottery, yet they don't even play it.

My parents are going through the home repair blues. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. My mom is ready to just take out a HELOC and get it over with. My dad is in denial and refuses to see any of the problems. He is also a really handy guy but has become lazy. My mom is also very handy, but she does what she can. The bay window is falling out. My dad denies it. One day he is going to come home and it is going to be on the front lawn.

 

[Christine]

I've been playing that game a lot lately. I believe the answer is a combination of the 1st and 3rd. They have no savings and keep taking out loans upon loans. I actually know two people that are doing this. They have a total of about $20 to their name but they are way over their heads in debt. (And the only breadwinner has decided to defer his loans, go on vacation, and then quit his job of 3 months. ) Neither see past today. I have a feeling they think they are going to win the lottery, yet they don't even play it.

Yes, I suppose if I stopped putting my $15,000 per year into my retirement account I could get one of those projects done! It's hard to know what to do.

 

[disykat]

We're in the same boat with our 14 year old house. We like to think we keep it in pretty good shape - but all the flooring needs to be replaced, they are requiring everyone to make costly updates to their septic systems, and the appliances are starting to go one by one. Our siding is also recalled, but we were able to get a really good coat of sealant and paint on it before any mold growth started so hopefully it will last us a while.

We would also love to get air conditioning and replace the kitchen countertops.

 

[luvwinnie]

I know how you feel. We just put in new windows and ordered a new patio door. WIthin the next 5 years we really want to redo the kitchen (why anyone would deliberately put in the cabinets that are in there is beyond me), viny siding and a roof. I would LOVE to enclose the deck too, but that is years away, if at all. I think once my dad is no longer with us we will really want to get a condo. Between work and health issues, it's just too hard to keep up with a house.

 

[Disney-Kim]

No judgements either, but I feel like I can't get out of the HELOC I am in. I had to stop it and convert to a loan because the interest (which was wonderful for 4 years) went through the roof. I finally locked in at 5.9% when the HELOC was hitting 7.9%! I borrowed approximately $22,000 on the HELOC and was making bigger payments than I needed to. Darn thing wouldn't go down. I finally converted it and now I have 4 years of a $320 payment on it. Between that payment, my car payment (just one thank god), the kids' braces, and everything else, I am terrified to get another loan. Truly, I am at my max on paying the bills and don't want to borrow more.

I have not problems doing the HELOC thing if you can pay it back. I just feel like I can't and I already have one loan going on.

that would suck. I realize think I must have a HELO because we could only take money for a short time and the rate is fixed. We went with a credit union. the terms are actually better than our 1st mort.
but I understand that you can only afford so many pymts...thats why we have so much still not done on our house

 

[happybratpack]

Oh boy, can I sympathize with your problems. Thank goodness not to the same money extent but still.

I bought this house by myself after my divorce in 2004. I was SO excited, my first house by myself - in fact the first thing I had ever bought alone period. I was originally looking for a new house but this one popped up in an older neighborhood (that's almost impossible to get into) with lots of trees and I was hooked. Built in 1969 and about 2000 sf. Not too big, but the layout makes it seem bigger than it is. I really love it.

That said...
It needs so much work - the windows, the yard, flooring, cabinets, appliances, exterior paint, etc etc etc. It's like the list never ends and it's so overwhelming that I'm having a hard time even getting started. It's so frustrating, I see my other friends that have these grand houses but I know they're living beyond their means. I dont want to do that, I like having some extra cash flow to things plus I never know when I'll have a million dollar vet bill. In the meantime I just limp along trying to do one small project after another.

OK, I've offered no help at all with your post - I'm sorry! Just wanted to say you're not alone and hang in there!!

 

[sewer]

, I see my other friends that have these grand houses but I know they're living beyond their means. I dont want to do that, I like having some extra cash flow to things plus I never know when I'll have a million dollar vet bill. In the meantime I just limp along trying to do one small project after another.

Smart idea, sometimes it just makes sense to live without going deeply into debt!

 

[zweihund]

Like many other people suggested, we have "the list."

Guest bathroom toilet needs to be replaced?
Put it on the list.

Carpet is starting to sound "crunchy" underfoot, and it stained to emberassing proportions?
Put it on the list.

Grout needs replacing in master bathroom? (and yes, ours really does too)
Put it on the list.

Our list has everything from the tiny, quick stuff (which NEVER is quick, but we like to pretend it will be) to the big projects that we know we will continue to put off in lieu of the less expensive things. We put it all in order of importance AND realistic ability to complete. FINALLY finished painting two months after we started that project. Next, we are digging up the mess in the garden that the former owners left behind BEFORE our HOA sends us a friendly "hey, tame your jungle" letter. After that? Grout time.

I work an occasional second job that we use for vacation money and an emergency fund, and we save up for each project to tackle them little by little. That's really all you can do. And sure, we could take out more on our HELOC or go in debt up to our eyeballs, but we would still have "the list," because things will always need to be done.

One project at a time.

 

[miss missy]

Yes, I want smaller too! Not that 2,700 sq. ft is "big" these days, but it can be overwhelming. We cannot even paint our foyer or living room ourselves (or we must rent scaffolding) because of the 2 story ceilings. When we repainted the kitchen it was a 4 weekend project. When I lived in a townhouse, we could pretty much knock little project out in a weekend. Not so anymore.

My next door neigbor finally painted her master bedroom and bath and it took them several weeks and her husband threw his back out. (Tall ceilings again). I would love to sell and just get a townhouse or small house.

Us too! I have catherdral ceilings, sooo big I have to hire too. I have beams too. The wood work is dark and I HATE it!! I want all white or light wood! I so want to go to. DH won't do a townhouse tho. I was thinking how much we would save if we lived in a trailer! FOR REAL! I so am over the bills that come with the big 10 room house.

I don't know what to do at this point In 5 years, last kid is 18.. maybe then

 

[The Mystery Machine]

FOR REAL! I so am over the bills that come with the big 10 room house.

Amen!!!!

DH plans on moving from this monster house soon. I told him we are getting a smaller house next. Oldest dd will be off in 2 years and then youngest dd has 6 yrs after that.

I do NOT want to clean, decorate, upkeep, fix, pay bills for a large house in my 50's+.

I want something managable and then I would like to travel.

 

[Crankyshank]

I feel your pain. DH and I are 4yrs into home ownership to a 67yr old 1200 sq ft house. Fortunately for me DH is extremely handy, as are my Dad and Grandfather

On the surface my house is in great shape. Unfortunately it was in need of upgrades (original bath and kitchen). The cupboards were done by someone who didn't know what they were doing so they are uneven. The wiring is ungrounded, slapped together, and cloth & tube so it's a fire hazard. The yard hadn't been done in years and is completely overrun by weeds that I'm still fighting a losing battle against. Our kitchen floor was uneven because there was 5 layers of flooring. Instead of ripping out the old flooring and replacing it, they just kept adding layers.

We can only do a bit at a time because of the money concerns.

So far we've:
- installed a stone retaining wall on 2 sides of the back yard
- ripped up the kitchen flooring and put temporary vinyl sticky tiles down
- installed a privacy fence
- replaced shutters
- stripped about 9 layers of paint from both doors, sanded, and repainted
- built a deck
- replaced half of the wiring
- ripped off the garage roof (detached ) and the upper half of the wood (rotted and carpenter ant damage). stabilized the leaning garage and added additional storage to the attached shed. DH is currently working on that project

Upcoming projects:
- The bathroom has some water damage so that will need to be completely re-done. there's netting behind the tiles which is going to be a pita to take care of. It's our next immediate project and our only bathroom

- finish rewiring the house
- finish the basement (well we can't do this legally because of short ceiling height but we will need to remove the water based paint on the cement floor, level the floor, patch the previous water damage, and put up some drywall)
- patch plaster
- repaint
- upgrade electrical box and have it grounded
- replace kitchen cabinets, flooring, and counter tops
- replace roof
- finish building waterfall
- add 10 yards of loam to the back to level it out and re-seed
- remove rust from the wrought iron
- finish landscaping
- put a dormer on the upstairs which will hopefully give us enough space to add a second bath
- refinish hardwood floors
- pull up carpet in bedroom and replace with wood.
- cement driveway is cracked, uneven, and has tons of weeds. needs to be ripped up and either fresh cement put down or asphalt. Too much money to contemplate now.


A family friend/former classmate of mine just built a 5800 sq ft house and furnished it with all of the latest toys. They didn't have to pay for the land they build on, but I have to wonder how they could afford such a monstrosity of a house and who on earth cleans it since the wife has 2 boys under the age of 2 to look after!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

DH and I were playing the "how do they afford it" game yesterday. We will not take out any loans to fix up our house--we pay everything with cash. We live in a 1700 square foot house built in 1970, and that we bought 14 years ago.

Prior to the hurricanes in 2004, we had 8 big trees removed. About a dozen more fell during the hurricanes! Total cost on tree removal was about $4000-5000 (I've blocked out the exact amount because it was so painful!)

We have 5 enormous pine trees that need to be removed (just because they are so close to the house and would crush the house if they fell). Our first estimate (from the cheapest tree guy we know) is between $5000 and $6000.

Besides the trees, we've had the siding replaced on our house, had it painted inside and out, replaced the roof twice (we have a flat roof and a peaked roof, and each part was replaced at different times), replaced the central air-conditioning unit, replaced the dryer, and had a landscaper come in and regrade areas near our house because rainwater was collecting near the foundation.

One of our bathrooms has a leaky shower and we just don't use it (there are two of us). We were thinking about having it fixed (we know what needs to be done) but it will cost about $3000-4000, and we feel like we can continue just using one shower since having the pine trees taken down probably needs to be our #1 priority.

We have a very long, very cracked, very ugly driveway that would probably cost $30,000 to be replaced. We have absolutely no plans to do so as we cannot imagine having that much free $$. It's functional, but it's not pretty! We would definitely have to take out a home equity loan to have it done, and I just don't think it's worth it.

We will be in this house until we are too old to climb stairs, and I can't imagine ever having enogh $$ to do all the things to it that should be done.