Recent Homeowners Share Their Biggest Regrets
Reddit user californiabred asked: 'Homeowners who bought recently, what’s your biggest regret?'
There are few moments in life more momentous than buying your first home.
Of course, as is the case with any big decision, after going through with it, your mind begins to spiral down into a series of doubts.
Most of the time, once you've moved in and lived there for a while, all these doubts begin to slowly disappear.
In some cases, though, those doubts quickly turn into regrets.
Particularly when you notice more and more elements of what you thought was your "dream" home that is more reminiscent of a nightmare.
Redditor californiabred was curious to hear the biggest regrets from people who recently purchased a home, leading them to ask:
"Homeowners who bought recently, what’s your biggest regret?"
Not The What, But The When
"Not buying 4 years ago."- 3rdPartyArbitor
Location, Location, Location!
"The situation when you bought a house where it was possible and a month later they sell a house in the area where you wanted"- BenefitOk3952
"Not knowing enough about the area/town."
"I hate where we live."
"Hoping we can move by the time my oldest starts kindergarten."- MP1087
jason patric fox GIF by Wayward PinesGiphyUpon Closer Inspection...
"The inspector told us the main drain in the basement was clogged."
"We thought it was clogged with something normal."
"It was, in fact, 'clogged' with cement from when our basement floor was redone."
"So now our basement regularly gets standing water on one side."- doctorpotterhead
"Hiring the wrong home inspector they missed so much, I really have to wonder if all those reviews were bought and paid for."- CaptainQuoth
Landscaping Decisions
"Not planting the fruit trees sooner."
"It’s a long wait."- SageLeaf1
Plant Hope GIF by The Seed of Life FoundationGiphyHow Long Have You Got...
"Be shameless enough to perform your own base level of inspection of a house so you don’t have to rely on what an inspector finds or get in a situation where you have to make an offer regardless of what the inspection finds."
"Turn all the faucets on and run the dishwasher."
"Start the washer machine for a second."
"Figure out if there is any water pressure issue."
"Bring a multi line laser and a tape measure."
"Check for any significant changes in slope on the foundation for some settling issues."
"Pay attention to the downspouts."
"Do they terminate right at the house or do they have longer pipes that lead the water away?"
"Pay attention to the flooring and create a rough estimate of what it will cost to immediately replace the flooring."
"Way easier to do when you don’t have a house full of furniture and can do it right before you move in."
"On the financial side you need to talk with multiple lenders at all times and make sure they continue to give you the most up to date closing costs."
"There were a lot of sneaky numbers that made there way in that I was unaware of as a first time home buyer."
"Until that mortgage lender gives you the locked in rate don’t trust them as to what number they are currently telling you."
"Discover your maximum mortgage rate + escrow and work backwards as to the maximum house you can afford."
"Don’t buy based on the pipe dream of refinancing."- from_the_Luft
GIF by BlindspotGiphyProcrastination...
"Not recent, but I still regret not refinishing the floors before I moved in."
"I'll never do it now."- WinterFilmAwards
"I regret not having the inside painted and the carpet replaced before we moved in."
"Been here two years and it never felt like 'my home' until I got rid of the stains of those who came before."- DaisyRage7
Consider A Test Drive...
"Not particularly recent, but we did not pull out cars in the driveway or attempt to park them."
"So we didn't realize that my car could only enter the driveway from one direction, so I had to turn around half a block up every time I needed to park."
"And we just BARELY got two cars in the driveway."
"So my regret is that I took for granted that the driveway met our needs."- gtizzz
homer simpson episode 24 GIFGiphyAlways Read The Fine Print
"I bought a few years ago."
"So many things have gone sideways."
"One thing I regret is not being educated about permits."
"Contractors/handymen/ anyone who works on your house really, never mentions a permit may be needed."
"Learned that it’s up to me and me alone to do the research and phone calls."
"Currently have a job on hold because they needed a permit."
"The company blamed me and now I’m not sure they’re even going to do the work."
"Watch the movie 'The Money Pit'."
"It’s not that far off."
"Some days I wish I’d just be a renter."- MissPeppingtosh
Simply Not Worth The Effort
"Don't bother childproofing your home."
"They still get in."- Blueblackzinc
season 9 friends GIFGiphyIt's easy to question whether or not buying a home was the right decision.
But rather than live a life full of regret, why not make the most out of what you have, and turn your not-quite-dream home into a temporary dream home?
Who knows, it might even increase the resale value.
The Best Examples Of 'They Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To'
Reddit user Silent-Zebra asked: 'What's the perfect example of "they don't make them like they used to?"'
With the continuing advancements made in engineering and technology, it's generally believed that a better and brighter future is being paved.
However, new doesn't always guarantee better.
After all, if that were the case, we would never hear the saying "they don't make them like they used to".
Indeed, some people prefer the actual keyboard of a blackberry to the touch screen one on an iPhone or Android, which all but guarantees a frequent embarrassing typo.
Nor should one even mention when Shake Shack replaced their flawless crinkle cut fries with the "fresh cut" fries to any New Yorker who isn't prepared for a tirade.
"What's the perfect example of 'they don't make them like they used to?'"
From Riches To Rags...
"Levis."
"I had a pair for years as a teenager."
'Bought a pair in 2020 and within 6 months they had fraying and then holes in the seams."
"Clothes in general seem like they're getting sh*tter no matter how much you pay for them."- LordyIHopeThereIsPie·
Oh, Honey...
"Honeycomb cereal."
"The pieces were big, puffy and delicious, with the occasional flat, overly crunchy, sad piece."
"Now every piece is the sad piece."- Bumpass
Can The Even Still Call It Pinesol?
"Pinesol changed its formula in 2014, knocking out the key ingredient, pine oil."
"Sigh."- Greg_Strine
camping bart simpson GIFGiphyStill Better Than Today's Happy Meals...
"McDonald's hot apple pies."- MartyFreeze
You Wonder How They Can Keep Their Name...
"I can swear when i was young Magnum ice cream were twice the size of today."- Ancient_Patient_6105
No Fat, No Sugar... NO GOOD!
"Planters Cheeze Balls."
"I was so excited when I saw them at the store a few years ago, but they are not even close to the same."
"I was told that the difference is trans-fat-elimination."- mkicon
bath nbd GIF by Guava JuiceGiphyBetter Check That Warranty
"Pretty much every single consumer good is now built to break instead of last."- Dizzy-Elk4110
Blame It On The Music?
"Band t-shirts, and I mean they don't make them like they did 4 years ago."- Groovyrick
You Name It...
"Probably everything."
"The consumer landscape completely changed over a short period, due to aim towards maximum profit over functionality/quality, as well as the lowest possible costs."
"We can't even buy a software anymore."
"It's all services and subscriptions or passes."
"We can't have anything simple anymore."- Shimamon
"Everything."
"Planned obsolescence."
"If you can imagine a way a company is f*cking you, it's likely happening."- Dat_Harass
There's A Reason Some Toys Are Classics...
"Children's toys."
"When my daughter was little, I was floored by the flimsy cheap plastic parts, compared to my solid and sturdy toys (many still in great condition) from the late 80's/early 90's."- YourMothersButtox
Sometimes, It's A Good Thing
"I guess to be more optimistic, at least gasoline doesn't have lead in it anymore."- colonelsmoothie
Who Wants To Share A Candy Bar?!?!
"Candy bars, the king size was actually a big hunk of chocolate, now it's a share size and smaller than it used to be and costs twice as much."- teethalarm
Chocolate Choco GIF by Ritter SportGiphyAnd Why Do Freezer's Continue To Get Smaller?
"Up to 1981, my great-grandmother had a refrigerator that they had gotten when home fridges were new."
"It had that big round compressor on top, and it worked for god knows how long."
"I just had to replace mine in a home that was built for us 7 years ago."- Leftstrat
The Advertising Gets Better, The Games On The Other Hand...
"Mobile games."
“'99.99% WILL FAIL!! CAN YOU SOLVE THIS QUIZ??!!??'"- RechehSec
The sign of a good product isn't its sleek appearance or technological abilities, but rather durability.
Making one rather appreciate the fact that we almost never had to replace our landline phones, yet have to replace our cell phones almost every two years.
Not to mention the fact that one of the least frequent things people ever do on their phones anymore is make calls.
Is that progress?
People Confess Dreaming Of Doing Something All Their Life Then Hating It Once They Did It
They say "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
You know, the notion that we shouldn't fear things we haven't tried and that getting out of our comfort zone could lead to a wealth of wonderful discoveries.
Most times, fear isn't preventing us from trying the things we've been wanting to try–whether it's a new career or a hobby. We just haven't gotten there yet.
But take note, it's not always what it seems once we get there.
Curious to hear from strangers, Redditor buzzkill007 asked:
"Have you ever dreamed of doing something your whole life only to find out, once you did it, that you hated it? What was it?"
The stress level in medical professions is not for everyone.
Helping Saving Lives
"Being an EMT"
"I had planned on it being my lifelong career since middle school. I loved the medical field and wanted to save lives but knew I wouldn’t have the stamina to get through medical school."
"I got into training as soon as I graduated high school and I was top of my class in the educational sense, but as soon as I started doing ride-alongs everything just kind of fell apart on me."
"I didn’t fit in well with the firefighters, which sounds stupid but I think I really needed that brotherhood if I was going to survive in that field. The real problem, however, was my empathy. I knew quickly that I would not be able to see people on their worst days everyday. I could deal with broken bones and blood, but I hadn’t prepared myself for the screams."
"I work for a museum now lol."
– Livingroxets
The Young Widower
"I met quite a few paramedics whilst doing work in the vaccination centres last year. One of them had recently quit, and I asked why. She told me she had been on a call out with a young couple and a baby. The mum had a headache, and the baby was crying in bed so the dad went to soothe the baby whilst the mum laid down on the sofa. When the dad came back to the mum, she had passed away. I wasn't told what she died of but the girl telling the story was getting upset over it. She hated the idea of this child no longer having a mother, and the dad having lost his partner with absolutely no warning, and so young. So it wasn't even a gruesome one, just an upsetting one that made her give it up."
– Isgortio
The Guilt Complex
"My brother was an EMT because he wanted to help people. Started to blame himself for the people he couldn’t save, we almost lost him. Thank God he had some pretty stellar friends who went looking for him at 2am. EMTs are a different breed man, I don’t know how they do it."
– Lonely-Ninja
The Thing About Empathy
"The empathy thing is very interesting. My medical friends and family would always tell me I'd be great in the medical field because I'm so caring. That is precisely why I would be awful in the medical field. I hate seeing people suffering."
– Tim3-Rainbow
At first, these seemed desirable until they learned it was anything but.
Weightlessness
"I couldn't wait to 'pull g's' in an airplane. Then I did. It sucked."
– papafrog
"I cannot stress enough how fast pulling Gs gets old. The first couple turns are fun but then it’s like, 'I don’t feel good.' Fun times getting picked up from training sites by helicopter pilots on flight training and you’re just looking out the side of the Blackhawk at nothing but ground and you’re like are helicopters supposed to turn like this?"
– anon
Career As An Animator
"All my life I wanted to make cartoons."
"I fought with tooth and nail to reach the top."
"Then I interned for an old studio in Burbank specializing in cartoons about a certain yellow family."
"Then, after college, I became a mechanic and never looked back."
– DreyfusBlue
Formerly Aspiring Craftsman
"Blacksmithing. I watched a ton of blacksmithing content on youtube, got SUPER intrigued and wanted to build my own setup in the backyard. My Father talked me into trying a class before jumping in headfirst, and I am glad I did. My Father and I were the only two in the class that day so we got all the attention from the instructor which was awesome, he really helped us both perfect our techniques and corrected any mistakes quickly so we didn't form any bad habits, it was the best instructor I have ever had for anything, guy was an amazing teacher. He even offered to let us stay for a couple more hours to make another piece, which we took him up on. After all that, an amazing class, 3 metal pieces that I worked on and created by myself by hand, I walked away... dissatisfied. I think metal as a medium just felt very hard to work with, everything is super hot and dangerous, and I just didn't see myself wanting to ever do it again. I really recommend taking a class to try something out rather than spending time and money to build your own setup for something you may hate. I spent 75$ to save thousands."
– Roadronner
It Takes A Different Breed To Lead
"Being the boss of people. Boss is a title, but being an effective leader of people is an emotionally draining, often thankless roller coaster."
– DingbatDarrel
People who tried their hand at becoming lawyers found it to be extremely unpleasant.
Fighting For The Environment
"'I want to be an environmental lawyer when I grow up! I'm going to help save the world!' F'king kill me dude, I don't even have the energy to save myself anymore."
–Superseriouslyguys
"Interned at an environmental nonprofit over the summer while I was in law school."
"It was the worst parts of legal work and the worst parts of nonprofit work all mashed together."
"Edit: Ok this is getting a lot more eyeballs than I expected so I feel the need to clarify that it actually was not as bad as other non-legal nonprofits I'd later work at in terms of toxicity but it was intensely difficult work with very long hours and a lot of pressure - all of which made me realize I prob wasn't cut out for law much less environmental law."
– krylonultraflat
My Name Is Not Sharon
"I remember a girl in law school who had a similar experience, like they just had her getting coffee and cleaning out the office fridge all summer. Then at the end of the internship one of the directors of the program was like 'oh Sharon, you were our best intern this summer!' Susan. Her name was Susan."
– Superseriouslyguys
The Alternative
"Fellow lawyer here."
"Dip out and get yourself a cushy government job, easy 9-5 work hours, never take work home, plus you get a pension after it's all said and done."
"And then start living life outside of work. Focus on yourself."
– Pitiful-Reaction9534
Life is about taking chances.
You never know what you're capable of until you try different experiences.
And even if you don't succeed or found that whatever it is you tried wasn't for you, it's all a learning experience about how you deal in stressful or unfamiliar situations and overcome them.
The key is in finding your strengths, which you'll never find unless you put yourself out there and do the work. If it's not for you, something else will present itself.
At least that's what I'd like to think.
Who knows what the future holds?
We can try to assume, but history has shown us we'd probably be wrong.
It used to feel like every decade, the culture changed.
Now it spins out of control every other day.
One can barely keep up.
We look back at things we thought were acceptable last week to learn it's all outdated.
Decades plus from now?
Reddit had some guesses and predictions of commonplace things today that are bound to change.
Redditor SilentPrints wanted to discuss what the future may hold, so they asked:
"What is something that is generally accepted today that in 30 years, future generations will find unacceptable?"
I'm hoping the two political party system sees some updates.
Breaks Required
Greys Anatomy Help GIFGiphy"Forcing doctors to work 24-hour shifts. Do you feel safe knowing that this happens all the time, folks?"
Dork_Magician_Girl
"I would definitely hate to think that the doctor doing my life-saving emergency procedure is on his 24th hour."
rowenaravenclaw0
Stay Home
"Going out/to work while sick. I thought we would already have seen this behavior driven out by the pandemic, but in our desperation for normalcy, we've largely chosen to revert to how we used to handle that, it seems. I think as time moves on and we develop better methods for handling this, such as social norms and testing, we will see future generations act more appropriately, given the general public is now more aware of how varied people's responses to a disease can be."
Techerous
Stay Private
"Posting kids on social media."
Anna_Rapunzel
"I find this one to be a truly interesting answer because of how the current younger generations (both young parents posting their children pretty much since birth and children/teenagers with phones) publicize most aspects of their lives on social media that it’s almost impossible for them to comprehend a time prior to them being on it - on the flipside internet privacy, safety, boundaries, and consent with children are becoming topics that are being explored a lot more than they may have even 10 years ago."
Wowufuh
Money Matters
"There will still be an overwhelming shortage of physicians with population growth and the continuation of profit driven healthcare. At least in America, if you don’t remove the profit model from medicine these things won’t change. A lawsuit is cheaper than the salaries, especially if you are at a teaching/ learning hospital that has caps on the amount that they can be sued. It shouldn’t be this way but unless you can come up with more money than the insurance companies, it won’t change."
FairReason
SCREAM!!
Episode 11 Mike GIF by Jersey Shore Family VacationGiphy"Hopefully collecting/selling data about people. Also telemarketers and spoofing numbers. Being on the Do Not Call List isn't enough."
idratherchangemyold1
"Just insult them or start to scream, they will never call again and you will have a good laugh. Got the last call 2 years ago and I kinda miss it tbh lol."
xBingChilling
This data collecting is scary. Not good.
Just a Hello
"$7 greeting cards."
boxcar-violet
"Holy sh*t right. I'll see the most basic cards for $7-8 from Hallmark and anything fancy is like $10-20. Hell I even saw miniature cards, the size of like 4 stamps for $5 there."
starfire92
Quality
"5 day/40 hour work weeks."
henshep
"The company I work for just changed over to 4 day work weeks. It’s amazing for quality of life."
"Hopefully it’s something that can get more traction, but I doubt it. Especially when so many people seem to be proud of working long hours to make others rich like it’s some badge of honor."
cha0ss0ldier
Save it All
"Being wasteful about resources, especially food, water, and energy. In 30 years, those things will be even more scarce."
Devi1_May_Cry
"Not necessarily disagreeing because idk, but the wording 'even more' doesn't make much sense here. Food water and energy are less scarce now than they've been in human history by a ridiculously large margin."
multiple4
"Exactly. And unless there's an absolute catastrophe, the continuing development of technology will make it even less scarce."
Zealousideal-Bell-68
It's my $$$!!
"ATM withdrawal fees."
steaknife2107
"Agreed I think there is going to be a shift with all the little extra fees, not just ATM. But all of those little extra service fees on things like delivery. I'm hoping for things to just be labeled as the exact cost across the board. like coffee is say $3 and everywhere you go coffee is going to be $3 enough with the math question everytime I try to exist please."
_rosie_365
Unlike...
Social Media Facebook GIFGiphy"The way in which people consume connection based social media on a pathological and sometimes addictive level. Some day we'll look back on how crazy it was how kids and grown people alike became infatuated getting likes on mundane posts. Craving social approval like a commodity."
Vupant
Labels
"Whatever inoffensive terms we have now for certain groups of people. They’ll be considered offensive labels thirty years from now. Just look back thirty years at terms we used then that we don’t use now."
tangcameo
Streamline Learning
"On a lighter note, those 4-5 useless projects given by schools for each subject that need craft supplies to be bought, need many hours of work, and are judged by the aesthetic/decoration rather than the content. After evaluating, they then get tossed out by the teacher in the next few months."
"Absolutely no respect for the time and effort spent on it. The same time could have been used for other actually useful tasks and enormous amount of wastes could have been prevented."
Competitive-Claim750
Well I don't know if this is all good or all bad for the future.
What predictions do you have? Let us know in the comments below.
Looking at a friend in a new light can be a massive surprise.
They always say, lovers should be friends as well.
It happens all the time.
Love and lust was always right there and we didn't see it for awhile.
It can be an awkward realization at first, but if you pass up the chance when the feeling strikes, you could regret it.
Look at "My Best Friend's Wedding."
And most of the time it just takes a quick moment and BAM!
Everything changes.
Redditor titan_slayer05 wanted to hear about the times friends have left us hot and bothered, so they asked:
"What did your friend do that accidentally turned you on?"
Whispers. A good whisper always gets me.
It could just be directions to the store.
'car guys'
Speeding Fast And Furious GIF by GIF IT UPGiphy"Drive his car. I’ve never been into cars, or particularly into 'car guys,' but I looked over at him since we were talking and we were going pretty fast and I dunno... My body wasn’t ready to look at my friend driving his fast car I guess!"
spacemom4
Whoooooo Boy!!
"I was cracking jokes with a coworker and when she laughed at something I said she pushed at my chest in that 'Oh stop it you!' kinda way and whoooooo boy I damn near melted right then and there."
FBI_Official_Acct
"I used to have a friend who did that all the time it was kind of sexy the way she did it but it never went anywhere."
Beautiful
"I came back from freshman year college to visit high school and walked into the auditorium, where an incredibly cute girl I was friends with saw me, stopped what she was doing and literally ran up the aisle and jumped into my arms to hug me. Plot twist: married 26 years and have a son."
davidjschloss
"Your story makes me smile. :) "
SirVeryBritishFellow
Oh My
Oh My Wow GIFGiphy"Ran her nails along the skin on the inside of my forearm. I'm straight but holy f**k. I mean I was straight, now I'm not sure."
Osito509
"All my bi friends love this... including me."
WWhandsome
Talk 2 Me
"I have a voice kink, I specifically like very deep voices and certain accents. Playing D&D with my best friends can be very confusing for my vagina."
wickedwix
"Go watch corpse husband on YouTube. ;) "
EdgelordOfEdginess
"His voice is amazing dude. Anybody, regardless of gender can agree that corpse dadd- husband has one of the best voices ever."
BOTFrosty
"I'm a straight guy but holy hell, that man's voice. Some people think deep gravelly ones like that are disgusting but it does it for me. All the among us clips of him outplaying people definitely help."
We are all a bunch of horny people. Whoosh.
Touch Me
"This one girl started tickling me. When I started tickling her back, she started to moan and said she was sensitive there. Awkward drive home."
Another_Road
"That almost happened to me once, my friend and her girlfriend and I were all talking about whether or not we're ticklish, and my friend reached out and started to tickle my knee. I panicked, my eyes got wide and I and said 'You don't want to tickle me.'"
"I think she thought I was warning that I would get mad or flail around and accidentally hurt her. But really it was because tickling is A Thing for me and I did not need the whole group to see how I react to tickling, especially with her girlfriend there."
H0lyThr0wawayBatman
Flutters
heart adam GIF by MLBGiphy"She was the popular girl in our class. She said 'I love you' to me as a friend (I think anyway or I'm just incredibly freaking dense). I didn't like her but it still made my heart flutter."
Flame_Draconic
Just you and I...
"We were hanging out with a bunch of people and moving from one location to the next. She asked to ride with me in my car since I was solo. When she got in my car she told me to wait and leave the parking lot last. Then she said 'let’s ditch everyone and just go somewhere else. Just you and I.'"
"That would make me feel pretty damn good."
orion84gsl
Hold Me
"Was giving a very good friend of mine a hug bye and I must of squeezed harder than normal or something cause she just melted into me and let out the most pleasing sigh I've heard her make. Stood there for a good 40 seconds holding her up while she composed herself. Her boyfriend was not pleased at all."
kobester1985
"I feel this one. I'm a bear hug guy, I do it with everyone. Doesn't help that I have really broad shoulders, so most people just melt at both the strength and closeness with which I hug."
thatonewerebear
That's It
Happy Jeff Goldblum GIF by Apartments.comGiphy"As a guy I decided to fall asleep on a close friends lap who then proceeded to stroke my hair and lightly pulling it, it was really hard to fall asleep cause I was more worried that I'd get turned on from that."
earxenz
It only takes a touch at the right time.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.