Why does everyone tell you to wait???

We closed on the house in Oct and there are a few projects that we wanted to tackle ASAP, including the driveway/walkway, convert to gas or upgrade our Boiler and a few other things. Every time I talk to someone, they are like "wait on those things, don't rush, your not even in the house a year yet, yada, yada"

Even with furniture, same thing to wait.

Why is that and is there some secret reason that everyone feels the same way?

Message edited 4/3/2008 4:32:56 PM.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

IMO - there is no need to wait - The only time I say to wait on a project is if there is something else more important....

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I don't know why people are telling you to wait, I haven't really heard anyone tell us that.

All I'll say is that you can't do everything at once, it's just too overwhelming. Figure out what your priorities are and tackle those projects first, stuff that isn't as important to you can wait until later on down the road.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I think people say wait because they feel you should 'live' in the space a while to get a true sense of what you want to do and how you want to do it.

That's great and all, but if you have a clear vision of how you want your house to look and you have the $$$ to fund the projects...then go for it!

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

We have the same thing sad to us. "You have your whole lives to fix up the house, what is the rush?" WHAT? I don't want to be doing this kind of work on our house for the rest of our lives. Yes you need to tackle one project at a time, because it's overwhelming, but if you have the money then go for it. We did our gas conversion, kitchen and hardwood floors before we even moved in. We had to. So if you are ready for the projects go for it. I just usually smile and say something silly and then change the subject.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

DH and I rennovated our entire home from top to bottom in 6 months and did 90% of the work ourselves. People told us to do one room at a time and take our time. There was no way were were going to do that. I say do as much as your pocketbook and body can take to make the house your home.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I feel like I get the opposite. My Mom and MIL want my house 100% complete and picture perfect every time they are there. I am constantly fielding questions about why I haven't ordered curtains for my kitchen, or why my formal living room is still on the empty side.

I just wanna say "ummm, if you want to fork over the $$,$$$ for the furniture and accessories I want, BE MY GUEST. If not, shut the fluck up."

I refuse to settle on CHEAP stuff just to have "something". I would rather wait until we have the money to get what I really want.

Either way - it's OUR home and we have the right to do whatever we want!!!

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

Posted by Mrs-D-Girl

We closed on the house in Oct and there are a few projects that we wanted to tackle ASAP, including the driveway/walkway, convert to gas or upgrade our Boiler and a few other things. Every time I talk to someone, they are like "wait on those things, don't rush, your not even in the house a year yet, yada, yada"

Even with furniture, same thing to wait.

Why is that and is there some secret reason that everyone feels the same way?

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I once heard someone say to "date" your house for at least 6 months before you buy anything- just to make sure you can swing all the expenses and anything that comes up unexpected.... you have the cash for it..
I know when we are ready to buy- we won't buy any new furniture for at least a year- b/c I don't want to rush and buy furniture and then a few months down the line not like it or wish I configured the space differently.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I got annoyed the other day b/c the secretary at my school told me to wait to paint until we were there awhile. First of all, we already spent a fortune on paint for several rooms, and we want to paint before the rooms are filled with furniture!

My mom keeps telling me to be patient and wait b/c she knows that financially, we can't afford to everything we want now. I know that, and we aren't doing anything that is out of our budget, but at the same time, I do want to get a bunch of little things done quickly, before we move in. I do have to be careful not to rush to make decisions just to get it done.


Another reason not to rush, IMO, is that it's kind of fun to redesign and decorate your home, and once it's all done, there's nothing left!

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

We get that too! But you gotta do what you want.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

Just like with the wedding, eeeeeveryone has an opinion on what we should and shouldn't do as first time homeowners.

Obviously, it comes down to what YOU want to do.

We have 100 amp and one of the first things we wanted to do was upgrade that and get some fans in the attic.

Needless to say, doing other things like painting, buying furniture, and OH having a new cesspool installed came first.

But you know what? We honestly don't need to upgrade the electric. I was worried at first, but the only thing left to test out is how everything runs with the AC on. It's really not an issue right now.

So I'm kind of glad we waited on that. We'll figure out how hot the house gets in summer and about those attic fans.

I hate to admit it, but my father was right about that at least.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

well that would apply to me lol. i tend to change my mind lol.

thats why I opted for neutral color furniture because this way I can spcie it up with decorative pillows, paintings etc and if I get tired of it I just change the decorative items.

If you know for sure what you like/want and dont plan on changing it then I say go for it!

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

We get that a bunch too.... But the reality is that I'm very involved in the house stuff and we'd like to start a family next year, so I'd to get a lion's share done before I am restricted - if that makes sense. I have a "vision" of how I think the house should look and I have confidence in my choices and we have the money, so I figure, why not do somethings and enjoy them while we're in the house.

So every time someone says - oh take your time, I say well, we'd like to start a family soon and I'd like to get as much done as possible before then... Since pretty much everyone in our lives is wondering why we don't have kids already - that backs them right off!

Just tune them out and do what's right and affordable for you. However, I will say it's important to keep a cushion for unexpected (and always expensive) house expenses.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I don't think it's mean intended but there are several reasons:

- Make sure you can balance the expenses of owning the house for a while
- "emergencies" may come up
- You may change your mind on what to tackle first

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

If money is not an issue, then I don't see any reason to wait. You may not want to tackle everything at the SAME time but I don't know why you should wait to fix things up.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I usually advise friends to take their time...we bought our house and rushed to buy everything, redo things and make it perfect. Well 2 yrs. later, we are already changing things. I agree with the "date" your house for awhile...do 1 project at a time.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I usually suggest to my buyers to live in the house awhile before making any MAJOR renovations. But, you also know when you buy a house - what you want to change/update etc right away.

I am like you - I want it all done NOW. That's pretty much how I worked with my house. It was brand new and we still put 30K into it within the first year....you want to make it your own with your own taste.

I say go for it - and have fun!

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I can see changing things a couple of years later, like some furniture and accent peices because some times you just need change, but in my mind that is not really wasting money so to speak. I wanted my house to feel like a home right away and not be an empty place to walk into every day.

I do agree on the larger projects, one of mine was the electric as well and we wanted to upgrade, but we are going to wait till the summer with the central AC and see how that works out first.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

I think the main reason is not to finance too much, if anything. If you're paying cash go for it!!!

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

i had so many people telling me that. I guess the only reason i could think of is that after living the the house for ahile you might decide to do something different than you originally thought All i know is that we didnt wait but there are a few things i want to change already that we just did a year ago.

Re: Why does everyone tell you to wait???

WE get the opposite. My dad has seen the house since the molding is almost done, he thinks it really looks great. He carries on abot how much DH has done in 4 months, yadda, yadda, yadda. My il's, mostly my MIL says "it's getting there." W T F??? Woman, enough. Stop, just say it looks nice and move on.

Sorry for the rant, but I get the frustration.