To anyone considering buying a home because rent is a waste of money, be prepared, because the money you need owning a house goes way beyond your monthly mortgage.

Now don't get me wrong I am not against buying a home, just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, and are prepared financially as best as you can possibly be.

For so many apartment dwellers such as myself I became accustomed to not worrying about anything breaking down, I would call the landlord or apartment manager, but obviously If you own a home it is all on you. When we first bought our house ten years ago, I did not even know what a sump pump was, which I will touch on later.

Granted I may be an extreme case as the average person might have some basic knowledge on how to fix things or maintain them to last longer. So, here is a quick rundown of some things we have learned over the years in regards to owning a house.

-Make sure to tighten your hose connections to the Sump Pump before the spring thaw or you could have a flooded basement.

-Diaper wipes are really bad for your plumbing, even If the packaging tells you they are flushable. We have many plumbing bills that say otherwise.

-In the winter if we get a ton of snow make a path to the gas meter for 2 reasons. 1.) So the gas company can get to it to read it and 2.) If enough snow falls to cover the meter to the top, your gas will shut off. Brrrrrr

-If your sink is not draining properly and you have tried every option to unclog it call a plumber because the situation will only get worse.

-If you have any exposed pipes in your garage in the winter they will freeze and you will have to hold a hair dryer on them for at least and hour or call a plumber to unthaw them so they don't burst.

-You can never own to much sidewalk salt to put on those icy steps, ask my mother n law who fell and broke her arm one winter. :(

-Don't ever leave a big pile of leaves on the lawn until Spring, not only will you have a big stinky mess to contend with that spot of grass will be dead for the entire summer.

-If you can hire professional painters, paint is expensive and when done yourself you may get more on you and the floor than the walls.

-When remodeling your home count on everything being hundreds or thousands of dollars more than you planned on spending.

-If you have old cruddy windows, do what ever you can to get the money to replace them, it is super expensive but worth it, and most windows have a lifetime warranty.

-When you get a new water heater installed make sure that they do not place it right on the floor. It needs to have a pan underneath it or be elevated somehow. The moisture from the floor will make it rust, like our 6 year old water heater did that had the 5 year warranty on it.

-If your 10+ year old dryer starts making a high pitched screech every time you start it up you need to get it replaced.

-Get a good lawnmower the first time, don't go cheap you will regret it.

These are the basics of things that we have had happen along with numerous plumbing issues due to our old house. Bottom line always be prepared to know that something is bound to happen every once in a while especially with older homes. Want to add to the list? Please leave in the comments below.

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