Why I want to buy a house 4
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It’s safe to say that Scott and I could be considered professional renters. Over the past six years we’ve inhabited five apartments in four different states. Some have been bad — think using the oven as a heater and finding random guinea pig droppings left behind by the previous tenant. Others have been great–sauna, gym and hot tub? Yes, please!
But all of them have had one thing in common: they were temporary.
I’m tired of temporary.
I’ve quite literally been trying to buy a house for the past four years. My efforts have been foiled by two major roadblocks:
1. All of our money goes to student loans.
2. We move too damn much.
Thankfully, the student loans will be paid off this year. Also? I think we want to stay in Minnesota for a while. With these two roadblocks out of the way, Scott and I are fixin’ to buy a house by…wait for it…next summer!
(All of this is pending on me spending less money on shoes so we can actually scrounge up a down payment, of course.)
While a year isn’t all that much time, next summer can’t come soon enough.
In order to pass the time, I’ve decided to make a list of why I can’t wait to stop throwing my money away on rent each month.
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1. I’m tired of hanging “removable” wallpaper with double-sided Scotch tape and then having to reinforce it every five days.
2. Trying to Turbo Kick quietly so you don’t disturb the people below you gets old fast.
3. I hate elevators. I just want to carry my Costco groceries inside without having to make four trips up and down four flights of stairs to do it, thank you very much.
4. I want to leave Jolie at home and not care how loud she yelps for three hours straight.
5. I want to buy nice, stylish furniture that isn’t from IKEA.
6. I want a gas range. So I might better cook my Top Ramen, obviously.
7. We need some equity. At this point, our only valuable possession is a painting.
8. It will justify the fact that I watch upwards of three hours of HGTV a day.
9. If I have to apologize for Jolie attacking another neighbor dog in the elevator, hallway, parking lot, or doggie exercise area, I think I just might lose it.
10. I’ll no longer have drunken strangers wandering into my house at 11:30 pm on a Tuesday. (Hopefully.)
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Perhaps that last one needs a bit of explanation.
Last night, I was sitting in my underwear looking up Martha Stewart recipes for tomato cobbler while Scott watched coverage of the DNR in the living room. Suddenly, I heard our front door open. A man’s voice I didn’t recognize started talking as he entered the apartment.
I instantly panicked, fearing one of Scott’s friends was about to see me in my granny panties.
Then I realized Scott doesn’t have any male friends in Smalltown.
Unfortunately, I also realized there was a hole in my granny panties.
The thought of a complete stranger witnessing my matronly undergarments was slightly less upsetting as I would probably never have to see them again. Still, the scenario was far from ideal. Especially considering the hole in the underwear.
Within a few seconds, the intruder realized he had stumbled into the wrong unit. He slurred his very best drunken apology before making a quick escape. Scott made sure to lock the door behind him.
While this surprise visit was an honest mistake and posed no real harm, it truly symbolizes all the crappy aspects of renting that I’m completely fed up with.
Also?
Holey granny panties + intoxicated construction worker + privacy of your own apartment = something no one should ever experience³.
Want to know the worst part?
I still can’t find the stupid tomato cobbler recipe I’m looking for.
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Sep 05, 2012 @ 11:02:15
No woman should have to endure that!! Here, have this recipe…
http://www.marthastewart.com/353816/tomato-cobbler
Best of luck on the house-hunting!
Sep 05, 2012 @ 22:23:01
Oh, wow….this totally happened to me (although, thankfully, I had on a bit more than my underwear)! My hubs (then boyfriend) and I were just sitting around, having a lovely beverage & watching TV, when some random, drunk guy walked right in the door, looking for the party! I think that we all just stared at each other for a couple of seconds, then Mike said “Dude, you’ve got the wrong place.” The ONE time that I forget to lock the door! Although, I guess that I should be grateful that it was just a confused, drunk guy who meant no harm.
Good luck with the house hunt (and with controlling your shoe shopping, which I know could be quite painful)!
Sep 06, 2012 @ 07:05:07
I don’t want to deter you from your dreams & goals, but I thought I might throw in another perspective. I’ve been a homeowner for 7 years, my husband for another 10 or so. Maybe it’s just been bad luck, but neither of us have come out positive when it comes to real estate. Sure in the wheelin & dealin 90′s, where everyone was making moolah azz over teakettle, but in today’s market recession… not so much. My first house I bought at the age of 25, sold three years later and it ended up being a short sale. I bought it at ~$112K (at it’s value, not over-inflated) and it sold in the short sale at $70K. The house we are currently in, we are stuck with unless the market does a MAJOR turnaround. So that means if we want to do anything, like move for a better job, better schools for our son, we would have to do something creative like rent it…. or just we won’t be able to move. My husband in his previous marriage was about the same…. they lived in CA and bought a house, sold it 8 years later at a little less than what they bought it for. Gone are the days that home appreciate! I think if we are ever able to sell our house, there’s a large possibility that we may never buy again. The lure of ‘home ownership’ dies off really quickly. Especially when it comes to resale, if you manage to break even (and that would be a good thing in this market), all you have done is paid rent on a house that you also have to take care of maintenance and taxes. Equity? Ha!
I’ll address your points:
1. Decorating. Sure in theory you could do whatever you want to your house, but you do have to keep resale in mind. You could paint every wall ROYGBIV and build a custom D & G room for Jolie, but all that will have to come down in replace of neutrals come resale time. It sucks.
2. Neighbors are more of a problem in an apartment/condo situation. I did hate that in apartment living. But unless you move to the country, you will have next door neighbors (like my crazy cat lady next door) and HOAs to contend with.
3. Schlepping groceries does suck. Rent a house instead.
4. Dog noise. Rent a house instead. With a yard. Or invest in doggie daycare.
5. Who’s saying you can’t have nice furniture in a rental? And besides, your mortgage plus tax & insurance could eat up the nice furniture budget.
6. I do love a gas range. Find one in another rental?
7. Equity- schmequity. Not in today’s market.
8. I too love HGTV and Pinterest for DIY-crafty stuff. I have grand plans to remodel our master bath and maybe the kitchen, but we are forever debating, Is it really worth it??
9. Doggie obedience school?
10. This could happen anywhere.
All I’m saying is: Homeownership is not all it’s cracked up to be! And it involves a lot of money! And lawyers! And realtors taking their cut! And papers and signatures! Aaaaahhhhhh!
Pros to renting:
1. Mobility. And this is a big one. Should countfor 1- 5. Want to move to another neighborhood/city/state? School system is going downhill? Don’t like the new mayor? Neighborhood has changed? New job? Want to be closer to family? Except dealing with getting out of the lease, just pack up and go!
2. Most maintenance issues, taxes, insurance….. not your problem!
3. Don’t have to deal with realtors, closing agents, bidding wars, closing costs, inspection costs, bank approval, mortgage rates, HOA fees, etc.
4. AC goes out in the middle of the night in the middle of August: you get to deal with it. Flooding washer: you. Garage door won’t open: you. Backed-up septic system: you. Bad storm and need a new roof: you. Garbage disposal clogged:you. Crazy cat lady next door cats crapping all over your lawn: you. Carpet needs to be re-stretched: you. Etc, etc etc! Don’t have to deal with any of this!
5. I’m gonna stop now.. my head hurts!
Sep 06, 2012 @ 15:46:40
I’ve gotta say, you make a pretty convincing argument! Suddenly, renting doesn’t seem so bad after all.