Donts for a New Home owner

If you’re new to homeownership, you’ll definitely want to avoid these easy-to-prevent mistakes that could cost you big time.

We know so well the thrill of owning your own house — but don’t let the excitement cause you to overlook the basics. We’ve gathered up a half dozen classic boo-boos new homeowners often commit — and give you some insight on why each is critically important to avoid.

1.  Not Knowing Where the Main Water Shutoff Valve Is

Water from a burst or broken plumbing pipe can spew dozens of gallons into your home’s interior in a matter of minutes, soaking everything in sight — including drywall, flooring, and valuables. In fact, water damage is one of the most common of all household insurance claims.

Quick-twitch reaction is needed to stave off a major bummer. Before disaster hits, find your water shutoff valve, which will be located where a water main enters your house. Make sure everyone knows where it’s located and how to close the valve. A little penetrating oil on the valve stem makes sure it’ll work when you need it to.

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2.  Not Getting Familiar with House Plan Before Digging a Hole

Ah, spring! You’re so ready to dig into your new yard and plant bushes and build that fence. But don’t — not until you know where your pipes and underground cables are placed.

3.  Not Checking the Slope of Foundation Soil

The ground around your foundation should slope away from your house at least 6 inches over 10 feet. Why? To make sure that water from rain doesn’t soak the soil around your foundation walls, building up pressure that can cause leaks and crack your foundation, leading to mega-expensive repairs.

This kind of water damage doesn’t happen overnight — it’s accumulative — so the sooner you get after it, the better (and smarter) you’ll be. While you’re at it, make sure downspouts extend at least 5 feet away from your house.


4.  Carelessly Drilling into Walls

Hanging shelves, closet systems, and artwork means drilling into your walls — but do you know what’s back there? Hidden inside your walls are plumbing pipes, ductwork, wires, and cables.

You can check for some stuff with a stud sensor — a battery-operated tool that detects changes in density to sniff out studs, cables, and ducts.

But stud sensors aren’t foolproof. Protect yourself by drilling only 1¼ inches deep max — enough to clear drywall and plaster but not deep enough to reach most wires and pipes.

Household wiring runs horizontally from outlet to outlet about 8 inches to 2 feet from the floor, so that’s a no-drill zone. Stay clear of vertical locations above and below wall switches — wiring runs along studs to reach switches.

5.  Cutting Down a Tree

The risk isn’t worth it. Even small trees can fall awkwardly, damaging your house, property, or your neighbor’s property. You have to obtain a permit first. Cutting down a tree is an art that’s best left to a professional tree service.

Plus, trees help preserve property values and provide shade that cuts energy bills. So think twice before going all out.

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Learning Lessons in Home Ownership

When most Filipinos envision a successful future, their dreams almost always tend to include a home.

The exact house may differ from person to person – the business process outsourcing (BPO) worker might want a condominium in Bonifacio Global City, while the father of 4 might want a 5-bedroom house in a southern subdivision – but the goal remains the same: We all want a place to call our own.

It is a bit ironic that we all aspire to own a home, but very few of us – myself included until only very recently (and I’m still learning more and more every day) – know what it takes to get one. In other words, we do not necessarily have a frame of reference for understanding how to go from not owning a home to being a proud home owner.

On the outside looking in, homeownership appears the privilege of a select few – the mayayaman (rich), as some might dismissively say. Yet owning a home is well-within every Filipino’s reach, especially as there are increasingly more resources to help us get there, such as the government’s Pag-IBIG fund.

To prove that homeownership is attainable to all Filipinos, my company, ZipMatch, started a feature series entitled #HowIGotMyHome. In each installment, we will interview a different Filipino – everyone from a security guard in Pasig to a copywriter in Makati – on how they were able to get their dream home.

In our first installment, we interviewed Carla Manantan, who used to teach in Korea. Here are 4 key takeaways from her interview, so you, too, can begin the tough but ultimately fulfilling journey toward home ownership:

It takes personal sacrifice to own a home. Manantan taught English in Korea for 4 years, an ocean away from her friends, her mother and two brothers, and everything she had known up to that point. Picture this: She was alone in another country where the culture was foreign and the primary language was not English. She enjoyed learning about Korean culture but living in the country represented a huge personal sacrifice. Still it was a job she stuck with because it gave her the greatest chance of eventually owning a home.

It takes financial sacrifice to own a home. As a Filipino living in Korea, it would have been easy for Manantan to fall into the trap of treating it as a vacation. She could have splurged on weekend jaunts around the country and nightly dinners at the most exotic restaurants. Instead, Manantan buckled down on all her expenses, including food, entertainment, and leisure, knowing she was in Korea for a purpose: to save up for a home. This approach had the ancillary benefit of forcing Manantan to find ways of enjoying Korea that other expatriates tended to overlook.

It takes financial smarts to own a home. When Manantan moved back to the Philippines, she realized something that many tenants in the country don’t: The money that she was spending on rent could also pay for monthly installments on a home of her own. So rather than having nothing to show for at the end of a lease, she could actually have a brand new piece of property titled under her name. Yes, she would have to pay for a reservation fee and a deposit for a new home, but after doing a simple cost-benefit analysis, she determined that buying a house was the most financially sound route to go. With that in mind, she paid her reservation fee with full confidence.

It takes the right attitude to own a home. Manantan’s journey, which began in Korea and ended with owning a home in Bonifacio Global City, looks easy in hindsight. But the path was long and very much a challenging one – it was only her attitude that saw her through. Whenever she was missing her family in Korea or skipping out on seeing that movie or eating at that restaurant, Manantan made it a point to mentally focus on other homeowners that she knew. “Kung kaya nila, kaya ko rin (If they can do it, so can I)," Manantan told us, exemplifying the quality that appears to have aided her the most in her hunt for a home – determination.
Source: rappler.com/business/features

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