For the past few weeks or months, all of your web browsing has been on Zillow. Your weekends have been packed with open houses. Your heart has been broken into tiny little pieces with thoughts like, “It looks so much better in the pictures,” or  “If only this was closer to work,” and “I’m sorry, I just can’t see past the staging…or maybe it’s the smell.”

Now, you’ve finally found a house you can live in, complete with features you can live with, square footage you can fit into, and a mortgage that won’t make you starve to death in a community that’s sure to grow on you.

Here are 10 nagging things you suddenly notice:

1. The mysterious bumps, creeks, and whirring sounds that grate your nerves once all the buzz of moving in quiets down.

2. Filth. The bathroom tiles look as if they were actually caulked with dead skin cells and soap scum.

3. Greed. Did they really need to take the batteries out of all the smoke detectors?

4. Shotty appliances. You could practically ride your noisy, shaky washer/dryer to work in the morning.

5. Wow, little Stevie sure has grown up fast. These 2 wall-markings are only 6 months apart. Wait…who is Stevie?

6. The hidden infestation. Should we be wearing black since you evidently live in a cricket graveyard?

7. The deception. The porch appeal was so well-executed a week ago. Did the homeowner not know that weeds have roots or is Prickly Lettuce just shy during open houses?

8. Holes. Chipped paint. Cracked linoleum. Bad carpentry work. Here, here, here and here! Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

9. The stain in the carpet. Then you realize: someone else’s life is in your carpet. It’s not your carpet and will never be your carpet. You need to pull up all of the carpet.

10. The Neighbors. They seem so nice during the day but once the moon comes out, they turn into real party animals…party werewolves.

At least, that’s what happened to me. In fact, we hadn’t lived here for a month and already a storm caused our electricity to go out because the surge protectors weren’t properly installed (or something), said the electrician I found through TalkLocal.

Now – a new surge box, a full closet-makeover, a new kitchen countertop, and three broken appliances replaced later – it’s finally sinking in: home is not a place you discover by following a local listing and a map, but a place you create by following your heart.

And, if maintenance and repair needs are threatening to break the bank and your heart, let TalkLocal take the hassle out of finding a local pro. Because when things break while you’re making a home, it’s hard enough to keep it together.