This is the other thing. Home repairs and maintenance cost a bunch of money. I appropriate $300 a month for repairs and maintenance. I do much of the work myself tho so that $300 could easily be $500-$600 in house maintenance expense if I had to call a tech for every problem I had
Edit: will be buying and installing a new toilet flush valve this morning. See what I mean? Lol
If you don’t mind my asking, what were housing prices in your neighborhood or area?
I’ve been considering relocating to a different state (for this and other reasons), because housing costs will eventually eat us alive (i.e. myself and other family members) – not to mention cost of living, transportation, taxes, etc…
It really gets to be quite a hassle as well as a major pain!
Hi Mike,
Sorry, I’ve been away for awhile, because I work on the side and go to school part-time.
"I appropriate $300 a month for repairs and maintenance. I do much of the work myself tho so that $300 could easily be $500-$600 in house maintenance expense if I had to call a tech for every problem I had."
So $500-$600 per month, brings you at about $6,000 - $7,200 per year in maintenance costs?
That sounds about right, because that’s about what my family paid to have their roof replaced more than ten years ago. (Fortunately, there are no trees surrounding the property, so their roof’s still in excellent condition, although it pours in the winter!)
But other than damaged roofing, faucets, toilets, and paint peeling, what other sorts of repair cost might I expect to run into?
For instance, what might one expect to pay for new siding or deck repairs? And are there regional or local differences, in terms of what a contractor might expect to bid on a project?
I live in the Pacific NW, where prices are much, much higher!
We’ve priced around for things such as foundational repairs (due to a dry rot issue underneath the ‘crawl space’), which one guy bid $6,000+ … AND that was two or three years ago!
We also need to replace the siding, which has been failing over the past several years. Also, the paint’s peeling on the south side of the house, which we’ll also need to consider doing very, very soon…
Any tips or advice would be appreciated.
Wildflower08
Hi Mike,
I’m not quite sure what happened, but I’d just sent you a reply (although your name didn’t populate for some reason?) (See my note up above.)
Anyway, please take a quick peek at it whenever you get around to it.
As usual, I’m looking forward to your’s as well as anyone else’s replies?
Wildflower08
Anything can become a problem.
Most people don’t know this but aluminum siding can be painted. I just had my siding painted at 20% the cost of new siding.
Also deck repairs are crazy expensive. You wouldn’t believe it. It takes a lot of talent/tools/materials to build a deck apparently, and it’s still hard to find someone to do the job near me. You’re best bet apply a coat of stain on it once a year & treat it.
IMo you really need a bunch of money set aside for homeownership, even if you are handy and can fix things around the house.
Idk how much to appropriate for home repair in the PNW. Depends on the age/condition/size of the house. Also your in a more expensive market.
GL
I asked my bank and they said i’d need to hold down a steady job for atleast 5 yrs to qualify, i’m not allowed to buy my flat anyway.
I own a 3 bed 3 bath home bought after diagnosis with VA loan
"You would have thought not having to use credit would make things better, but apparently not!"
Yes, most commercial banks want to see how reliable or trustworthy someone is in using credit, and won’t issue loans to those who don’t have a good enough ‘track record’.
I screwed up my credit pretty badly more than a decade ago, after an ambulance bill from my first hospitalization stayed on my record for more than four years. I even tried personally negotiating with the debt collector to get it removed (although, rather poorly).
But it wasn’t until managing to take some brief legal action, did I get it removed. After that, I built up my credit score fairly quickly.
Although I don’t think anyone would lend to me to buy a house, even with my good credit. I’d heard I’d need to maintain a stable history, more than the meager paycheck that I bring in now?
Has anyone else managed to run into this sort of dilemma? What sorts of strategies did you use to get around it?
What sort of “history” did you have to prove in order to buy your first house?
Wildflower08
"I asked my bank and they said i’d need to hold down a steady job for atleast 5 yrs to qualify, i’m not allowed to buy my flat anyway."
Did they say whether they had other criteria you had to prove? What income brackets, etc.?
I’m inheriting my fathers house.
The house where I’m living now.
I put in a lot of money into this house.
welcome to the forum
i don’t own a home. I live with my parents and they rent the home too… i pay rent to them.
Welcome to the forum, @Wildflower08!! I used to have a western hognose snake, named Wildflower!!
I don’t have any tips. I own a house with my husband, but it’s all his income. I don’t have an income (yet). I have a disability claim that is in progress.
I just wanted to welcome you to the forum. 
i would have to prove that i had held down a steady job and was bringing in a certain amount of income but i have heard others being able to get a morgage without this and just paying it up with benefit money but idk much about that,
My flat belongs to the council though and i do not have a right to buy it so i couldnt buy it even if i wanted
there are so many rules around buying a flat, i am a bit confused by it all, i would like to own my own home though, maybe if i got a job.
Thanks for the introductions! I don’t like elaborate introductions, so I thought I’d just jump right in … 
Your story about the pet snake sounds quite interesting! What is a western hognose snake, btw?
@Blossom - Just out of curiosity, what sort of job, trade or business does your husband actively engage in? What were housing prices like in your neighborhood when you and your husband moved in? About how long ago might that have been? I find your story, personally, quite interesting!
Thanks again!
Sorry, for falling off the planet again for a while!
I’ve been away preparing for midterms and suddenly got swamped with a few more ‘harrier’ tasks over at our store.
"I bought a house a year ago and am on disability."
"You just need to explain to the loan officer that your income comes from disability. It wasn’t an issue."
Do you happen to know if the loan officer mentioned what sort of income threshold you might have needed to have?
Here’s a picture of Wildflower, the western hognose! They are called “hognose” because of their funny shaped face. They use the point of their face to burrow!
Hubby has worked in IT (information technology) for a very large company, for the last 8 years. We bought our house in 2/2020. We moved into our house in 3/2020, right before the pandemic hit! Housing prices were booming back then. It was hard to find a good place with our budget. Now, the housing market is booming even more!!
We are refinancing our house, and our house’s worth went up by almost 100K. Super crazy housing market, right now.
I bought my house in October 2020 (moved in Dec 2020), and there were freakin’ bidding wars to get into my community!! I got very lucky. I got a house that needed a bit of work, and I was willing to do that for a lower price. I also… just got lucky.
"I bought my house in October 2020 (moved in Dec 2020), and there were freakin’ bidding wars to get into my community!! I got very lucky. I got a house that needed a bit of work, and I was willing to do that for a lower price. I also… just got lucky."
Did you happen to use solely your disability or other sources of income to purchase your home?
I’m not on disability.
"I’m not on disability."
I see. Interesting?
