Hey friends! So, in the last few months, all hail broke loose! Okay, now that I got the cheesy jokes out, let’s talk insurance! On May 16th, 2010, Oklahoma City was struck suddenly with a large and violent hail storm. My little house, (and my car) took a beating. The hail came down the size of softballs, obliterating most of the cars, roofs, and siding in my neighborhood, mine included. The following video was taken by me during the storm. I was freaking out to say the least.
After the storm, I didn’t know what was going to happen. My car was undriveable, my roof had water coming in, windows were broken, and I was shaken up. The rebuilding process began the next day with long holds on the phone with the insurance company. Due to the large number of people affected, some people waited
When I bought my house all of seven months ago, the previous owners were offering a flooring credit, which I didn’t take. I figured I’d just do the carpet in the den, tile in the laundry and refinish the hardwoods all myself. Boy was I naïve. When I priced carpet for the den I thought I could live with that price, then I found out how much it costs to have it installed (insert shocked face here.) Same went for tile, the labor is just insanely expensive.
The carpet in the laundry had years of water stains, pet odors, and God knows what else embedded in it’s pile (who puts carpet in a laundry room?!). The smell had become so bad that we had to institute a rule in the house: The laundry room door was to remain closed at all times, because the smell would spread to the entire house. Imagine the reaction of guests. “Fallon, your home is so cute……. OH. MY…. What’s that smell?! Did something die in here?” Yup, every time. So, I survived five months with that, shoot me an email and I’ll let you know where to send my medal. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the offending carpet.
One weekend, I happened upon some tile on sale at Lowe’s, $0.58/sf. I was quite pleased with the price. I calculated the size of my room and determined I would need a mere 47 square feet. Pennies! The 13″x13″ tiles came in boxes of 15 for $9.99. I bought three boxes and 5 individuals for a grand total of somewhere in the $35 range. Not bad. I also purchased a tiling kit that had a float, some nippers, a bucket, sponge, tile spacers, etc. I think it was somewhere around $15-20. Mortar and grout were another $9.99 each. So, I spent a total of $70. Not bad for a new smell-free laundry room. Throw in the inevitable free lunch I was going to have to offer up to my poor friends who volunteered, and we’re looking at more like $90. Still, not bad, much better than the $300 I was quoted by a tile guy. My good friend Aaron owns a small construction company so he loaned me a tile saw, tile cracker, extra floats, a mixer (VERY IMPORTANT), etc. He gave me a quick run down of the misery that was about to ensue, gave me some pointers, and my wary volunteers and I went to work!
Being bound by my can-do attitude, a little naïve optimism and a tight budget, I went headfirst into tiling my teensy laundry room. First was the
With Spring being ever so close, I’ve begun thinking about what to do for my lawn. Currently, it looks pretty sad. The house at the end of my street appears to be in full bloom with lots of bright yellow daffodils and a green lawn greeting me as I turn onto my street. I might admit a hint of envy. It’s really sparked me to come to the realization that Spring is indeed around the corner and I might want to start preparing for my first spring lawn care season. So, I headed to Lowe’s this last week armed with a gift card left over from Christmas and bought myself a seed spreader, some pre-emergent and a hose. I went home, very excited about my new purchase; And then I just stared at it. I was clueless. The guy at the store suggested that this was the key to a healthy lawn. However, I wasn’t completely convinced that this was the only necessary step. So I did what any resourceful single lady should do… I called my dad. About five minutes into conversation with him I came to the realization that although my Dad can fix broken hearts and boo boos, he’s clueless when it comes to lawns. So I Googled it. There’s a host of information out there. The best source of information I’ve found so far is a little website called allaboutlawns.com
First thing’s first, as much I hated doing it when I was a kid, and since I don’t yet have my own slave labor, uh, I mean children… I had to get
So, I’m 5 months into homeownership and my “To Do” list has somehow expanded as quickly as waistlines in the winter. I’ve had to learn to be realistic and learn to “trim the fat,” so to speak. Having been spoiled for years as a renter, I’m now realizing that changing the air filter, seasonal pest control, winterizing the doors and windows, putting those cover jobbies on the crawlspace vents, etc are responsibilities that now rest squarely on my shoulders. Not that I wasn’t aware of those responsibilities, I just didn’t realize how time-consuming it can become when the list begins to expand. I’ve had to learn to prioritize and make time for those pressing matters and schedule far in advance the seasonal things before they creep up on me. As for responsibilities, general maintenance seems lightweight in comparison to being a landlord.
The thought of my roommate no longer being just my roommate, but my renter can sometimes be a taxing proposition. Not that our relationship as friends has suddenly become more formal, but I’m now realizing that as my tenant her reasonable enjoyment and standard of living are my responsibility, as far as the roof over her head goes. If my water-heater goes out, I might be able to live for some time with cold water until I can get it fixed or work out some other solution. However, with a renter, I’m not the only one to consider. With her living under my roof, as my tenant, I’m now saddled with the responsibility of fulfilling contractual obligation to my tenant. As our agreement states
I was driving down the road the other day with a friend of mine when I had one of my sudden, spastic “Oh crap, I forgot to…” moments. It’s usually a quasi-voluntary reaction that often comes without explanation to those around. This generally contributes to the hypothesis that I’m crazy. Anyway, enough about my eccentricities, that’s a blog entry for another day.
My friend asked me what my little knee jerk was all about. When I explained that I had forgotten to go to the Nichols Hills Town Hall on the 4th to file my homestead exemption he seemed confused. My friend has owned his home for a few years and had never heard of the homestead exemption. If he didn’t know what it means, I wonder how many others don’t know. So, here’s an explanation in my own words:
A homestead exemption is basically a coupon for $1,000 off the assessed value of your home. This can save you around $100 off your annual tax bill depending on the valuation of your home. A hundred bucks may not seem like much, but hey, it’s dinner for you and 3 friends. If you own more than one property, homestead can only be filed on your primary residence. You only have to file once, unless you change your deed, or change your primary residence. So, if you purchased a house in 2009 you have until March 15th to file for a discount on this year’s tax bill. If it’s received after that date, it will kick in next year. Either way, it’s not a bad return for 10 minutes of filling out a form. There are other discounts available for those with low incomes as well. Check with the Assessor’s Page for more information.
Happy Homeowning!
Fallon Brooks is the keeper of one mortgage and two cats… an avid tweeter, who bought her first home October 2009 and enjoys sharing what she learns with other soon-to-be home owners.
So as a first time homeowner, I have been learning how much things really cost. When I bought my home just a couple of months ago, I had this grandiose plan to gut the kitchen and put in granite countertops and all new appliances. I also planned to eventually put in new windows throughout the house. I had a lot of great plans, until I started to really put pen to paper and realize the real cost of my plans. When buying your first home it’s important to understand what the real, long term cost of your project is. For me, living in the house for a period of time, I’ve really begun to understand the nature of my neighborhood. Most of the homes in my neighborhood are not owner occupied, so to sink thousands into my kitchen would be a moot point. It’s always possible to overdo it with the renovations. Realistically, I should stick to mostly minor cosmetic changes in order to make the maximum profit when I sell later on.
So now my plans have changed to simply refacing the kitchen cabinets and installing new countertops and tile. It’s about 25% of the price of installing completely new cabinets: a price that’s appropriate for my neighborhood, and my house. So, in keeping with my newly laid out plan I’ve stuck to minor changes. For example,
As you’re reading this I’ve been in my new house somewhere in the neighborhood of six weeks, and well, the honeymoon is over. I’ve made quite a few changes, including: peeling enough layers of wallpaper to cover the White House, re-texturing the walls, painting every room, replacing nearly every single light fixture, installing a new front entry door, and replacing doorknobs one by one.
I’ve learned that a little corner of wallpaper sticking up can lead to another to do on the list.
It’s turning out beautifully. While home ownership is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve put my heart (and wallet) to, the lessons learned have been manifold.
A few of my favorites:
The day I shut off power to the entire house when I removed an old switch panel. I was informed the switches had been bypassed when the new electrical panel had been added. Wrong. Luckily, I’m pretty calm under pressure and I’m not afraid to learn the hard way. I rewired it in and voila! The lights came back on (it only took me four hours in the dark to figure it out).
Just last week, my stove decided to breathe it’s last while I was preparing dinner for guests.
About a week later, my refrigerator decided to take a vacation as well.
None of these compare to the sewer line incident. Somewhere in the middle of the third week in the new house, my sewer line backed up into my bathtub. Stop. Soak that in.
Thanks to the first-time home buyer tax credit, first-timers everywhere are clamoring to get their closing date set before the November 30th deadline. As a first-time home buyer, the buying process was a big enough stressor for me, but actually filing for the credit can seem almost as confusing as understanding all those closing documents. Have no fear, It’s actually a pretty simple process and should only require about an hour of your time. You can choose to file for the tax credit on your 2009 taxes, or you can amend your 2008 taxes and get your refund a little faster, here’s how:
Don’t let all the tax jargon and instructions fool you, read the instructions carefully. There’s not much clarity on what to send in with the 5405 Form, so I’ll break it down for you.
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Aug 11, 2010 
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Hail Storms, Storm Damage
It’s turning out beautifully. While home ownership is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve put my heart (and wallet) to, the lessons learned have been manifold.
