As a FTHO, What Should I Focus On?

Just maintain it. Water is the enemy, specifically standing or constantly wet.

Also, every issue/repair can be answered by finding a solution on YouTube.

You will spend more time on youtube than you ever imagined. And if Google ever starts charging a $100/mo to access youtube, you would be stupid not to pay it.

Patio upgrades. Gotta be able to grill, watch the game, and put down cold ones without going inside.

Termite treatment - either get a company to do it or figure out how to DIY it,

Get a decent tank spray bottle and order some talstar concentrate and spray regularly for bug.

Learn how to care for your lawn - when and how to treat for weeds, fertilize, etc. Lots of good landscape guys here (Ronk, Crawdude and others) that provide tons of advice on yard care.

Don't start too many DIY projects at once. Finish a project before moving to the next. Don't get yourself in too deep on anything you can't handle.

Biggest thing i learned
Add 1/2 cup bleach to your ac float switch line every 6 months! Nothing is worse than the ac shutting down because you have a clogged line!

Congratulations on your purchase. I remember how proud I was when I could finally call the place I was living mine. I’ve been very fortunate over the last 30 years to prosper with each home purchase. Every time I’ve gotten transferred by my company I’ve always seemed to get lucky and hit it just right when the market was sky high and once even doubled my money selling my house. Another two times I’ve made over 100k than what I bought the homes for and was only there less than 6 years. Keep your house and yard nice. If you can improve the landscaping do it as you can. People often are impulse buyers and will pay more for a well maintained home.

I’ll offer a few suggestions that are simple but often overlooked. Stock up on air filters and keep them changed every 30-45 days. If you have bushes growing around your AC unit keep them trimmed away from the unit so it can get plenty of air. I recommend you buy plenty of light bulbs particularly if you have taller ceilings with recessed lights. It takes a ladder to get up there and change mine so a ladder is a handy thing around the house. When your light over the oven burns out buy 5-6 of those because inevitably those things will burn out at the most importune time and it’s nice to have spares. Buy a good toilet plunger. Get you a good bug man. Take advantage of any tax break you can get. If possible pay an extra house note a year and apply that payment to your principal. Doesn’t hurt to buy a little basic set of tool’s because inevitably something simple like a doorknob needs a screw or two tightened. Those are just some basic pro tips from an old guy.

Buy a meter key wrench if you can’t get it turned in the box with a crescent. Don’t use your garbage disposal as a trash can and don’t pour grease down the sink. It will keep your pipes from getting clogged.

If you are willing to learn, and not be afraid to do the work, almost everything is available on YouTube.

Small appliance repairs like changing ice makers to swapping your dishwasher pump. I rebuilt a used dryer based on a YouTube video. Replaced a bad magnetron in a microwave…..on and on.

AND right now, BEFORE they fail, order back up AC blower and condenser capacitors. Swap them out as needed by testing prior to fail.

Stick up on light bulbs

They all go out at one time


Saying that because I just left Home Depot w 100 dollars worth of bulbs

Get you a small tool kit and keep it accessible inside the house.

You're a lot more likely to go tighten that doorknob or whatever it is if you don't have to go to the garage/shop to track down a screwdriver.

Stay on top of yard work, if you get behind it sucks.

Clean up/declutter and put things back where they go as soon as you're done with them. If you have a wife, she will likely be terrible at this