Confessions of a Home Owner: What I wish I would have known before buying a home

This last year has gone by crazy fast. A little over a year ago we had put in a pending offer on our home, the offer had been accepted AND 2 1/2 weeks later we took possession of our house! To celebrate our one-year anniversary of being home owners (and our Blogiversary!), I have teamed up with some fabulous bloggers to share some of the things we maybe had to learn the hard way or in retrospect, wish we would have known BEFORE we purchased our homes. 

Personally, the best piece of advice I received: "Wait six months to renovate or paint or change anything. Just live in your house and get to know it". Wait......whaaaat??!!! This sage adage actually came from our reputable home inspector.   He of course meant in regards to things like painting or expansions, certainly not necessary repairs like plumbing, electrical or anything necessary for the house to be liveable. In our home inspectors experience, often priorities change once settled in and in retrospect I am glad we listened. My decorating ideas for my entry way have easily changed at least 5 times! 

"We bought an old farmhouse which was a foreclosure. I wish I knew how stressful the actual home buying process would be and jut come in with my offer. Coming in 5k lower was not worth the back and forth hassle especially since they would not take it anyways. The foreclosure price was a 'sticker price' and not really up for negotiation." - Katrina from TOTS Family

"I wish I had known that home inspections weren't regulated, and usually the inspector cannot be held liable for anything that arises after the new owners have moved in." - Amber from Burlington Parents

"I didn't realize how important it is to know who did/worked on the electrical and plumbing. Often companies have a warranty you can claim under or at the very least, will want to stand by their work. Plumbing and electrical issues can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and if I were to buy again, I would insist on knowing the contractors." - Melva B

"We are now in our second home but I wish someone had told me how important it is to have your lawyer look over the offer to purchase with a new home build. We honestly thought we only needed the lawyer for the closing, not the offer. Seems so obvious now but we were young and incredibly excited to just sign the papers and pick out cabinet colours. We got so screwed at closing when we found out there was no cap on closing costs (something any lawyer would have added). Closing costs were double what we had been told by the bank to set aside and we had to scramble to get it all worked out in less than 24 hours! It was a nightmare." - Jennifer from That's What She Said

"Always pay extra on your mortgage payments. Round your payments up to the nearest hundred, or nearest 500. Also do the bi-weekly payments. If you start doing this from the beginning you will always be used to paying the higher amounts and you will see your mortgage disappear so quickly. This allowed us to be mortgage free by the time I was 30 years old and was the smartest home ownership thing we ever did." - Shelley from STEAM Powered Family

"I wish I would have known all the work it would take to upkeep a house once we owned it. Making smart decisions on appliances and other home repairs all while still trying to make sure we have enough money for the mortgage. I love being a homeowner and also love not having a land lord. When we bought our first home at the age of 26 it was when I officially felt like a grown up. That was a strange, scary and lovely feeling." - Jessica from featherandmane

What do you wish you would have known before buying a home? Any confessions to share or words of caution to a new buyer?