Owning a House

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They say that for those on the spectrum, sexual relations is the final frontier - but how many of us actually live in a house you can call your own? I spend a lot of time on google maps and I just find it amazing how many homes are in existence in this country, and how some people can slave themselves to death simply just to buy one, yet never see it except to go to bed.

And then I think of myself and all the crap I've been through, uphill battles, and daily struggles I've fought just to beat the odds to be one of those 10%er's who's managed to achieve independence and I can't help but wonder if I'll ever be able to reach that next plateau where I can have a certain degree of financial security and be able to buy house to call my own and do with what ever I wish.

But when I sit and try to think of it, my head just spins around in a circle. Even if I could afford it, that would just be too big and too complex a step for me to take at this point in my life, hell I had to change apartments once already here in wyoming and that experience at the end with the sudden change of living in a new place left me a sobbing mess the first night out.

So for those that do, how did you manage to get over the hurdle I mention?

if it weren't for an inheritance, i'd be homeless. as it is, that plus savings from decades of scrimping and saving and living cheaply, enabled me to afford a tin can out in the woods. yes, it is a relief not to have to pay rent or a monthly note- i can't imagine how much poorer i'd be if i had to do either of those things. i barely squeek by as it is.
the really hard part was to move all my crap from my [late] parents' place where i was a caretaker for decades, to my little abode out in the woods. i never ever want to go through that [the moving process] ever again! luckily, my older brother helped me load a big moving van and drive the thing for me as well, to my new place, then helped me unload it. my things are still mostly where they were haphazardly dumped in the trailer, as i just can't think of where else they should be. moving sucks.

I bought an apartment with my ex-husband, only to lose it when we divorced. I'm planning to buy a house with my new partner, but we both want to wait a few years and make sure our relationship is stable before we do so.

My parents travelled and moved around a lot, so I handle moving relatively well. All I need is a few familiar posessions in order for a new place to feel like home. A good thing too, given I've lived in at least eight different places in the last ten years.

For me, not having the intrusion of landlords and inspections was well worth both the financial cost and extremely stressful process of buying a house.

I know that buying a house is beyond me, as is buying a new car and I am fine with that. I wouldn't be able to keep up or afford the maintenance required. I was listening to a financial expert on an NPR program who said right now was not a good time to buy a house as a way of establishing financial security. I think this is somewhat a uniquely American obsession and I've never totally related to it. I'm American BTW.

Well, I have managed to own my own home, but not managed sexual relations, suggesting home ownership may indeed be easier to achieve than sexual relations.

Well I managed to have sex before I bought a house. But I am glad to have a house which I am slowing paying for with a home loan from the bank. I dream of the day that I pay off the loan and have a place which is 100 % mine !

My wife does not want to let me stick a stake in the gound to indicate how much of the plot I now own, so I can slowly watch the bank's percentage shrink.

I should be able to afford a house soon,

The question is would I want to own one?

I have very little needs in the form of space/creature comforts and the thought of maintenance/yard work seems like such a tremendous hassle.

My wife and I own a house. But I think I was happier living in a small apartment. Far fewer things to have to maintain.

Affording a house let alone a car is something I could never afford. I grew up having to live on such a tight budget. If it weren't for my dad, I think I'd be pretty much homeless or having to live in run down neighborhood. As for college, it's too expensive to pay out of pockets. I think since I was a kid, after listening to both my parents give us a perspective about how our future would be unless we were married, I learned quickly about the value of money. So the idea of a dream home has been nothing more than a dream. In some respects I'm glad our parents raised us with realistic outlooks. I get so sick and tired of parents telling their children they live in the best country (the U.S.) and you can be whatever you want to be. My experieces and observations have been nothing but the opposite.

Last edited by MissConstrue on 21 Jul 2010, 11:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

+1 QFT

one word- PRIVACY. in an apartment/flat/condo, you have very little privacy unless you have double staggered-stud walls separating your unit in six directions, from the other units. very few such apartments or condos are built that way, even in the ultra high-end market. in short, you will hear your neighbor's bathroom and bedroom activities and they will hear yours. people struggle to afford individual houses precisely to get away from such concerns.



if you live in a tin can out in the boonies like i do, you will find very little yard work is required.

I didn't find buying a house too difficult......once I'd got a stable job in the UK public sector. The gov is about to change it, but while I was paying the mortgage I couldn't be fired as long as I stuck pretty well to the rules. I think I'd have felt constantly anxious if the job had been an insecure one like they're all becoming. A regular, guaranteed salary is a wonderful thing even if it's not a very big one.

It was scary finding a house to buy. I didn't like paying out for surveys when I wasn't sure if I would be able to buy. If a couple of deals fall through, it gets quite expensive. But I enjoyed making offers and seeing how it turned out. Some of the vendors can be slow in exchanging contracts - had to move into my current house over Xmas because of the delays. And I'd hate to be in a chain where I had to sell my house as well. I've never sold a house and wouldn't like people coming to take a look. And my idea of acceptable decoration probably wouldn't impress the buyers.

The mortgage wasn't huge, in fact it was about the same as a lot of people pay in rent, and in spite of paying the ripoff interest rates, I always felt that at least the money was getting me closer to real ownership (I don't feel I own a thing if the money that bought it belongs to somebody else). It's great when it's paid off and you can live rent free, but I live in fear of maintenance bills - roof jobs, chimney jobs, repointing, fixing rotting wondow frames, central heating repairs, rewiring etc. Problem is I don't trust the tradesmen to be honest about what really needs doing, so I tend to leave it and just hope nothing goes wrong.

Overall, home ownership suits me best. It feels like it's really my home, not somebody else's who could want to remove me or tell me what colour my door should be, or sue me for damaging their house if I should leave (landlords are a notorious pain in the butt with deposits). But I can see the advantage of renting if you want to feel free to move somewhere else. It's much simpler if you're renting.

The value of the house has gone up quite nicely, so in theory when I'm getting old I could sell it and use the capital to rent a nice place somewhere, confident in the knowledge that I'll die of old age before the capital runs out, but it doesn't seem like a good plan, and I guess as long as you only own one house, the capital appreciation can't be properly realised, apart from the rent free angle.

My hubby & I bought a house last year. Thanks to the fact that home prices fell, we were able to finally qualify. We both own cars as well. The cars we bought used, both are paid, no debt there. However, there's very little chance unless we win a lottery that we'll ever own the house outright. Both of us wanted a house because we have too many sensory issues to share walls with other people.

Just remember one thing though...it's a lesson I think about every day. When you're a home owner, it's really the house that owns you! Meaning, it's in a constant state of needing maintenance. There's always something we need to do whether it's yard work, house work, painting, etc.

Good luck!

It takes two to tango in this world.

A home in an area( in the U.S.) to where you dont have to dodge stray bullets will cost around $100 a square foot and the lot is an extra.

Traditionally ,starter homes these days are 3 bedroom ,1 1/2 bathrooms , and a 1 1/2 car garage ; you are looking at 160,000 +lot for new or 140,000 for older homes.
Say you put 20,000 down , then you're 15 year is 1200 per month on an older house..... ridiculous!
If you go the thirty year mortgage, the payments are more livable ,but the house will cost you almost triple at the end of the term due to the interest-YIKES!
I'd do the thirty and then take your income tax refund at years end , and apply it in a separate check to the principle. and this will knock that 30 into an 18 or 19 year or even less, and with a decent much lower monthly payment -(best of both worlds).

I'd bet with the housing crunch these days , the bank would require a lot more down, and would want to see you with close to 6 figures in your income to qualify for the above scenario....nearly impossible for one person.

(We have 7 years till ownership , but property taxes are always due till death , unless you are 70 and live in Alabama).

I have owned for almost 7 years.

Pros - More privacy. (I have an end unit townhome.) I can paint my home office green. Value has gone up so I should make money when I sell. Mortgage payment is not much higher than rent would be. First-time buyer incentives.

Cons - Maintenance - if you're not "handy," you have to learn to be. I've learned to fix about anything that can go wrong with a toilet. Yard work takes more time than I expected, even with a very small lot. Utilities are higher. Taxes are higher. When I want to move on, I have to find a seller - never know how that will go.

There was a huge learning curve when I decided to buy, and will be again when I sell, but there is plenty of information online. Overall, I think it was worth it.

My husband and I own our house and the cost is about the same as it was to rent. I love owning a home and would rather not have to go back to renting ever again. I don't mind the maintenance and enjoy the task of keeping the place nice. Caring for the lawn and the exterior of the house require very little effort, IMO. The biggest drawback is having to replace something vital if it goes out unexpectedly since there's no landlord or super to call. But I don't mind that one bit.