Buying a new house, need some advice

[altus2006]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Hunters used to be the best but now due to competition all brands seem kind of cheap.

One problem with Hunter fans is that the remotes can be turned on by people across the street. We had our fan and light come on at various times while we were sleeping. Also had the lights come on at night in the three rooms in which we had other Hunters installed with remotes.

There are a lot of complaints on the net if you google Hunter and remotes. Even changing the settings did nothing to stop the problem. Now I only turn the fans on and off from the wall switch.

The ones I bought from Costco, which were Litex brand, have never gone wonky even though they also have remotes.

altus2006

[Head coach]

Originally Posted by novsaggi

Hello All

I am a first time homebuyer in phoenix, and I have just some knowledge about new construction houses.

Please consider that I am first time homebuyer with low on cash as all savings are going for downpayment, any tips will be awesome

I need all you people help in few things.

1. I have around 20 windows to put faux wood blinds on and I dont think thats cheap. Any alternative to start with ? I do understand that I wont be covering all windows immediately, just the rooms I need the most ASAP.

2. Appliances : Refrigerator, Washer & Dryer & Water Softener. I am thinking of buying first 3 from best buy with price match and they dont hv installation as compare to home depot or sears.
Also, ceiling fans, which ones would be recommended ? I can install it.

3. Backyard landscaping: That I know I cant do it all on my own, what would be cheapest way to go with it. I dont want awesome backyard with pool, just some concrete and grass ( I am not plant n tree person yet).

Since I am trying to keep finances in control, I dont want to add all these into the mortgage.

Any helpful response wud be gr8.


Thanks
Saggi

Let see if we can help you out with this as we were new home owners back in 1998 and our realtor helped us out.

We went to Home Depot and bought the cheapest blinds we could find and they were up for 8 years until we replaced them with something nicer.

We did get all of our appliances at Best Buy. They have the best price points on everything.

DO NOT SKIMP on fans. Trust me on this one, not in this Arizona heat. I recommend you buy Hunter. The best place to buy Hunter fans are at Sams Club. Some will come with remotes, but you can hard wire them to run instead of using the remote. The reason why you want Hunters is because of the motor. It will last a life time.

As for the backyard...Do it yourself. I had a spool put in and I did all the rest. If you want ideas on this, let me know and I will make some recommendations that will make your backyard look like a resort and it won't break the bank.

Example, I put in a concrete padio that holds an above ground fire pit. that was really cheap and it looks like it came from the Phoenician.

I built above ground flower beds that are multiple levels because the ground is nothing but rocks and then I collected as many rocks in the yards as I could and made rock beds as well....very cool!

I did plant trees and palm trees in the back yard as well. Queen palms are better, this way they will not grow very tall. I placed them on each side of my waterfall that goes into the spool. (pool/spa)

Now, here are the important things you need to worry about with your new home.....

1. Make sure you have double insulation. Bring a case of beer to the guys that are stuffing the insulation in the walls and ask them to double it up. You would be suprised what a case of beer will get you.

2. Make sure that they do a barrier seal around the house. This is the area between the frame and the slab. This area can let bugs in and scorpions. But if you have thenm seal it before they put in the inter walls, this will save you some major money in the long run for an exterminator.

3. Make sure you place a fan in the attic that will draw heat from one side of the attic and out the other side. having a fan up there will drop the temperture down, lowering your electric bill.

4. Make sure before they put in the walls, just after framing to go look at the framing. Any boards that have knots in them, have them replaced. Check out the trusses and make sure that they are not split. make usre you check this before you sign off on the house.

5. Make sure that the concrete padio, slops away from the house. To do this, get a garden hose and pour water on the slab to see how it flows. If it doesn't flow away, make them fix it. Why? If it not fix, you will have to fix it when you sell the house. Trust me on this one....I have to fix mine.

6. Make sure that you add outlet by the top of the eves. This way you can plug in the Christmas light without extension cords. I had them put in and it's the best thing I have ever done.

7. Make sure they place a 3" PVC pipe under the concrete drive way. You will need this to run water and electrical stuff under the driveway slab. This is a big deal here and will save you problems.

8. Make sure you have the wiring set up for an outside patio ceiling fan. Depending on the size of your patio, you might need a fan every 8 to 10 feet.

9. The home builder is responsible for finishing the front yard, but make sure you have the drip system set up for you to finish for the backyard. The drip will work on values. So make sure you have at least one value for the front and one for the back. If you want to run multiple things at differnt times, you might need more than two values. This is why you need a plan for the back yard.

10. I put in a putting green in the back that requires NO watering....very cool.

11. Last thing! Right after they fame the whole house and the outside wall are up and you only have 2X4 walls in the inside with all of the electrical wiring in....take pictures of each wall and ceiling. This way you can refer to these picture when you add new things to the walls.

Example: two years ago, I built an entertainment center in my living room that looks like it was built with the house. It has multi levels with cubby holes and special lighting and fans to keep the equipment cold. But, I refered to the pictures that I took in order to see where the electricity was so I didn't drive a nail into any thing.

Get yourself a picture book and place all of the pictures in this book torefer to. Or, if you have a digital camera, place it on your hard drive with sometype of map or schmatic of the walls.

Hope this helps!

[Autumn07]

Originally Posted by oldhousegirl

Hi there. Congrats. As far as the blinds, unless you're just really wanting them, consider those paper blinds they sell at Linens and Things.

They look surprisingly good, come in white, and stick on the window. You just fold them up or down during the day. I had them on the front window of a house, and they looked cute. Either for long or short term. Because they are inexpensive, if they get dirty or whatever, very easy to just put up a new set.

I think they were $4.00 per set.

Yes, these work well and are cheap for the time being. Home Depot also carries them or atleast they did years ago.