Owning a House

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I own my home, (house).
I do not have a mortgage.

I just recently( last 2 weeks) moved to a new home. It is a nice townhome built in 1985 with 2 bedrooms and 1 and one half bath. So far, I am loving it better than my old mobile home which quite frankly was a shit-hole. This place is so much better, no longer do I have the kitchen right off of the master bedroom, I actually have privacy as I now have a basement. I spend a lot of time down here as I can have all the lights off except for the ones in the finished part of the basement. One corner is my studio area for my comic book illustration, I have a corner desk set up with an end table to hold my art supplies in between that and my drafting table. The kitchen is about 100 times smaller than my old one, but I actually like that as I can just turn around and everything is in reach. The flooring was redone last year, with a wood finish laminate in the living room and a stone look in the front bathroom and kitchen. Of all the places I looked at, the on I am in was the nicest for the price. There were no feminine touches except for the furniture, I have more modern black vinyl and chrome furniture which looks like it could be used on the set of a sci-fi movie. The basement does have blue walls, but I will completely re-do the basement in a couple years once I build some equity in the home.

The positives are that the new neighborhood is MUCH nicer and safer than the old one. The old one was a run down trailer park... This one is in walking distance of downtown Mechanicsburg PA. It is a nice downtown area that is very historic. The house is obviously sturdier and better constructed, It no longer feels like there is an earthquake when I am doing a load of laundry on spin cycle. The house is much quieter as the walls between the units are soundproofed.

In the old neighborhood, there was a lot of crap going on, you could hear the neighbors two doors down fighting, the next door neighbor revving his ATV early in the morning, yet yelling at me for fixing my car that early, there was a meth lab that got raided. A pedophile that burned down his house so he could collect insurance to use for bail money, and who could forget the weird guy on disability who came up to me every time I came home from work and wanted to talk for 10 minutes? Oh and the drive by shooting...

The new neighborhood is down the street from the elementary school so the cops are around the area, so that deters criminals.

Total expenses are actually about 100-200 dollars more than what I was paying at the mobile home which I find ironic.

My new house is also much easier to keep clean. With the only carpeting in the upstairs bedroom area, I don't have to worry about vacuuming too much. The floors in the living room area are easy to clean as they are the aforementioned laminate floors, just take a swiffer sweeper... It takes about 30 minutes to clean the house top to bottom( light cleaning)... Also, the hot water in my old house never worked right and I would run out after 2 minutes... Here I can take a 20 minute hot shower if I so choose( I did that the first night I spent in the new house, lol)...

I really do not miss my old neighborhood at all, the only thing I wish this house had was a garage... Oh well

Interesting discussion. I've owned (technically still do) and rented and have found that renting is far better for my situation. There are a lot of common misunderstandings out there about ownership, especially in our current economy. First, the wide-held belief that ownership is essentially a retirement account is not always true. Some analysts predict it may take 20 years or more for the market to truly recover - depending on locality. Second, you mortgage payment may not be as stable as you think. If your taxes and insurance are included in your payment, you can expect it to go up anually. My payment jumped up by 150/mo after only on year of ownership for a house valued at only 125k (of course this was in NY where taxes are outrageous). In contrast, local rental rates averaged an increase if about 10-20 bucks. Third the overall cost of home ownership can easily go far beyond expected expenses, especially for an older home. You really could get slapped with a repair in the 10's of thousands overnight. If you don't have a significant safety net, you could become very indebted, very quickly.

Admittedly I'm a bit soured by the experience because I purchased my home in 2006, spent nearly 30k in unanticipated repairs, and then my husband lost his job. Ever see The Money Pit? Anyway, we were about 20k underwater, not including our repair "investment," and were forced to relocate for employment. The house has been on the market for almost 2 years now - no bites. The bank is allowing a short sale, but it's not working out do to the unrealistic appraisal they performed. A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is in our near future. If we had decided to rent back in 2006, we would have saved at least 30k (probably more) and our credit would still be excellent (it's now in the crapper). Oh well, you live and you learn.

We're back to renting now and I love it. No more worries about leaky roofs and broken heat. No more Sundays spent mowing and weeding. We spend more time together as a care-free family and it's great.

Owning a home is a big responsibility, but for those on the spectrum, having your own space is important. I have my own house with help from my parents, and I would never want to live in an apartment. There are downsides. Homes require constant work and upkeep. Cleaning is a real killer ( unless, of course its your special interest!).

I owned two homes, one was a single home on a nice lot, the other was a duplex.
I hated the duplex, because the neighbors always knew if you were coming or going, and I have the same problem now, living in an apartment.

The costs of living in my duplex were very low, I bought it as a foreclosure, and took out a small equity loan to fix it. My payments on it were only like $225 per month. Sold it in 2005 before the crash. Apartment living and home ownership are both expensive.

There can be arguments made either for renting or owning, but I think that if I ever buy again, it will be a trailer. Yep, not kidding. You own it, so you have a little equity, and you rent the space it sets on, so you don't have the the taxes and fees associated with having your own lot. Of course, if you find some land that you like, you can put up a foundation and just put your trailer on it and you have an instant house.

Of course, this has a certain stigma attached to it, but it seems like it might be an interesting move.

Occasionally, I have imagined just gettng a motorhome and squatting in the WalMart parking lot.

Gotta be little careful about the trailers, though. I kind of like them too, but they tend to be made out of a slew of toxic materials. I was considering a modular home several years back and there were warning signs all over the models about formaldehyde and people with sensitive respitory systems. Also, if the land owners get into financial trouble, you could end up having to move your house which is somewhat risky and costly. It's probably a safer bet to own the land, but at least do your homework about the owners of the community. It's also a good idea to consider structural security with respect to storms. As far as the stigma goes - eff 'em. Who cares what other people think anyway.

Yes, there were many trailers that were considered too toxic to live in after Katrina.

The thing that I never understood though, was that all normal building materials have the same toxic stuff in them. Plywood, strandboard, (OSB), floorcovering, plastics used in plumbing like Pex, abs, pvc, etc... Every house has all that stuff already in it.

I have concluded that the key to a safe house is ventilation, and not though dirty duct work. The more insulated and sealed up the house is, the sicker you will become. It isn't exactly the most energy efficient concept, but it is undeniable that fresh air is good for you.

Your right about being careful about the structual quality of these trailer dwellings. The joke about structural integrity and trailers is, "Would your house survive a 60mph trip on the interstate?"

If I did move into a trailer park, i would write a blog about it. It has got to be interesting to observe the happenings in such a place. Perhaps living in a trailer brings out the Gypsie (not meant to be a slur against real Gypsies, just a reference to nomadic caravan life.) in people.

I own my house (with my wife) but its an autism friendly setup: small garden (very easy to maintain 6 hours a year, max)

mortage is fixed at 5% for next 30 years. its not the cheapest, but it will never change. (peace of mind, yes ty)

the house is in perfect condition, so no little things need to get fixed(aside from us wanting a new kitchen)

my dream is to have built and "Autism House" to my specifications, sound proof, secluded, with silence appliances, shaded windows etc etc.

My wife and I own our house and it is entirely her doing as I am horribly inefficient with money. The issues you all speak of in relationship to maintenance and lawn work by far is better than the unnerving existence of having people all around you in an apartment. I am very sensitive to all that is going on around me and hearing the neighbors would drive me crazy(figuratively speaking) after a very short while. I also cannot stand the act of moving as I usually have to rely on my NT family members who have no concept of order or logic.

I also like the freedom to be as creative as I like in our house. I can paint murals on my daughters wall with her and not have to worry about a landlord complaining. I could run CAT5 cable through the walls so everyone in the house has a broadband connection. Also, I could put tint on my office windows so I would not be disturbed by the going ons outside. Home ownership is not easy but I can sleep at night without hearing the lives of my neighbors and I can make anyone I do not feel comfortable with leave on my terms.(or if that doesn't work they leave on my wifes terms(she's meaner than I am)

Well we have a house that's close to being paid off. The money aspect wasn't too hard. It's the upkeep. Our house is easily one of the worst looking ones on the block. The paint is fading, the trees and hedges are overgrown, lawn is more weeds than grass. I always wondered if people can easily tell that weirdos live in there. If it's in an older area of the town maybe it doesn't look too bad, but this is in a typical suburb with those McMansions and neat lawns around.

When you walk inside it's not loads better either. No decent furniture, hardly any decor, toys, clothes and books tossed everywhere, beds are never made...etc. I think the state of our couch can make some people's jaw pop right out of the joints. My only clean and neat area is my kitchen and laundry room. I try enough to make sure my family have clean clothes to wear and good food to eat.

Four people live here and three have AS for sure and one is kinda borderline. Sometimes we nag each other enough, then we do some cleaning together. We could hire people to do the outside, but we're usually not motivated or organized enough to keep track of the to-dos for the house. I can't wait to downsize. When I was living by myself, my apartment was spotless. No junk, no dirt, there were pictures on the walls and flowers on the table. I think I'm mostly overwelmed by the much bigger space and many more people making the mess that I don't even try to keep it clean. How many Aspies would rather clean four bathrooms than browsing online?

Maybe when it's paid off you can spend some of the money that would have gone into the mortgage on housecleaners/yadrworkers, etc? We have a housecleaner twice a month and really should hire someone to do yardwork, just never get around to it. (My son is very into helping me with yardwork, but spends a lot more time talking about how awesome it is to help me than actually doing anything. )

I have been looking into buying my own house out in the country, because I value privacy, and want a place to do with as I wish, but there are many things to consider before doing so.

Here's what I have come up with:

Pros:
You have more freedom to do whatever you want with the place.
More privacy (in most cases).
You won't have to deal with bad landlords, or play by their rules.
Sometimes it's cheaper than renting.

Cons:
In these days, you have to worry about job security and being able to afford, or stay in the house.
Many homes are still way overpriced, and if you have to take out a mortgage, the interest you pay over the life of the loan will frighten you.
Property taxes. Even if/when you finally pay the house off, you still have to pay the taxes on it, and they usually keep going up every year. If you don't pay, they can come and take your house away from you.
You have to constantly worry about maintainence and up keep.

This is an interesting topic. I had no Idea how lucky I am to be single and own a house that I could turn quickly. I am thinking of scaling down a bit tho. Thinking about a duplex but can't find one I like (that I could dump fast if need be). Now looking at possible mom-in-law houses, rent big one out, live in apt. Good idea? I don't know, checking.
Comments:
Mdyar said:
(We have 7 years till ownership , but property taxes are always due till death , unless you are 70 and live in Alabama).
Well I do and you are right- taxes are SILLY low!
and yes, death will get you out of just about everything so why not...

munky101 said:
I also like the freedom to be as creative as I like in our house. I can paint murals on my daughters wall with her and not have to worry about a landlord complaining. I could run CAT5 cable through the walls so everyone in the house has a broadband connection. Also, I could put tint on my office windows so I would not be disturbed by the going ons outside.
I did this! Garage, front door, shutters and deck are tri-color combo. NO HOA
Ran cat5 up through attic and down for 3 computers and 4 cable tv AND tinted the front windows and rear french door before hanging 2 sets of blinds.

Macgumerait said:
My predominant worry about housebuying is having to take out a dreaded mortgage....in other words, instantly landing yourself with a lifelong debt that, especially nowadays, would be difficult to ever pay off.
Would you ever 'pay off' RENT? Buying is just a way of 'fixing' the rent more stable than an apartment but you will ALWAYS be paying for a roof, why not own it eventually?

n4mwd said
So yeah, home ownership is more easily attainable than relationships. To own a home, you just need to come up with a plan and follow it logically.
AMEN

I reckon its better buying than renting, if you can get a loan for a mortgage. I don't know about the States, but here in the UK it is often more expensive to rent than to buy a similar sized property on a mortgage. I suppose you have to weigh up job stability and all that when considering it.

Before I got married, the only option I could afford was a room in a shared house. That was hell on Earth. Got married to someone who's financially astute and was in banking at that time, so she had a flat (apartment) with a cheap mortgage.

If I hadn't been so lucky, even if I'd had the money and even though I am more than capable of working out best options and stuff for me, the actual process of buying a house, dealing with Estate Agents, Lawyers, banks would have just overloaded me.

Igor,
You vastly overthought that one. I bought this house in one week flat. I was new to this town (4 months in a hotel) In my spare time in winter & so dark too much, not much daylight. I drove around looking at neighborhoods. Mark Twain said buy the neighbors, not the house. I asked people about the 'sides' of town. Kept hearing the name of one neighborhood. Went there and drove around. Saw the small house with small yard, view, fence and outbuilding I sought with a sign on it. Called an agent and looked at some OTHER houses to diffuse that I liked THIS one. Dealt with just her, 2 days of receiving back and forth phone calls- I said we close in one week-I rejected inspection on a 13 yr old house with continuous home warranties. Closed in one week -$15,000 down from asking price and nearly completely furnished, had to move out before I could move in (the moving out while moving in took a year, I also replaced flooring and stuff too). Jettisoned my junk furniture before packing pods and moving them here-also just one week.
At this time I had had my job for just 4 months and had just moved from contract to salary. Been self-employed for 20 odd years up to that time.
Closing; You sit at the table, they go blah, blah, blah, sign this, sign that- you're done.

Buying usually IS much cheaper than renting. You only have to deal with 3 people and not even at the same time. I did these things on my lunch hour. 1 Mortgage person to pull your credit, 1 realtor OR lawyer, not both. 1 closing table realtor and lawyer for one hour.
In my opinion the realtor got free money- she received a phone call and took orders and picked up a commission. I believe I'll use a lawyer next time-much cheaper.

Just remember TIME IS LINEAR not all things can happen at once! You don't like something you say "WAIT""I need time to think about that." It's the LAW you get 72 hours to pull out of any major purchase to avoid buyer's remorse.

Last, credit; Yes Conventional loans do take more credit BUT FHA (and you do have to jump through many many hoops but it) does not take great credit or bunches of money. Last month my daughter bought a house, it was a big hassle but she was doing it with just $5000.00 no personal credit, been married less than one year, one year on job, her hubby had small credit and much less income. Her note is 5%. The house is $115,000. but b4 crash was $170,000.