The "Joys" of Home Ownership: A Rant

[jujube]

Well, I will admit I pulled the "poor old widow" card on occasion when needed.

My homeowners insurance sent me a notice that I was being cancelled because a tree on city property had a branch that was overlapping my house by less than 12 inches. It was a good 10 feet over the roof so it was in no danger of touching it.

I told them it was a city tree and I couldn't touch it, but noooo.

So I called the city and was told by the "Urban Forester" that I would be put on a waiting list that was currently 6 months long.

So I got all quavery and told them I was a widow (well, i was) and that I was afraid I'd lose the house without insurance.

The limb was gone that next day.

 

[Lizzie00]

Once a month I pour a cup of white vinegar down my drain to help keep anything from growing in there and clogging the drain up.

Vinegar didn’t work for me & someone finally told me to try bleach. And dare i say it: half a cup of diluted bleach every couple of weeks & VOILA no more clogs. Yay!!!!! It was a costly lesson since i had to have the a/c folks out at least several times a year prior to learning about the bleach. I dunno, maybe they saw me coming but heck you don’t know what you don’t know, right!

 

[Jules]

Ripley, maybe you could discuss the problems if either of you became disabled. If it were him, it would be really difficult because you don’t drive. Would he want to care for you where you live since it’s not close to a large community? Install ramps, etc? Discuss what remodelling the house and hiring help to maintain it would cost.

 

[officerripley]

Ripley, maybe you could discuss the problems if either of you became disabled. If it were him, it would be really difficult because you don’t drive. Would he want to care for you where you live since it’s not close to a large community? Install ramps, etc? Discuss what remodelling the house and hiring help to maintain it would cost.

Thanks Jules, but we've talked about all that before and it didn't work. What he says a lot is along the lines of "Look you know I'm on borrowed time since we don't usually even make it into our 70s in my family so you won't have me or this house to put up with for much longer. Just be patient." (He's right about his family, almost none of his relatives have lived past their 60s; lot of cigarette smokers and distruster of doctors.)

One thing I've found out, I'm a member of a large club. I keep hearing more and more about women in my situation; what;s saddest of all are the women whose kids and grandkids live far away and her old husband refuses to move closer because he refuses to leave his beloved house, sigh; I feel really bad for those women.

 

[Muskrat]

I might suggest having a home inspection. These in my area cost several hundred dollars to perform. Ask the inspector to identify current problems and prioritize which ones have to be done. Future problems…such as an aging roof you can deal with later. This gives you a list…and an idea of cost of potential repairs. For those with living partners it gives things to work on now to eliminate a future need. You might find this a good tool…instead of dreading the unknown so much. Also…pick the best real estate company in town that handles rentals and ask the agent who they might suggest for handyman work, plumbing and electrical. Keep these people on your refrigerator. A handyman can do a lot of small repairs.

 

[officerripley]

I might suggest having a home inspection. These in my area cost several hundred dollars to perform. Ask the inspector to identify current problems and prioritize which ones have to be done. Future problems…such as an aging roof you can deal with later. This gives you a list…and an idea of cost of potential repairs. For those with living partners it gives things to work on now to eliminate a future need. You might find this a good tool…instead of dreading the unknown so much. Also…pick the best real estate company in town that handles rentals and ask the agent who they might suggest for handyman work, plumbing and electrical. Keep these people on your refrigerator. A handyman can do a lot of small repairs.

Whenever I bring up talking to a realtor--because I'm so curious about how much we might get for our house--he refuses to even talk to a realtor (keeps saying "okay okay, SOME day we can talk to a realtor but NOT YET"). I'll try the inspector suggestion; a friend who's a licensed general contractor will be coming soon to repair our recent water damage and IIRC, he is (or used to be) an inspector also; even if he's no longer an inspector, I bet he knows of a good one. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Irishdude]

We put X down on our house 15 years ago. It's now worth about one and a half times that.

That's great, but we have spent lots of money on a new kitchen, new water heater, new HVAC over that time. Plus "routine" paint, plumbing, etc. Plus some new appliances. We pay stiff homeowners' association and property tax bills as well.

I wonder where we would be if we had taken the original cash payment for the house, invested it, and rented over the last fifteen years. I think we would be way ahead, but who really knows.

 

[Eupher]

I bought my first house when I was 42 years old and I'm now on No. 6 (one at a time, of course).

My personal viewpoint -- there is no substitute for property ownership. I've rented a few properties over the years, but owning a piece of land with a structure on it can't be equaled by renting somebody else's property.

YMMV.