It’s been almost two years of blissful homeownership and I still feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. I seemed to have been under the impression that the hardest part about being a homeowner was becoming a homeowner. It turns out, that was the easiest part.
Here are some things I’ve learned since we moved in:
-
The buck stops at you.
I’m the first to admit that our old landlord was completely useless, shady, and belonged in IRS/code violation jail. But, he was still someone we could call and blame. Now it’s just us. All us. No landlord, no facilities management. Just us.
-
It’s expensive, and It’s more than your mortgage.
When you think of your mortgage, usually taxes and homeowners insurance are all wrapped up in that monthly number. But what’s not accounted for? Gas. Electricity. Garbage. Water. Cable. Internet. Air filters. Leaf and lawn trimming bags.
-
It’s full of surprises.
Surprise you need a new furnace… Now! The furnace will not wait for you to save enough money to purchase it responsibly. And because it’s just cheaper to get the furnace and new air conditioning unit at the same time, why don’t you just tack on a new AC while you’re at it?
-
No, you still can’t blast your favorite tunes.
Just because you are enclosed in a home doesn’t mean that you can listen to loud music. This was a huge disappointment to my dorm and basement apartment living self. I longed for the days to listen to my music as loud as I wanted. Unfortunately, neighbors.
-
Your neighborhood is like the real world. You’ll hate most of them.
I’m just being honest. I run the opposite direction every time I see my neighbors. Why? Because I’m still a horrible person in the comfort of my own home. There’s no Desperate Housewives bond, unfortunately. This may or may not be because one neighbor is a single man and I’ve only actually seen the other neighbor’s wife like once. But still.
-
You age ten years every time someone walks through your yard or speeds down your street.DO THEY NOT SEE THE SPEED LIMIT? There are children on this street!
-
You’re going to LIVE THERE… for like, a long time.
I point this out because when we first bought our home, a four level split sounded fun. Two years in and it’s not that fun to be upstairs in the bedroom and have to go not just downstairs to the main level, or even downstairs to the lower level, but downstairs to the basement and back up again just to get some socks. What happens when I’m old and have bad knees? Or better yet, when Lola is old and has bad knees?
-
Anxiety is real.
Did I close the garage door? What is that car doing parked across the street? Will our house burn down while we’re on vacation? Am I going to be robbed? Questions I think about on a daily basis.
Thankfully through all of this I have a husband who handles just about everything. He’s a rock, and was seemingly made for home ownership. If it weren’t for him my body would be found years from now rotting in the corner of my basement in the same position I sat in the first time it rained and our basement flooded.
xoxo.