Exactly four years ago Micah and I were putting an offer on our first house. Since I had been working a whole six months I thought we were in a great position to buy a house, so I convinced Micah that life would be so much better once we were homeowners. I will never forget Valentine's Day in 2007 as that is the day we had our home inspection. There was virtually nothing wrong with the house since it had been built in 2005, which was a relief to us as buyers. And best of all, the home inspector had a gift card to Pappadeaux's restaurant that he planned to give to one of his client's that day since it was Valentine's, and he chose us! We did not have Valentine's Day plans since we felt broke as we were buying a house, plus I was in the midst of my first busy season as an auditor and wouldn't be home until at least 10:00 pm, so we were excited for the gift! Although we mostly feel that buying the house was the right decision as we enjoyed being homeowners and we felt really comfortable in our house, we also think back to what we should have done differently as we bought right before the housing market tanked and we did 100% financing (probably not the best decision!). We were VERY fortunate to sell our house this summer right before we moved to ABQ, and thankfully we didn't lose too much money.
Ironically, four years later we are glad to be renters again. It is nice to not feel tied down to one spot with a house. We are really taking our time figuring out where we want to live, how much we want to put down and how much we want to borrow. Recently we have been listening to the Dave Ramsey series and he is changing our perspective on our financial priorities. It is crazy how most of us fall into the trap in our early 20's, when we have our first full-time jobs, that we have to buy a house. We feel like everyone else is taking out a huge mortgage and not worrying about the payments they will be making for the next 30 years so why should we give it a second thought? With selling our house and being renters again, we feel we have been given a second chance and we are really enjoying it.
Not only is it liberating to not have a mortgage, but this house we are currently renting is quite old (built in the 40's I think), and there have been quite a few problems. For example, I cannot have the hairdryer on if the kitchen and hallway lights are on or the fuse will blow. Micah cannot print from his computer while I am vacuuming or the fuse will blow. While we were gone last weekend the water meter froze so none of the faucets worked. Most recently, the heater in the back of the house went out and it is currently pretty cold in the house.
Here is a pic of our heater. Most of you have probably never seen anything like this as I know I didn't until we moved here! There is one in the hallway and one in the living room. Not the best for heating the bedrooms!
These are all pretty major problems, but let me tell you, we are not one bit stressed over them as they are not our problem! We can deal with the inconveniences just fine, we just don't want to pay for them and we don't have to :). Luckily, our landlord is very responsive and he is currently working on the electrical and heat. He lives across the street so he checked on the house this weekend and determined the water meter was frozen, and he took care of it. Lovely - no worries for us!
Of course, we will buy again someday as it is a great investment if one is smart about it. But in the meantime, renting is amazing!
Ironically, four years later we are glad to be renters again. It is nice to not feel tied down to one spot with a house. We are really taking our time figuring out where we want to live, how much we want to put down and how much we want to borrow. Recently we have been listening to the Dave Ramsey series and he is changing our perspective on our financial priorities. It is crazy how most of us fall into the trap in our early 20's, when we have our first full-time jobs, that we have to buy a house. We feel like everyone else is taking out a huge mortgage and not worrying about the payments they will be making for the next 30 years so why should we give it a second thought? With selling our house and being renters again, we feel we have been given a second chance and we are really enjoying it.
Not only is it liberating to not have a mortgage, but this house we are currently renting is quite old (built in the 40's I think), and there have been quite a few problems. For example, I cannot have the hairdryer on if the kitchen and hallway lights are on or the fuse will blow. Micah cannot print from his computer while I am vacuuming or the fuse will blow. While we were gone last weekend the water meter froze so none of the faucets worked. Most recently, the heater in the back of the house went out and it is currently pretty cold in the house.
Here is a pic of our heater. Most of you have probably never seen anything like this as I know I didn't until we moved here! There is one in the hallway and one in the living room. Not the best for heating the bedrooms!
These are all pretty major problems, but let me tell you, we are not one bit stressed over them as they are not our problem! We can deal with the inconveniences just fine, we just don't want to pay for them and we don't have to :). Luckily, our landlord is very responsive and he is currently working on the electrical and heat. He lives across the street so he checked on the house this weekend and determined the water meter was frozen, and he took care of it. Lovely - no worries for us!
Of course, we will buy again someday as it is a great investment if one is smart about it. But in the meantime, renting is amazing!
Since I am sitting in our rental property with a dishwasher on the fritz, I hear ya! :)
ReplyDeletewhat a perspective to look back not that long ago and see how god has provided for you. that renting business sounds delightful. dave ramsey is so provocative and his ideas really make sense! what a perfect opportunity to make some financial plans, proud of you both for taking it!
ReplyDelete