I Just Bought a House! What’s Next?

A friend just announced that he bought a house on Facebook. Everyone of course congratulated him because that’s the greatest thing to do. It’s an intoxicating feeling. When you tell your parents that you bought a place or are in the process of doing so

I hope that he did all of the research. I try to lead by example. I’m not one to jump in with unsolicited advice. That’s just annoying and would kill the vibe for sure. That’s why I run this site. You guys are awesome and come to me for tips. I share my knowledge!

So let’s just say that you’re in your 20s and have just bought a place (condo, house, townhouse, factory, box on the street corner). What’s next?

Stop showing off!

Seriously, stop showing off.

What happens when you buy a house is an intoxicating feeling. Everyone congratulates you. Your friends think that you’re the coolest person in the world. You feel amazing. That’s cool. You should. You worked hard. You saved up. And now you have your own place. That’s definitely something to be proud of.

There’s no need to post every single real estate listing of your place up.

It’s awesome that you bought a home. Try not to brag too much.

Start saving.

It’s time to save up as much money as possible. The expenses that hit you won’t even be funny. You’ll get hit with expenses that you never knew even existed. Get ready for it. Start saving your spare change.

What sort of expenses should you expect as a home-owner now?

• Closing costs.
• Moving from place to place.
• Property taxes.
• Increased consumption. This covers everything from furnishing a room to throwing afternoon parties every single Sunday.

Are you ready to start saving more money than ever before?

Oh and if you want a quick reality check, look at real estate horror stories.

Look around for furniture.

How will your furnish the place? Where the hell are you going to sit down? Where will your guest sit? Where will they sleep (the ones that don’t sleep in your bed. Oops!)?

Chances are that this will be the first time in your life where you actually have extra space and possibly a new “gym” or “home office.”

How will you furnish these new rooms?

The best time to start looking for furniture is right now. Don’t wait until you have the keys. You won’t be making logical decisions at that point. You’re going to want to just buy anything that you see. You’re going to be on an emotional high looking to load up every single room with cool furniture. Start looking now. Find cool couches, seats, and anything else that could be of use to you.

Save even more.

Yes, keep on saving.

You need to save as much money as possible.

Work on your handyman skills!

You ready to do some work on the new place? You can’t rely on outsourcing everything. You’re eventually going to have to do something on your own. I personally suck at this work. Luckily I have friends that can easily be bribed with a bottle of vodka and good company.

Without any skills, you might feel hopeless because there’s always something to do around a place. There’s always going to be something that needs fixing or an upgrade.

This is even true if you buy a brand new condo. There’s always something to do. Do you have the ability to do anything around the house?

Work as much as possible.

You notice the common theme here? You need to really hustle. There’s no substitute for hard work and smart work. This is the time to work. You’re not going to want to be at work when you have your own place. You’re going to want to work on your place or to just be at home. Get all the work done now. Load up on over time. Find a part-time job. When you get the keys, the party begins!

Now is just the waiting game. You’re waiting to get the keys to your new place. Congrats! You worked hard and deserve your own castle.

There’s only one question left: when are you inviting us all over for drinks? Huh?

[This article was mentioned in the Financial Carnival For Young Adults.]