We are pretty much done with our move from the country house to the subdivision. It is a pretty big life change, but feels like the right thing for this time in our lives and the world we inhabit. I’m sorry about the absence from IdahoLiberty, but I’ve been as busy as a one-armed paper-hanger.
We leave the old farmstead that cost $800 per month in rent PLUS a 30-month average of another $100 we put out of pocket in unreimbursed upgrades that we did because we wanted to PLUS the labor worth even more than the out-of-pocket cash. And it was still an old, dilapidated farmhouse with a stinky well 30 feet from the leach field, sub-adequate wiring, etc. I could go on, but it was HOME, we were surrounded by 80 acres of wheat for neighbors and there were a few stars in the night sky.
The water quality and the landlord’s unwillingness to replace the missing storm windows inspired us to look elsewhere. Ice covering the inside of two plate glass windows with a $300/month heating bill is a bit inspirational.
The confluence of 4.75% interest rates and a short sale of $125,000 on a place once valued at $195,000 got us on the paper processing path. The BIG SELLING POINT was the 5-car garage… Had to be a typo, but no, you could fit 5 cars in this thing… OR my complete wood shop and metal shop along with our two cars. Okay, I think I can stand living in a subdivision, since my tools fit and the shop is sealed from the elements (unlike the see-through, blow-through barn I propped up to keep my tools dry).
A wonderful treat in this change is going from $800 per month rent (plus) to a $788 mortgage that includes taxes and insurance. As a bonus, we had both places for most of December and even get one month rent free before the payments start. The second best part, though, they accepted our offer that ended up requiring a mere $676 out of pocket. Combine that with the return of our rental deposit and we got paid $914 to move into home ownership.
The BEST part is that we are now the owners. We no longer occupy someone else’s house, subject to their willingness for us to occupy it. We have a fixed housing cost on the verge of a hyperinflation of everything else in our lives.
I think our timing is pretty good. Perhaps not perfect, but interest rates cannot stay down here and hyperinflation is likely to run dollar-denominated housing prices up pretty soon. This seems like a good time to get a fixed bank contract on our housing prices. Now if I could only do that for energy and food.