Becoming a homeowner can be exciting and deeply rewarding. Add in the fact that it's currently as hard as it's ever been to purchase a home, and I'd say it's a particularly remarkable accomplishment.
Depending on how prepared you were to buy a home in the first place, it's highly possible that there were elements of homeownership that downright surprised you, or even some that shocked you. Getting to closing day is just a tiny taste of what it's like to actually own a home, so I want to hear about the lessons, realities, and surprises you faced after things became official that you definitely weren't expecting.
For the record: They can be bad surprises or good ones. Both are important here!
Maybe you were excited about having your own home to take care of — a place where there's no one to blame but yourself if things go wrong. You can do everything the right way instead of giving things the "landlord special," but what you didn't factor in was the considerable amount of time associated with general maintenance and upkeep. It's eaten up the vast majority of your free time, and you feel frustrated.
Perhaps — on a positive note — getting to make renovations and home improvements with your own aesthetic and happiness in mind have made a world of difference when it comes to your mental health. Prior to homeownership, you never really felt like your space was truly "yours." Now, your home gets to look and feel exactly the way you want it to.
Or maybe you were stoked about lower monthly payments. Your mortgage payments are much lower than your rent ever was, but you weren't thinking about the costs associated with the necessary repairs you'd eventually need to make. Now that you're stuck paying off a new appliance or two and your mortgage, your monthly payments are much higher than expected, and you've had to shuffle around your budget to keep your bank account out of the red.
Whatever your "homeownership surprises" are, positive or negative, we want to hear them. Drop your stories and realizations in the comments below, or if you'd rather stay anonymous, you can submit them through this Google form.
We'll feature some of the best responses in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post.