Living in a house feels liberating after apartment life......

[WackyDan]

Give it ten years.

I have been thinking lately how living in an apartment would feel liberating after living in a house.

Houses are a non-stop shit ton of work if you want to keep it in sale-able condition and not feel permanently tied to it. A nice apartment with a balcony and a door man is tempting.

THIS. As much as I love my workshop(garage) and the house... Ten years in, I'm dead fucking tired of reserving more of my weekends to yard work, maintaining lawn equipment (I take it more seriously than most), maintaining the house...

That magically mowed, raked lawn and the magically maintained trim and flower beds of the apartment all seem so much more attractive to me now.

It just seemed like we could decide what the fuck we wanted to do any weekend we wanted where as now we are tethered to the house one day out of the weekend.

 

[rh71]

You know exactly how I felt after 4 years of my mother in law staying M-F taking care of our twins. I was grateful for her help, but man did I feel liberated.

As for housework, it's a couple hours a week - wife cleans bathrooms and I vacuum or mow during season. And then we take the kids out and do something, no big deal. I would never trade that for apartment life.

 

[Belegost]

Repost... but...

Pros and cons both ways. I've owned several homes. I like the freedom to do what you want with your property, but I'm not a big DIYer. My home is utilitarian, I need a roof over my head and a place to use my home entertainment. A townhome is the best option for me, I don't have to mow, don't have to do upkeep, but I still get a garage directly attached to my kitchen so I don't have to walk down a hallway and take an elevator to bring the groceries in, and I only have neighbors on the side, not above and below.

Around here a popular option is the single patio home - a single family house with garage, but with only a small private area and the rest of the yard is common and maintained by the complex like a townhome.

 

[CPA]

No, but there are two ways of approaching the constant upkeep of a home that you own.

1. You DIY ... For whatever reason. Maybe to save a few bucks, maybe because you can do a better job, or maybe because you don't trust anyone else.

Or you enjoy it and the satisfaction of fixing something yourself.

 

[ponyo]

Give it ten years.

I have been thinking lately how living in an apartment would feel liberating after living in a house.

Houses are a non-stop shit ton of work if you want to keep it in sale-able condition and not feel permanently tied to it. A nice apartment with a balcony and a door man is tempting.

It's been way past ten years for me and it's only gotten better. There's no way I would voluntarily live in an apartment.

Houses are not that much work. You learn pretty quick how to fix most things and now with the internet and Youtube, most repairs and maintenance are piece of cake. The best part of owning a house? Once you pay it off, it's yours. No rent check to write. That feels pretty damn awesome.

 

[nageov3t]

It's been way past ten years for me and it's only gotten better. There's no way I would voluntarily live in an apartment.

Houses are not that much work. You learn pretty quick how to fix most things and now with the internet and Youtube, most repairs and maintenance are piece of cake. The best part of owning a house? Once you pay it off, it's yours. No rent check to write. That feels pretty damn awesome.

not exactly "yours" as you still have to pay property taxes on it to stay there (which at least in NJ, can easily be $10-12,000/year)

different living situations for different people, though! if I had kids, I could definitely feel the housing itch if only to be able to ensure them being able to stay in the same school district.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's been way past ten years for me and it's only gotten better. There's no way I would voluntarily live in an apartment.

Houses are not that much work. You learn pretty quick how to fix most things and now with the internet and Youtube, most repairs and maintenance are piece of cake. The best part of owning a house? Once you pay it off, it's yours. No rent check to write. That feels pretty damn awesome.

I find the DIY aspect is actually the fun part. In an apartment if you want something a certain way you're not allowed to change it, or if something breaks, you're waiting after people. I hate waiting for stuff to be fixed, I just want to fix it myself. Even at work I get so tempted to fix stuff myself, but not really suppose to. Simple things like light bulb changes can take months to get done. If something does require someone more skilled than me because I own the house and I'm the one calling, typically a contractor will come fairly quick. It's not contractors that are slow, it's the land lords/maintenance department.

But guess it depends on the person. I see my home as my castle, and it's where I want to be. Some people just see it as a place to sleep and their real life is work.

 

[ponyo]

not exactly "yours" as you still have to pay property taxes on it to stay there (which at least in NJ, can easily be $10-12,000/year)

different living situations for different people, though! if I had kids, I could definitely feel the housing itch if only to be able to ensure them being able to stay in the same school district.

Yes, you still have to pay property taxes. But I rather pay that than pay rent on ~4,000 sq ft place. It's not like you don't pay property tax when you rent. It's just included in your rent.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Hell, they're a non-stop shit ton of work just to keep it standing in most cases. Yes, I exaggerate a bit, but when you own a house there's ALWAYS something to do. You can't just call the landlord and say, "Hey bitch, fix it."

You can always pay someone to do it for you if you are so inclined. Sometimes I do that if I'm feeling lazy.

 

[BoberFett]

Around here a popular option is the single patio home - a single family house with garage, but with only a small private area and the rest of the yard is common and maintained by the complex like a townhome.

That'd be alright too but around here I think patio homes are almost entirely retirement communities.

 

[BoberFett]

But guess it depends on the person. I see my home as my castle, and it's where I want to be. Some people just see it as a place to sleep and their real life is work.

Or maybe, ya know, they do other stuff like travel, go to concerts, museums, events, and other activities.

But nah, go ahead and get a weaksauce dig in at anybody who doesn't agree with you.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I find the DIY aspect is actually the fun part. In an apartment if you want something a certain way you're not allowed to change it, or if something breaks, you're waiting after people. I hate waiting for stuff to be fixed, I just want to fix it myself. Even at work I get so tempted to fix stuff myself, but not really suppose to. Simple things like light bulb changes can take months to get done. If something does require someone more skilled than me because I own the house and I'm the one calling, typically a contractor will come fairly quick. It's not contractors that are slow, it's the land lords/maintenance department.

But guess it depends on the person. I see my home as my castle, and it's where I want to be. Some people just see it as a place to sleep and their real life is work.

I'd rather save the money and do things I actually enjoy rather than pissing it away on house repairs

 

[Chaotic42]

Yep. I just made the reverse switch and it sucks.

 

[yllus]

I prefer the central location that a condo can provide (at least in my city). I'll take a short commute to work and easy access to the arts and restaurants over a couple extra rooms I won't really use anyways.

Aside from the occasional party that goes late into the night, I haven't run into much in the way of noise issues either. And hell now that I'm in my thirties I don't really want to rage late into the night anyways.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I'd rather save the money and do things I actually enjoy rather than pissing it away on house repairs

Maybe you missed where he said he enjoys doing that stuff

I'm the same way. I (generally) enjoy fixing stuff up and making it how I want. Does it cost a lot? Yes, it can. But it is like another hobby. I rented for 3 years and dreamed of having my own place almost the entire time. Now I do

Somehow though I don't think you are saving the money in the long run as rent for the same size place is always going to be more than a mortgage (usually even with repairs). Then, in the end after 15+ years you have some real estate to show for the hundred thousand bucks you've paid. With rent you have... nothing.

That said, home ownership is definitely not for everyone.

 

[Jeff7]

No way. You never have to worry about how loud you walk on the second floor of your house.

Until you don't live alone.

My parents' house had crap floors that creaked everywhere. While in the basement, you could hear one of the cats walking around on the first floor.

Loud walking was not permitted.

Or you enjoy it and the satisfaction of fixing something yourself.

The satisfaction can diminish quickly for the marked ones. Machines and processes at work need to be fixed. Dad's computer needs to be fixed (spyware/toolbars). Another computer needs to be fixed (bad sectors).

Too much crap is broken or wants attention.


Having a house just might not be for everyone.

 

[Jeff7]

..

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Liberating? Today I've got a plumbing company coming out to give me a quote on replacing my water entrance pipe that apparent sprang a leak back in November. It is losing ~4K gallons/month. I expect it to cost me $1.5-2K. That ain't liberating to me.

At least the leak is outside and the home theater is working inside.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Personally, I do not want to deal with a leaking roof, electrical rewiring, boiler replacement, leaking pipe, snow shoveling, repointing (for brick homes), painting, violations and general maintenance of a house.

Also, there is the possibility of tenants. Some areas are so expensive, that you need to buy a 2 family home, so that you can rent the 1st or 2nd floor out.

Apartments can indeed be cramped and costly (even if you buy, you are still paying a monthly maintenance fee), but that is the trade off for not having to deal with all the other crap.

It each their own.

And, congratulations! Enjoy your new home.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I love owning a home, but unexpected repair bills really suck, especially since I'm not very handy and don't trust myself except in a few small cases. The yard work also sucks -- I generally enjoy mowing the lawn the first couple of times per year but once July rolls around and it is 90+ degree, it isn't quite as fun.

My wife had a condo before we got married and sometimes I wonder if we should've stayed there instead of buying a home. Yeah, it is smaller (900-1000 sq ft vs 2800 sq ft), but I'd have much more time available due to no lawn mowing, leaf raking, snow shoveling, etc.

 

[z1ggy]

Oh and I wanted to add-

I must have gotten lucky as far as house repair stuff goes. I spent probably less than $500 in the 4 years here on actual repairs & maintenance of my house. I've been paid probably close to $9000 via tax returns on property tax and mortgage interest, so for me... Living in a house has actually saved me quite a bit of money over renting.

With that said, I would deduct a bit of money from that $9000 because I've spent many many hours painting, mowing, landscaping etc on my house that I never would have in an apartment. However, I still feel like the money I earned was worth those minor things I had to do. It was also nice being able to blast music whenever I wanted and paint rooms however I liked.

 

[xeemzor]

I grew up in the suburbs and hated it. It's like living in a ghost town because there are huge swaths of vacant public space.

I moved to the city a few years ago would be hard to go back to a house in the suburbs. Here I have easy access to anything I could ever want. Great restaurants, events, public transportation, etc. Great public schools are really the only reason to move to the suburbs around here. However, since I don't plan on having kids that's not something I really care about.

The Chicago area housing market is also hugely over inflated. People are truly nuts when it comes to real estate and the pricing reflects that. Houses should not go for 4-5x average household income in any reasonable neighborhood. We really didn't learn anything from 2008. Financially it makes way more sense for me to rent, especially at this point in my life.

 

[K1052]

The Chicago area housing market is also hugely over inflated. People are truly nuts when it comes to real estate and the pricing reflects that. Houses should not go for 4-5x average household income in any reasonable neighborhood. We really didn't learn anything from 2008. Financially it makes way more sense for me to rent, especially at this point in my life.

Heh...come to the Bay Area if you want to see over inflated housing. Stuff moves for about four times per square foot what it does in Chicago and the pay sure isn't four times higher.

If you're from the midwest Chicago seems expensive. From the LA/SF/NY/DC/BOS metros...not so much.

 

[purbeast0]

Oh and I wanted to add-

I must have gotten lucky as far as house repair stuff goes. I spent probably less than $500 in the 4 years here on actual repairs & maintenance of my house. I've been paid probably close to $9000 via tax returns on property tax and mortgage interest, so for me... Living in a house has actually saved me quite a bit of money over renting.

With that said, I would deduct a bit of money from that $9000 because I've spent many many hours painting, mowing, landscaping etc on my house that I never would have in an apartment. However, I still feel like the money I earned was worth those minor things I had to do. It was also nice being able to blast music whenever I wanted and paint rooms however I liked.

i'm with you too, i guess i'm lucky so far. i haven't had any repairs to make to our house in the 2.5 years we've owned it (knock on wood). the only terrible thing that happened was last summer when our a/c stopped working on friday night of labor day weekend when it was the hottest weekend in the year.

but it ended up only costing me $50 to get someone to come out and look at it, and it was just a fuse. they could have fixed it for $300 (minimum charge for repairs) or i could do it for $10 in parts at lowes. so yeah ... i spent $10.

 

[xeemzor]

Heh...come to the Bay Area if you want to see over inflated housing. Stuff moves for about four times per square foot what it does in Chicago and the pay sure isn't four times higher.

If you're from the midwest Chicago seems expensive. From the LA/SF/NY/DC/BOS metros...not so much.

True, but all markets are generally over inflated. Not only is housing demand projected to go down in the long term but the preferences of future buyers are also changing. People are moving back into the city and want livable, walk-able neighborhoods. I have a hard time seeing overpriced huge houses in the middle of nowhere maintaining the same level of appeal as they do today.