Today is the one year anniversary of closing on our house! Our closing went really well, for which I was grateful. It wasn’t until after it was over and we said goodbye to our realtor that I finally breathed a sigh of relief and admitted to myself that we actually WERE going to own a house!
I thought our journey was over, but really it had just begun! I have learned SO much this past year. It has been a real struggle for me to find pride in our house, and not focus on all the work that still needs to be done. I think this blog helps a bit with that – trying to channel the “adventure” aspect instead of the “burden” aspect.
I think if I could pass on advice to others, here’s what I would say:
1) Don’t move into a house and have a baby at the same time, if you can help it. Give yourself time to enjoy your baby. It’s okay that you don’t have a house yet – your baby won’t notice. :-)
2) Be willing to walk away from a house, especially if you start seeing red flags. There are others out there. I wanted this neighborhood so badly and I thought this house was the only way to live here, but in the past year there have been several other houses on the market which may have served us just as well. (Or maybe not, but still…)
3) Houses built before 1978 have really high labor costs (if you get a contractor) because of a new law passed last April that require contractors to take certain hazard precautions. Unless you’re willing to do everything yourself or it has already been done by previous owners, think hard and seriously before buying an older house.
4) Fixer uppers are great, but only if you have the money. Going from two incomes to one at the same time as having a baby, may not be the BEST time to buy a fixer-upper. Make sure you have a lot in savings.
5) There will ALWAYS be more “wrong” with the house that you discover later!! So if you barely have enough to fix the problems that you see at first, then maybe you should walk away.
I think overall my advice is… patience, young grasshopper. Or maybe that’s just what I’m lacking myself. :-)
I would agree with you about point 5. When we built out house (built in the mid-70s), we thought all we needed to do was paint (eventually), redo the kitchen (mostly for cosmetic reasons) eventually and that was about it.
Well, we’ve *had* to redo the main bathroom, put in all new windows, insulated the basement, put in a new fridge, stove and furnace, and do some fairly major yard work.
We want to redo all the trim, finish the basement, redo the powder room, replace the washer and dryer, and on and on….
Houses require a lot of money and a lot of time. I would say it’s a lifestyle choice more than a financial decision, actually. If you’re prepared for that, good for you. But if you’re not sure, I would say rent until you know for sure. :)