I’ve pondered home ownership plenty of times before. The last time was back in 2004 or so just as the housing bubble was starting to inflate. I knew enough about math even at 23 to know I didn’t like what they were trying to sell me. I wondered then if I’d ever own a home. The money they wanted and were getting from most people was just ridiculous. I know I made the right choice by backing out then.
Anyway, here I am 6 years later. My girlfriend and I have been together for four years and lived together all of that except for maybe the first 3 months. We both have decent jobs, work full time and have managed to pay down some debt. Over the last few months, she’s been really interested in buying a house. My earlier experiences left a bad taste in my mouth and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Stagnation is easy, right?
Last Monday I happened to be driving through a local neighborhood and saw a house for sale that caught my eye. It belonged to my grandparents until my grandma passed away in 98 when I was 17. My grandparents had 5 kids – 3 girls and 2 boys. The house was left to the youngest son, still living at home in his later 30s. He was a nice guy that was very bright but only worked when his addictions would necessitate or allow.
The house was paid for and at that time taxes and insurance amounted to a whole $125 a month. 5 months after my grandma passed she was followed by her oldest son, who was the only one that could ever get the youngest son back on track.
Needless to say, he was losing the place in short order. When my parents got their tax return that year, they paid back up on the house and the family did what they could to get it sold as quickly as possible because that was better than simply losing the home that my grandparents had worked so hard for and taken so much pride in owning. The house was sold for a pittance and divided between the 4 living children and the widow of the oldest son.
The tax records I’ve seen only go back 5 years. It looks like last year the house was foreclosed on and then sold for around $70,000. The current owner bought it to flip and it went on the market 7 months after he bought it. It’s been on the market for a couple months now.
We went to look at the place last Tuesday. The current owner has prettied the place up although it doesn’t appear to have ever gotten into bad shape. The kitchen is where most of the work was done. It has new tile, new cabinets, new counter tops and a new layout. The whole house got new carpet and paint. It sits on about ¼ acre with a decent back yard. The detached garage was much larger than I remembered but I had only ever seen it stuffed to the gills with all my grandpa’s junk. It had some rot repaired, got new siding and doors and was wired for permanent electricity.
The neighbors to the left are the same ones that were there when I was little. They were as much family friends as anything and often my sister and I stayed over there and played while our mom took my grandma to get some groceries or to go to the bank.
I spent a lot of time at this place when I was young. My Gran is the most special person to me I’ve ever lost. Despite how much of the family has died off, nobody ever passed away in this house. That would probably change my feelings about it quite a bit. Other than the difficulties that led to the sale of the house there’s been nothing but good memories made there.
Over the past week we’ve gone back and forth on offers and today we reached an agreement. We sign the contract tomorrow and begin the craziness that is trying to close on a house. If you don’t mind, say a prayer or cross your fingers for us.
