The Top Ten Mistakes made by New Home Owners @Mybuildlink

HOW TO AVOID THE TOP TEN MISTAKES AS A NEW HOME OWNER

As a new home owner you finally fold your hands across your chest and say, “Home Sweet Home Sweet.” However hard and best you may have tried the battle isn’t over unless you peruse through our eBook for some practical guidance as a new home owner.

Most new home owners think the battle is over once the building Contractor hands them the keys to their mansion. In common belief, yes that’s true but in reality it’s a BIG NO! Why? I can hear some grumbling so far away I am.

You’ve finally moved into your new home. But, like many new homeowners, you may not be familiar with construction standards or how your home was built — and how to maintain it.

Mybuildlink works hard to educate our clients to help them avoid common mistakes that can lead to costly repairs.

At Mybuildlink, we work with our homeowners to help ensure that they have all the information they need to make a smooth transition. Most of the common mistakes new homeowners can make stem from not having enough information.

Brighton our Sales Consultant meets with our buyers three times prior to closing to go over all the mechanics of the home, such as water heaters, HVAC systems, appliances, doors and windows, the breaker box and power outlets. “We make sure everything is working properly and that they understand how to operate the new systems. “We also have a warranty process in place that we review in detail with the buyers, so that if anything isn’t working properly after the move-in, they know who to contact to get it fixed, how to contact them and what information they need to have ready.”

But many new homeowners move in and make changes without really understanding the ramifications of their actions. Many of these mistakes can be costly to repair. And perhaps more important, they can void a homeowners warranty as well.

They are many pitfalls, and deadly that await you along the home ownership journey unless you have some road map or see DANGER WARNING SIGNS before the final incident.

What are they? Let’s look at some of the top ten mistakes made by new home owners who came before you. Experience is the best teacher.

Storing house hold goods in garages or attics

Garage and attic trusses are designed to support the weight of the roof and ceiling and not much else. But many homeowners view this space as perfect for extra storage. Adding too much weight, however, might result in sagging or even a collapse of the roof structure. If you want to use this space for storage, consult a structural engineer in advance to see if additional reinforcements are needed. This is the worst case! Changing the original function of your building! You built it to shelter your family! And that’s all! Now that you want to store some of your business goods in transit to the client or office in your garage! Hey did you tell your building contractor that you will use your garage as a storeroom one day?

The Problem that arise when you start Storing house hold goods in garages

How about the foundation bearing too much a load at one point? Uneven distribution of load in a fishing boat? It tilts and goes down slight and the walls lean! The leaning tower of Rome, Italy results! Don’t start blaming the contractor saying he didn’t compact the ground or use correct concrete mixtures for slab! He is out in this one! Why? Read it here.
You can also get more reasons in our popular eBook The 12 Fundamentals Causing your building to decay.

Supporting weights from the attic trusses

How about that opening in the garage revealing the roof trusses? Why not hang some weight scale, gym equipment, hide some small tangibles beyond the reach of that nosey neighbor or suspend tire for my kid to play with? Genuine cause it sounds, hah?

My recent customer wanted to hang some pull down stairs attached to the roof. Good it sounds. Now read on the challenges below. Similarly, adding pull-down steps to an attic or garage can be a bad idea as well. “Trusses are not designed to accommodate pull-down stairs.

The Problem that arise when you start Supporting weights from the attic trusses

The roof becomes stressed! The trusses move or make that squeaking sound! And with the verbal guarantee from the roof designs that it will stand, you don’t mind a bit. Back during my High school days doing Agriculture, we had a scale of up to a 150kg suspended in the Agric room. We used to play around with the scale and the sounds made by the trusses never bothered us. Will the roof stand till a new generation come? Remember the roof is just like a block. Move one bit, the whole block move. The nails joining the trusses come under severe force attacking it, unknown and unbearable according to the roof designer. The walls become stressed and finally give way. Your mansion will automatically fall apart sooner than expected.

3. Altering finished grades

Perhaps you want to add a patio or walkway — or some additional trees or landscaping — to your new home. In doing so, you might disrupt the drainage system around your home and cause water to flow back toward the house.

Your builder will deliver your home with the lot carefully sloped so that water flows away from the house. If you later add sidewalks or patios directly on top of the finished grade, the water may not drain properly and that can lead to costly repairs.

4. Allowing Sprinkler Heads to Spray Against the Home

Sprinkler heads that spray against your house can lead to rotted walls, leaching of color from the exterior walls or even movement of the foundation. Direct all sprinkler heads away from the home — and check them regularly to make sure they haven’t turned.

5. Failing to Use Bathroom and Laundry Vent Fans

Bathrooms and laundry rooms typically have high humidity. Fans should always be used in these rooms to avoid getting water vapor into your drywall, electrical outlets and framing.

6. Walking on the Roof

Not only is walking on the roof dangerous, but untrained persons can break or scuff the roof covering and cause roof leaks. Gutter maintenance should always be done from a ladder, not the top of the roof. Many residential warranties exclude damage resulting from unauthorized persons walking on a roof.

7. Overloading Upper Kitchen Cabinets

Lower cabinets rest on the floor, but upper kitchen cabinets are hung from the walls. While it might be tempting to store extra sets of dishes in upper cabinets, this added weight could load the cabinet beyond its capacity and lead to sagging shelves or even detachment of the cabinet from the wall.

Failing to Know Your Property Boundaries

You may have been given a survey of your new home at the closing or settlement. But if your property was not staked out by the surveyor, you might not be sure exactly where your properly lines lie. Wilber, from Grenadier Homes, says that the company reviews the plot and properly lines with all its homeowners so that they understand where their property begins and ends.

This is particularly important if you plan to build a fence or do any planting near the property line. Encroaching on an adjacent property can not only cause problems between neighbors, but can also lead to your being forced to remove your fence or landscaping at additional cost. Be sure to know where your property lines are before doing any exterior work.

Remember that your home is one of the most expensive investments in your life. The more you educate yourself — by studying any homeowner manuals provided by your builder or asking questions, particularly during the walkthrough — the greater the likelihood that you will avoid costly repairs to your beautiful new home.

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