welfy and I stand, I was thinking that I might have to give some consideration to my living situation. Granted, I could easily not have any place to live if it came to that; it's not like I'm home very much anyway. I could easily put my stuff into storage until next year when I was ready to buy a place. I've come to like Frankfort... a LOT. More than that, I've come to enjoy having a place to come home to. I guess my thinking may have been along the lines of, why move twice?
In short, I fell in love with a house this week. Its location on East Main is peculiar, but also very interesting. The interior of the house is also very interesting, from what I can see through the windows: hardwood floors, a beautiful staircase, fireplace, and French doors. Welf caught wind of my house hunting and asked if there were any good ones and so I had to concede that there was a strong contender. I took her to see and she fell in love with it, too. She asked if I bought it, could she rent a room from me.Welf ended-up going back to the house the next evening with her brother and future sister in-law. Apparently, the lady who is the selling house lives just a few doors down and still had keys to it. She was outside working in her yard and offered to let them inside. LUCKY. So Welf has actually gotten to see the layout of the house and she still thinks it's awesome. I got in touch via the web with the realtor who's listing it to setup an appointment to see it next time I'm home.
This afternoon an agent called me back and I have an appointment at 09:30 on Sunday June 10th, the next weekend I'm home. After talking with Welf about what she saw and seeing photos that her brother took, I'm not counting on finding anything that would be a deal breaker for me. The mortgage payment would be about the same, maybe even less, than what the rent at the duplex is. I may just go for it.
Finally, I'd like to share something that has had me in stitches for days. A couple of nights ago, Welf and I were laying in bed and looking at a Something Awful photoshop thread called The Adult World of Richard Scarry. The entire thread was a hoot, but this one in particular makes me giggle every time I think about it.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
THREE PERCENT. I think I could scrape together two or three grand for a down payment right now if it was necessary. It'd wreck my goal for the year of frugality, but it'd be an investment and get me out of throwing away money on rent every month.
best of luck
I wanna buy a house so bad. I just haven't decided where. Portland or Chicago. I am kinda sick of winter though.
Good luck! And you have a great weekend, too Soopa!
:^)
And the mortgage might be cheaper than your rent? That's crazy talk!
I can think of three houses I missed out on. Two of them because I thought I wasn't ready. The third one was under contract by the time I decided to look at it. I'm sure all three homes have owners who are very happy with their properties.
The first one was many years ago and I'm sure the property is now worth five times as much, and it was in a fantastic and historic neighborhood. The second has doubled in value, and we had friends next door with whom we have now completely lost contact due to lack of proximity. The third is just around the corner, so I pass it frequently and regret that I never even looked inside. Fortunately, we are very content with the house we bought, but I'm sure I'd be considerably richer if I'd bought one of those earlier ones!
Buy that house, look after it, and it will be a real home for you.
This one won't have as much potential for increasing greatly in value due to its location downtown and peculiar lot. But it certainly won't lose its value. It sits in a very small neighborhood of WWII era homes, maybe no more than a couple of blocks total, between two historical/tourist sites in town: the city cemetary at one end and the military museum at the other.
I miss the house I lived in after I broke up with the previous boyfriend, though. I spent a year working on that place, and what was there was already quite lovely. All I did was remove a wall or two that had been put in by the previous owners and slap some different paint on the walls.
If I ever have the chance to own my own place, just on my own...I am GLADLY taking it.
It's funny because I was talking to my friend yesterday who lives in the middle of Manhattan, and she and her husband were thinking about buying something there - they had about $300,000 and so could probably afford like a 1-bedroom 4th floor walkup, right? Or a teensy townhouse in Queens. And of course, I've got my 900 sq. ft. house that I bought for $300,000. My mortgage is a bit higher than my old rent, for sure.
Long story short, we were laughing because I'm one of the few friends she can talk to who gets it - the insane prices in some parts of the country. Lots of our friends and family live in North Carolina, and 300K buys you a heckuvalotta house down there, I tell you.
Houses!
300 grand in a place like Kentucky will get you a 4-5 bedroom mansion and several acres. There was a house that Welf and I fell in love with last year that was, like $320,000.. HUGE, two story brick home just outside Frankfort.
And being stuck in a hotel with 2 kids I'm thanking you for the link. Now, I have something to look at to amuse me for awhile. Thank you! ;) I hope they don't notice what I'm doing....