I didn't enjoy being a homeowner
- Speak Up La
- Jul 26, 2020
- 4 min read
I know this isn’t the most popular opinion – as home ownership is definitely an accomplishment, even an accomplishment I wanted for myself – but after becoming a homeowner, it wasn’t all that I thought it would be.
This is not a dig or to discourage anyone in buying… buying a house definitely helped me in the long run (I will speak to that more later in another blog) but I just did not enjoy it how I thought I would.
I didn’t always feel that way…. I will always remember the day those fresh set of keys were dropped into my hand….this by far marked the biggest accomplishment I had had to date since getting my MBA. I was a homeowner. But boy oh boy… I did not know what I was truly getting myself into.
When I purchased my home, it was somewhat the “thing to do” in that current space I was in. Majority of my friends at this time were buying. Most of us were in the 25ish age range… we had good jobs with a good company in a city where settling down/becoming more adult was the thing. From the friends that had already bought – the common phrases were like “you are wasting money renting” - “you shouldn’t rent if you are going to be here long term” - “you are missing out on a tax write off” etc. etc. etc.….yea yea yea… so after 2-3 years of hearing those comments… I finally bought. At 26, I had found my first home!
When I walked into my home I got “the feeling” that everyone says you get when you get the “one” you are meant to have. It had everything that I wanted…3 bedrooms, 2 bath, a fireplace, finished basement and a HUGE backyard. I was in heaven!! Then ish got real.
I realized quickly I wasn’t as financially ready to be a homeowner as I thought. When I tell you, I had JUST ENOUGH cash to purchase my home… that should have been the first sign to show me I wasn’t ready. But I wanted to be in the “in crowd.” I can admit, and this I feel was more to lack of knowledge than anything, I did not budget adequality. When you become a homeowner, you don’t just have a mortgage payment.
Depending on how you buy (i.e. loan type) you may have to pay a little something more (like $100-$150/month) because you didn’t put down 20%; which is something I had to pay. Now for me I don’t know how to do much outside of the house, so I hired a lawn care service/snow removal, pest control and had an alarm system installed. Those costs alone, I was spending $250 - $750 (snow removal costs can be a beast!) more a month. You also have to factor in the increased utility expenses and miscellaneous runs to Lowes to get lightbulbs, filters, and don’t forget if you want to do some landscaping… flowers, hedges, trees etc. etc. – ish adds up quick!
You Need An Emergency Fund – Suggest $5K (at least) to be safe – Before you purchase.
I had two significant house woes during my time in my home. First was a new roof. It was pretty straight forward – Hail storm wreaked havoc on my roof so had to get a complete replacement. Adjuster comes out, you pay your deductible ($1000+) – everything gets done. The second event – is where I was like, I am over this – the breakdown trifecta.
It was a normal Sunday morning; I had just gotten up to take a shower – however there was no hot water – my water heater went out. My Dad happened to be in town that weekend and we quickly found out too my toilet wasn’t working… then the big one…
I walk into the kitchen to make coffee and I hear ‘squish’…. I thought it was an accident and kept walking into the kitchen… nope…it was real…. Water was coming up from the floor! When the repair technician came out, he thought the ticket was wrong, he was like “I have never seen all three of these things happen at one time.” God knows what he is doing – because if my Dad wasn’t there, I would have had a whole breakdown. I had to spend over $2K that day just to get two of the three items fixed. But then a whole kitchen repair came with another $1K deductible (get why I suggest at least say at least $5K :). It was a long 4 months getting my home back to normal.
This blog is in no way to discourage anyone from being a homeowner. My goal within all of my writing is to help people know more about real outcomes to help them make sound decisions. Even though I didn’t enjoy my homeowner ship life – it was one of the best investments that helped me get out of debt (I will share more later).
Do not get me wrong – I had some amazing memories in my home. I was able to share many of laughs, host amazing events and it, like I said before was and will always be a milestone experience for me.
But something I found – maybe due to some of the repair woes I had (i.e. the kitchen), I started walking into my home every day looking at it as a money pit, not an accomplishment. In 2019, I sold my home, I was extremely sad at first… but now having sold it….I feel 100% lighter. I love the life I have now in my downtown apartment and back to a super happy place.
Will I become a homeowner again in life one day – probably. But now I have a clearer mind on what can happen and what is expected when you are a homeowner. It is not all roses and epic parties when you become a home owner – you also have constant bills, repairs and other challenges that you are solely responsible for. If it is something that is important to you – please do it for you! Embrace it! Just know ish can get real at any moment and try to be as best you can to be prepared with being a homeowner – because a house will throw some interesting curve balls your way!
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