Experienced home buyers know every home, be it new or existing, comes with its own surprises. Smart buyers find out as much as they can about a home beforehand through pre-purchase home inspections and pre-closing walk-throughs, but there are usually unexpected discoveries after move-in day.

Homeownership brings rewards and pleasures
Many new home surprises are welcome, joyful and worthy of celebration. Leafless backyard trees that went unnoticed in the wintertime may bear delicious fruit come spring. Dormant plants may bloom with beautiful flowers, adding a surprising burst of color to the yard. An entire home or a favorite room may be blessed with an abundance of morning sunshine or a cooling afternoon breeze. Furnishings of various sizes, shapes and styles may turn out to suit a new home better than had been expected. Unfamiliar appliances may sport special features that save time and take the pressure off monthly utility bills. First-time home buyers may be especially pleased to discover the joys of privacy and sense of personal space that comes with owning a home.

Yet other surprises may prove less felicitous. Seemingly ample closets may fill up all too quickly, and furnishings may turn out to be too large, too small or just not right for new rooms. Newfangled appliances may be equipped with maddeningly complicated bells and whistles. Thirsty landscaping can result in high water bills, and an older electrical panel may not generate enough juice to power modern devices. Older homes may be especially drafty or cold in the wintertime or overly hot in the summer months.

Another unpleasant surprise that awaits many new homeowners is a dirty house since not all sellers honor the traditional courtesy of a clean sweep through the home before they leave for the last time. Dirty carpets, drapes, closets, cupboards and cabinets are common finds, especially if a house has been occupied by the same family for many years. If ever there was a good time to call in a professional home-cleaning service, the day before moving into a new home may indeed be it.

Quirky neighbors become memories of a lifetime
Some of the most memorable new-home surprises tend to involve unusually friendly, unfriendly or peculiar neighbors. Many homeowners tell of being surprised by new neighbors bearing homemade meals or fruit baskets, offers of baby-sitting services or coveted telephone numbers of reliable contractors and servicemen. But others woefully recall encounters with illegal squatters in a supposedly vacant next-door residence or confrontations with neighbors who’ve become obsessed over backyard fences or the exact location of lot lines.

The bottom line is that a new home always contains surprises. Whether they are cause for celebration or concern, the surprises encountered upon moving into a new home are just the beginning of the joys and headaches of homeownership.