Home Ownership

That’s the attitude I’m trying to have about things. I’m glad to hear ( and not glad too lol ) that someone has felt similar!

We had a similar experience our first house was from 1960 I think. But also in Florida so I things go bad fast.

First day we were there we found an issue with the kitchen and had to gut it to the studs. We didn’t have the money at all and so a friend who is in construction came and helped and I learned so much about home repair.

That job was quoted as 30-40k and my friend and I did it ( really well I might add the kitchen looked great ) for about 3k.

That’s when I realized generally, most of what you’re paying for is labor and knowledge.

Sorry I’m getting long winded here lol - but I had a boss a long time ago that bought his house when was just just starting out - said it was the worst house on the block.

He made it his “hobby” to fix up the house. So his mindset was instead of it being a pain- he was going to have fun learning electrical and plumbing and drywall etc.

Said he has one of the nicest houses and now he goes from room to room updating every year. It’s a good mindset to adopt

Home insurance is a must. We always go extra and buy flood insurance just in case.

Sorry that happened to you but I’m glad it wasn’t worst case scenario

For most Americans, owning a home is the most reliable way to accumulate long-term wealth while also providing a roof over your head.

Yes houses can be expensive to maintain. But you get a great place to live that generally appreciates in value. If you rent, these costs will still be incurred by the owner and will be rolled into your rent. The appreciation of the well-kept buildings and land will go to the landlord.

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Interestingly enough owning this house is my retirement plan. When my kids go off to college I plan on selling it and buying a - bedroom condo somewhere.

Of course this is all if the market doesn’t crash again - so I know there that. But I do try to look at it as an investment for sure

America, in general, has a housing shortage. While the pace of appreciation may moderate; long term appreciation seems a good bet. One thing that makes real estate unique is that even when it depreciates it maintains its utility. By that I mean that you can still live in it even though it has lost value. With most other investments holding a depreciated asset is an inefficient use of capital.

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I own an early 1950’s vintage home. Bought it 47 years ago in 1977. Mortgage rate was 6.5%. Learned a lot from my dad and grandpa and have been able to do a lot of the day to day maintenance myself - leaky faucets, plugged drains etc. Over time we’ve replaced the roof, the furnace and the A/C twice, and installed drain tile. About 15 years ago I had all of the plumbing replaced. I did some plumbing and electrical work my self early on, even rented one of the sewer augers a couple of time. In the mid 80s we put on an addition. At this point in my career I hire people for a lot of the work but feel it is worth it. I used to do all the painting. Two years ago I hired a guy to paint the interior. Five years ago my son who is a building contractor installed vinyl siding so the exterior is good to go. I hire a guy to plow my snow and cut my grass. A number of people I know have moved into town homes - they bitch continually about the HOA. Others have moved into apartments, I’m not ready for that. I’m content with my situation and don’t have any regrets.

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I just need everyone to know since I made this thread my washer also broke, and this morning my toilet started leaking hahahah

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Feel feel to DM me if you want help trouble shooting the toilet

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I appreciate you!!!

These just need replacing every now an then, Not as bad of a job as you think, just wash your hands before touching your Yo-Yos

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I would call a plumber. Although it may be as simple as a broken or worn wax-seal there are also lots of other reasons for a leaking toilet that can be very serious. I would get a professional to diagnose the problem unless you are sure of the cause.

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My wife and I sold our house earlier this year to take a new job. We’re looking at possibly moving to VA or PA in the next year or two, and seeing houses prices and interest rates now makes my heart sink. Even with the equity from our last home, our next mortgage will likely be double what we were paying before.

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Waiting on one now. I’ll keep you updated on this exciting adventure lol

It’s crazy. I had bad credit when we bought our first house and had an awful interest rate. I have good credit now and my rate is worse than it was.

Here’s to hopefully refinancing in the future!

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Hello people of the internet, I do own a house though, underground in Minecraft, but I would love to build one :wink:

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That’s exactly what it is… luckily now a days u have the internet and 90% of the things you can fix by a little bit of troubleshooting. I bought my first house in 2017 and the first 2 years I was a mess. Now I’m 36 and all those worries were just worries nothing ever even happened… most of the time it’s just how us humans operate. Most of the times the things you worry about don’t come true or don’t have a big impact on your life like it does in your head!

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You know it’s amazing you say that.

I was just thinking it’s always the things I’m worried about where nothing happens. And whatever I’m not worried about blows up

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