This year has been our first real “homeowners” adventure together. Last October when we learned we’d be relocating to Cincinnati only one week after our wedding, our initial list of desirable qualities in a place to call our own included a nice yard, a little seclusion, a basement, ample storage space, a driveway and/or garage that can fit two vehicles and a trailer, a decent amount of square footage, a fair price, a good neighborhood, a home that’s actual building and grounds were well cared for, and a place that’s close enough to the lures of the city, but far enough away for a little country-time peace and quiet. These are all reasonable requests. And we found a great little place that suited our needs, for the most part. We love our home and we’ve had a blast!
However, six months later, we’ve lived and learned and had our whimsical little bubble popped and now we’re a little wiser and we have a few more “must-haves” to add to our list for the next time around. These include: Waterproof (this is generally a good rule of thumb), new (or at least clean and unstained) carpet, insulated (for the love of God, insulated so we don’t roast in the summer and freeze in the winter and blow all our money doing so!), windows and doors with proper sealing and able weather-stripping, large trees that are healthy and do not crack and come crashing into our yard with alarming regularity, up-to-date and safe plumbing and electrical wiring not left over from 1937, a sound foundation that isn’t bowing in and is in no danger of imminent collapse, ample cabinets for food and gear storage in the kitchen, and – if we’re going to be picky – just a twinge closer to work might be nice. To complicate matters, we still want our original set of criteria to apply too. All of that plus a steal of a price and breathtaking views. That’s not too much to ask for, right?
Well, maybe.
Let me be clear, we love our home. We always will. It was our first house together, the place we moved into as newlyweds. It’s charming and lovely and set-back off the road and all ours! It has a fantastic yard with beautiful views, plenty of wildlife to cozy up to, offers privacy and seclusion, is located in a beautiful and safe neighborhood with an ice cream shop within walking distance, and has a full-level basement, personal parking lot, and lots of room for all our stuff. But when we signed the lease, we didn’t know to check that the house is insulated, that the doors and windows seal, that the basement doesn’t leak, that the foundation is sound, and that all the wiring and plumbing is well-kept. Rookie mistakes. It all seems so clear now, but if you’ve never owned a home before, these things aren’t just inherently obvious. We didn’t realize how hilly and uneven the yard is and how much of a pain-in-the-ass it is to mow. We didn’t think too much about the 316 foot driveway and the 2.5 hours of snow shoveling that would surely occur at 6 a.m. on weekday mornings four months out of the year. We didn’t realize we’d have hundreds of dollars worth of electric bills to pay every month from that lack of insulation, that the trees were heavy and old and dying and would fall into our yard come summer, and that we’d guess that foundation wasn’t going to make it past next winter. We didn’t budget to include not only rent, but also insurance, electric, water, internet, trash and more – all of which added hundreds of dollars to the monthly price tag. To be fair, I think Ted knew all of this, but I fell in love with this house and there was no convincing me otherwise. It was, by far, the nicest house we’d toured. Ted likes it too. It would have been a mistake to let it pass us by.
So, as we began to move forward last week to spend the long days of summer and early fall browsing houses, townhouses, and apartments for rent, something occurred to us. Houses are great. Having land is great. All those things on our initial list of qualities are great. But we’re young and we have our whole lives ahead of us to find a house that is everything we want and more. City living, apartment living might not be so bad for a couple of years. When we first got married, I wanted a house. We’re adults, we’re married and it was our first opportunity to have a house, so I was bound and determined we’d rent a house. And you know what? I love living in a house. But when better to live in the city than when you’re young and can handle the stairs up to your 3rd floor flat? It might be nice to live somewhere closer to downtown, where we can bike to work or at least substantially decrease our daily commute. It might be nice to live in an apartment where we’re not responsible for mowing a lawn every week, or hauling away fallen trees, or shoveling snow off a long driveway. It might be nice for a few years to live in a newer place with insulation. It might be nice to stay somewhere smaller and cheaper and build up our savings account in the meanwhile. We have years of home ownership and maintenance and landscaping ahead of us. We don’t need to rush into it all right now (unless the too-perfect-to-pass-up house that meets all our desires and boasts solar and geothermal energy for $100,000 presents itself). I’m not saying we’re rushing full steam ahead toward to a swanky downtown loft, or a townhouse in the suburbs, or a sweet little apartment, or a just-right house for rent in the hills of the tri-state. But we’re keeping our options open.
What tops your list of must-have criteria for your future home?
