Now a few months into home ownership, I feel like I have a lot to reflect upon. To start, let me say that I am not the kind of person that worries about a lot of things. I have built my life around minimizing unnecessary stress while working on the things I want to do. I have been marginally successful at it so far, but owning a home was always a tug of war for me. On one hand, renting seemed like a waste of money, something that could be used to build up an asset. On the other, renting meant I didn’t have to spend every day worrying about maintenance inside or out. If an appliance broke, I called the landlord, or the air conditioning, the lawn, and so on. By buying a house, I would need to keep up on and learn how to properly maintain my newfound property.
And worry I did.
After settlement, I was a wreck. Not normally rattled, I was bombarded with the idea that things needed to be fixed, improved, maintained. I had a hard time working because I would think about painting a room, or having the foundation checked, or…well the list went on. Such uncharacteristic behavior really made me wonder if I had made a huge mistake. Thankfully, after a few weeks, the worry subsided. This was my house and, come what may, I was going to do my best to make it a home. We made a lot of purchases in the first few weeks, but that has slowed down as well. I have a general list of what needs to be done, and we’re going to fix things as they come. It isn’t always perfect, but I’ve settled into home ownership, new responsibilities and all.
So, here are my thoughts, if you are considering buying a home in the near future:
Pros
- Ownership: Despite all of the finance posts you will read about being a slave to your mortgage, buying a home should not be treated as an investment. You are buying a home. A base of operations that allows you to mold the place into your image. As long as you plan properly and only buy a place you know you can readily afford, the financial aspects of purchasing should fall into place.
- Customization: When you rent, you have to get permission to do just about anything. When you own, you can do whatever you want with your new property. This opens up a lot of possibilities if you want to make adjustments, renovate rooms, etc. There’s a certain amount of fun to be derived from such projects, even as the process itself can be stressful.
- Light at the End of the Tunnel: When you have a mortgage, you also set an endpoint. If you rent, you will always need to pay someone for the space you live in. When you are working toward home home ownership, you know that somewhere down the line, you are going to live mortgage free. That is a very liberating thought, and certainly reinforces the idea of financial freedom. If your mortgage payment is modest, you can accelerate the payment of your loan, and the tunnel gets that much shorter.
Cons:
- Worry: Being responsible for your own property comes with a lot of upkeep. You have to mow the lawn, pay taxes on your land, make sure that all of the structural aspects of your home like electrical, plumbing, etc. are in tip top shape. Failure to do so can have serious financial consequences, and that can weigh on anyones mind, especially when you are first starting out.
- Mortgage: Paying a mortgage, simply put, isn’t fun. While you are working toward the end goal of owning your home outright, the bank will be bombarding you with interest in the interim. As far as I am concerned, the sooner you pay it off, the better.
- Other Costs: There is a certain element of randomness to owning a home in terms of the financial costs. Things may break that are completely out of your control, but will deal a significant blow to your bank account. These costs exist no matter how well you maintain your property, so owning adds a variable cost that can be hard to predict.