Thursday, June 29, 2006

House Hunting


Here's our house. It's the first house we ever bought - built in 1909. Notice the Snoopy flag on the front porch. And BTW, that front porch is awesome for sitting and reading.

Unfortunately, it's time to let it go. We've outgrown it and we'd like to move to a better neighborhood.

Since the two stepsons have gone to stay with their mom in Kentucky for a month, hubby and I are going to be fixing up the house to put it on the market. We're installing new carpet in the living room, paint a bunch of other rooms, fix the nice goudges in the basement wall from moving furniture up and down the stairs, and paint some more.

I'm strangely looking forward to it.

But I'm not looking forward to moving again. I left a ton of stuff at hubby's house since I only took the "necessities" (which included nearly all of my books, minus a few shelves). If our marriage works out, then I'll be moving all of my stuff out of my apartment, too. And if it doesn't work out, well, I really want to find a house or a townhouse. I'm already sick of apartment living.
I've been searching for houses today and am rather frustrated. The housing market is not good right now - lots of property for sale and no one is buying. But that's not the bad thing - lots of these houses are WAY overpriced. Then there's the neighborhoods to take into consideration, the big back yard for the dogs, proximity to schools, work, etc., etc.

In a way, I almost would rather rent - if I could find a nice place that didn't charge me an exorbitant amount. But there is something to be said for owning your own home and not paying someone else to live.

What do you think? Hands down on owning a house or would you rather rent and let someone else take care of the upkeep?

12 comments:

  1. Renting is a tax drain. While its nice to let someone do the upkeep, houses are nice tax deductions and you are actually putting money into something which can pay you back with its equity.

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  2. We have always rented our houses because we move so often. But if you are planning on staying in one spot then go ahead and rent, no worries about appliances, water tanks etc. As renters though I take it upon myself to look after the place we are staying in, its my home while we are there. Sucks not being able to paint or anything though. Whatever you do, please get an appraiser to check out your home before you buy it, you don't want to find out 5 years down the road that there is an unlimited supply of mold growing in there. We have one more move and then I am buying my house, we will never have to move again(laughing like a maniac and signing off)....

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  3. I bought my own house four years ago when it became apparent my rent was going to be as high as a mortgage and I wanted to be paying into equity instead of throwing the money into someone else's pocket. In the end, its more expensive because all the upkeep and repairs are my own, but I like the idea that I'm not dependent on a landlord's whims and rules. Although there are days when I want to sell it all and just hit the road. easier to do when you rent.

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  4. Anonymous7:54 AM

    Owning a house is a great investment for your future. Even if you rent out the house and then rent a place temporarily. It's not uncommon to sell, then rent, then see the savings from the sale dwindle bit by bit. If you put it back into real estate you keep the investment and don't have to start all over again.
    However, that's MHO, without knowing all your circumstances.
    The house is really cute btw.

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  5. Aww, I love the house.

    As my over the hill years are approaching, the idea of owning a home is much more appealing, even if it's a condo. I don't know if I'll be able to get a house paid for, but having my parents house paid has made all of the difference budget wise. If we had to pay rent then we wouldn't be able to pay for anything else. That's something to consider, a house that's paid for is easier to live in with a Social Security budget than trying to pay rent each month. Plus, I don't like the idea of paying that much rent for something that's not really mine and someone else has control over. I was watching House Hunters the other day (love that show) and these people were living in a rented home which the owner sold and gave them a month to vacate. I don't like the idea that someone can sell my house from underneath me (and this happens with apartments too).

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  6. Owning all the way. There's something so impermanent about renting. If the landlord decides to sell, you can be out on your a**. When the townhouse we were renting came up for sale years ago, we ended up buying it.

    I hear you totally on house woes! We're still trying to decide what to do until our own can be built.

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  7. Anonymous3:52 PM

    I'm with Tess. I like the idea that no one can move me on but myself. I love your house BTW. The front porch is a dream come true. When you try and sell you should stage it with a comfy chair, a glass of lemonaide and a book

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  8. Anonymous5:04 PM

    wow, your house is too cute. The front porch just begs you to come and sit down and have a nice cool drink!

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  9. Own your house. You can stay as long as you want. You can paint it. You can trash it. It's yours. Just something so very permanent about owning. We've own three houses in twenty-five years. I hope this one is the last.

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  10. Anonymous12:45 PM

    I can so relate. The smartest thing is to own, but before we just bought our house, I had the urge to rent, to avoid being tied down to a mortgage for thirty years (aka forever, since hardly anyone stays in one place for 30 years anymore.)

    Good luck with the decision!

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  11. Anonymous1:17 AM

    Very cool design! Useful information. Go on! » »

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