First time home owner

[Thomas Rodgers]

Looking for some advice.

Trying to make a long story short, after 2+ years of listening and learning about real estate, I finally made my first purchase. I spent those 2 years paying off debt and trying to build an emergency fund which is only at $10k now. After working on a strategy to try and do live in flips with a family of 4 and keep the previous houses as rentals, I completely abandoned that plan when we decided that we were not willing to change the school district and that there were not many opportunities because of the rural area our school district is in. So we decided to just buy a primary residence and then focus on saving for an investment property which gave us the freedom to invest anywhere.

The problem being, I believe I messed up by giving myself a sense of urgency because my brother was getting out of the military and wanted to live with us while he goes to school and we were living in a mobile home park which means we didn’t have much room for everyone. I figured this would count as a small house hack since he agreed to pay $500/ month in rent. We made a couple offers and missed out on some houses but then got one for $250k with $10k in credits to buy the rate down. It’s a 1960s house that is a little outdated but in decent shape.

We have recently discovered that there is a main water feed line leaking near the garage which allowed water to come up from a corner and puddle up on the garage floor. I have owned the home for about 2 months now and the purchasing process was not a very good one. I definitely did not do some things that I knew I should have and have learned my lesson but I am not sure the best way to handle this.

I have started the process of getting estimates for the repair and have a couple options. Would it be best to have the plumber update the line so the leak detection company can find the leak and possibly do a repair which is expected to be around $6k+ depending on the location of the leak or have the do a complete water service where they bore in a new line and update the valves which is around $13k? Also, is it best to just use up the emergency fund I spent so long building or is there any other options to try and fund the repair? And lastly, what is the best way to have some type of lease agreement for my brother to use as proof of housing?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.