by G. Sax (@gsax)
So are you still not sure if you want to own a home?
The $8,000 tax credit isn't drawing you in. The high affordability in our marketplace doesn't have you swooning. You're not enticed by the abundance of decent foreclosure and short sale property that would never have been on the block four years ago, let alone on the block at the prices they're at now. That's some resolve you have there.
Well, let me tell you a story.
I was raised by a single mother, and my mother never owned a home. Which means I never lived in an owned home growing up. Most of my friends did. Whether I want to admit it or not, this affected me. For a long time.
Over the next 20 years, I rented 25 different places. It took me 10 years just to rent a single-family house. Most of my friends and similarly aged family members settled into homes of their own; some were even starting to trade up. Meanwhile, I wandered. It was, at times, exhilarating and exciting; and at other times, it was very, very unsettling. And I don't like to use the word "very," so you know I'm being serious.
When my wife convinced me to take the next step (yes, I actually had to be convinced), it was a revelation. I'm still doing exhilarating and exciting things, but now I have a base of operations. I have a safe place. I have reached gool, safe from the tag of another rental.
My basement gets wet. My neighborhood could use a good scrub-down. My yard needs a total do-over. There are no right-angles atop my 112-year-old foundation. My home is worth at least 10 percent less than when I bought it, probably more.
But you know what I hear in all that? My home.
I recognize that my story doesn't have anything to do with supply and demand or affordability or median sales prices. It doesn't take loan structure and mortgage rates into account. There's nothing about school districts and crime maps. All that stuff matters, certainly.
But let's not forget that a house is not a home. That has to come from the stories and emotions and feelings you put into your house and whether or not those silly little things matter. That image at the top of this article? That's an expression of the warmth and contentment I've felt ever since I bought a house and turned it into a home in the beautiful city of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
It took us years to scrape up the money for our first home. I wanted one for years but like you had to rent. The credit rating wasn’t so good and neither of us had great jobs when we started out. I remember how thrilled I was when we were able to buy a home. It has been a good investment but we don’t look at it that way. Like you say it is our safe place to be and it is home. . . . complete with ancient windows that don’t go up or down any more. It is 152 years old.
Thanks for reminding us what this house buying stuff is really all about.
Excellent post here! Your point is well taken, many understand and appreciate the value of having a place to call their own. That in itself should be important enough.
I don’t know when it happened, but it seems so many now have unrealistic expectations when it comes to home ownership. They feel an entitlement to only owning things that go up in value and walk away from the responsibilities of those assets that don’t.
I enjoyed hearing your story. It’s a badge of honor for you, wear it proudly.
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Nice post. When you wrote about that “unsettling feelings”, you hit the nail on the head. It was the exact feeling that I had when I was renting.
Another good point is “buying a home, not just a house”. Really good writeup.