It costs money to own a house! Duh!

I have owned several condominiums in my life.  I have also rented apartments and condos.  In 2007 I decided to buy a house – a wonderful, 60-year-old rambling ranch in a great little community near Nashville.  I love my house but owning a house is much different than owning a condo.  In a condo I paid a monthly fee to have the grounds and the exterior (roof, exterior paint, driveway) maintained.   I was responsible for anything inside that needed to be fixed as well as hvac, water heater and appliances.  If I had a plumbing issue in my unit – I was responsible.  I was also responsible for the upkeep of the deck and/or patio.   In a house, of course, I am responsible for EVERYTHING. 

I like home ownership because no one tells me what I have to do, how and when.  I have always been that way – I like my freedom.  Maybe that is why I didn’t like being married (?).  Ha!  BUT the flip side of that is that I have to know when it is time to put money into something in order to maintain my investment.  I don’t make enough money to improve my home but it is important that I maintain it to keep its value.   Finding the most cost-effective ways to do that is my goal.

My most recent expenditure is the deck.  It is warped and needs to have some joists and posts replaced in order to restore its integrity and keep it strong.  I had to decide whether or not to spend $1500 to do that OR whether to spend $4000 to totally rebuild it.  I am choosing to maintain for $1500 even though I will probably put money into it each year as older boards need to be replaced.  My logic is that there is still a lot about the existing structure that is strong and stable – it just needs to be reinforced due to settling over time.  Why tear down the entire thing and add perfectly good boards to a junk pile?  My philosophy of rework, reuse and repurpose comes into play here.  I feel like that is just wasteful.  I enjoy finding contractors who also have this philosophy – as long as something is still viable and working and just needs maintenance, then that is the best route.  

Of course, at some point, things get to the point of no longer being cost effective to maintain and it is time to start over.  An example of this is my asphalt driveway.  It is over 20 years old and has been patched, sealed and filled many times but is at the point where it can no longer be patched – it needs a 2” layer of asphalt over it – to the tune of $5500!  Yikes!  The contractor said I could completely tear it out and put in a concrete driveway that would last 60 years for about $10,000+.  Well – no thanks – I don’t plan to be around 60 years from now.  A nice layer of asphalt will last another 20 if I get it sealed every couple of years.  So I am saving up for that expense.  I also don’t like to finance anything and be in debt if I don’t have to.

And so it goes – the balance of spending money – when and how and how much.  On the one hand to totally rebuild my deck I would probably not have to do more than stain and seal every few years for the next 15 years.  But I don’t have $3700 laying around, so, for me, putting the $1500 in the existing deck and then spending a hundred or so every year to continue to maintain it is much more do-able.  Spreading out the money spent works best for me since I don’t make much money and I don’t want to go into debt to have something done. 

I realize that if I rented – I wouldn’t have to deal with any of this – but at this particular time of life, and with the rents in Nashville so incredibly high, owning works best for me.  A one bedroom apartment in the area that is convenient to my work and my family would cost me at least $1200 a month which isn't in my current budget..  I consider my house an investment that someday can be sold and the money used for rent if I am no longer able to care for it and need to move to an apartment or senior community. 

Housing is a huge expense no matter whether you own or rent and there is always something that is going to cost money!  I plan as best I can by saving into an emergency fund and maintaining what I have.  My house is 60 years old and doesn’t have the latest and the greatest like granite countertops, polished and gleaming hardwoods and the newest appliances, but it works for me and is my happy place!

How about you – do you rent or own and how do you handle repair and maintenance?  One of the “cons” of being a single woman who isn’t very strong or handy is repair.  I can do small things like fix a toilet, hammer a nail or two, etc. but not the big stuff.  It would definitely be nice to have a handy man around the house to fix things at no cost.  I do have a great handyman who handles small jobs for me and he is a lifesaver!  That is a resource we all need to have!

Lyn