My First Home Repair

I recently bought by first home! I also recently dealt with my first home repair. Unfortunately, just days after moving in, I noticed a problem in my front yard. It hadn’t rained in days, yet my front yard was a muddy mess with standing water. If you’re smart, you’ve already guessed what was going on. Yep! I had a leak. My first home repair was within a week of moving into my new (to me) home, and was a big ol’ leak!

I bet you’re wondering if this house already had a leak, and I missed it. OR worse, my REALTOR® or inspector missed it. Nope! Trust me, I immediately pulled up my inspection report and re-read the entire document searching for some early warning this leak was coming. The photos of the front yard taken the day of the inspection were bone dry – not a drop of water to be found. The inspection was in October, and I moved into the home in early December. During that short time, the house got a little bit older, the pipes also aged a little bit more, and sure enough something broke.

Now you’re thinking that I should have just called my home warranty, right? Well, I did that! Of course, deep down, I knew it wasn’t something that would be covered. The home warranty representative was very courteous and helpful, explaining that the home warranty covers leaks INSIDE the house, not outside. I already knew this, but I didn’t really want it to be true.

Next, I took to Facebook to ask all of my trusty friends and followers if I should call the City of Houston before calling a plumber. The consensus was NO! Everyone was really concerned that the city would come out, and they would turn off my water, even if it wasn’t their problem to fix. Guess whose problem it was to fix? Mine! If an outside leak is between the house and the water meter, it’s the homeowner’s problem. If it’s between the meter and the water main, the city is responsible for repairs. I could clearly tell this leak was between the meter and the house, considering my yard is between the two, and was saturated.

My plumber is a saint of a man. I reached out to him on a Saturday at 5 PM after he had taken off work for the remainder of the weekend to donate his time to others in need during the holiday season. After Hurricane Harvey, a lot of people really needed for others to be full of the Christmas spirit. Despite having taken off work, he was at my home by noon the next day to fix my leak. By 1 PM, he was waist down in a muddy hole scooping out buckets of water. The cause of the leak – a rusty iron gate hinge. I can only assume that this hinge found its way into the pipe during construction, and was essentially plugging the hole. After 11 years with soil movement and weather erosion, the hinge become dislodged from the pipe and resulted in a geyser. Fortunately, I caught this early, and before the gigantic water bill arrived in the mail.

What can you take away from all this? If something can go wrong, it will. Make sure you have money put aside for repairs when you buy a house. You don’t want to be in a situation where you can’t afford to fix a leak “when” it happens. Also, pay attention to your home. If something looks or sounds off, investigate further. I could have written off the soggy yard as typical in Houston considering how much it rains here. Even if investigating borders on paranoia, it’s better to know than not know.

Homeownership isn’t bad, and it isn’t scary. You just have to know what you’re getting into and prepare yourself for every possibility. I would love to guide you on the journey to home ownership. When you’re ready to buy your home, call, text or email me!