Homeowners make many common mistakes when it comes to the management of their property and finances. Owning and maintaining a home can be a challenge, especially for a first-time buyer who has only ever rented before. These first-timers are getting older all over the world and in the United States, the average age is now 33, meaning an additional few years of coming to terms with the life of a renter. This makes the jump to owning your own home that much more dramatic when you do finally purchase your first house.

Fortunately, you can easily right the ship and tackle these common mistakes and bigger problem areas that plague new homeowners in their early years. It’s easy to understand these common household mistakes and how to avoid them once you’ve identified the issues, but the trouble is that many go unnoticed for a long time. By learning how to identify snags along the way, way you can make up for any troubles you’ve been suffering up until this point and steer yourself and your family toward a brighter future, starting right now.

Don’t put off household repairs.

Tackling home improvement repairs when they arise is something that responsible owners work to do at each turn of fate. It is inevitable that you will have to replace a roof or repair your air conditioner sometime during your stay in the home you’ve just purchased. These are essential fixes that owners simply can’t avoid like a renter can.

When your AC is on the fritz it’s essential to call a technician right away to get the problem solved. This will give your AC unit the ability to continue performing for the duration that it’s rated to last for — often as many as fifteen or more years — and help you stave off the need to purchase a replacement unit for as long as possible.

It doesn’t take nearly as much money to conduct annual check-ins on your air conditioner as it would to replace a broken AC unit, so having your technician come out to inspect it for damages or debris on a regular basis is crucial to continuing to live in comfort and relaxation within the walls of your home.

Take care of debts before they pile up.

Every new buyer is likely to carry at least some debts, resulting in an easy pile-up of budget mistakes or a lack of emergency savings. The average American owes about $6,000 in credit card debt, on top of mortgage repayments and other personal loans that you’ve taken from financial institutions for college and other expenses.

Paying down debts is an essential part of homeownership. The mortgage you’ve taken out on your home must be repaid on a monthly basis, or you are at risk of losing your home to foreclosure. In order to maintain your home and keep a lid on finance-related stressors, many homeowners begin to pay back revolving credit card debt in the months or years before making the leap from renter to owner. This helps improve your overall cash flow and reduces the strain on your monthly finances that are dedicated to the repayments that you are financially responsible for.

Leaving debt to fester is simply a decision you can’t make as a homeowner, no matter how tempting it might be. Start to tackle these additional debts before moving and continue to save and jealously guard your financial accounts in order to make the best possible life for yourself and your family.

New owners suffer mostly from ignorance of the obvious. Once you’ve discovered a problem you can solve it, but without knowledge of an issue, it’s impossible to deal with it. Making sure that you are always on the lookout for the latest information on your circumstances is the best way to always remain in the driver’s seat.