The Nikki has a blog! She’s waxing verbose about the different aspects of her life (mother, wife, student, friend, etc.) in an attempt to break free of the shackles of academic style writing (among other things). Check out all of the hats she wears here!
Medical appointments abounded last week, I tell you what. Nikki threw her back out, we both got eye exams and ordered new glasses, and I drank a radioactive milkshake and then got my eating tubes x-rayed (these are different than the internet tubes). The after effects of barium are far more strange and uncomfortable than the chalkiness of the drink. I didn’t know that they had live X-ray machines that display live to a TV! It was pretty sweet.
I find myself, as I’m sure many are, worrying about money. As things go, we’ve got a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, so we’re better off than most of the world. We’ve got entertainment, transportation (as long as nothing breaks), and I’m employed.
I’ve started the next sentence two or three times, and I’m just not comfortable airing details. We’re riding the line close enough to worry every month, but not enough to lack an internet connection or have to sell our possessions. Others have it so much harder, but my family is what hits me in my gut.
Buying a house for a family of our size is cheaper monthly, in many cases by quite a bit, than renting. This is currently blowing my mind, and is bringing out a lot of personal demons regarding abandoning my dreams, permanence, and entropy vs. upkeep.
I’ve used my CPAP machine through the night three times in the past week. There is hope!
When comparing own/rent costs, keep in mind that owning imposes many potentially ‘hidden’ costs (insurance, taxes, catastrophic repairs [roof, furnace, foundation, structure]) that are easy to overlook when just considering monthly rent payment vs. monthly mortgage payment.
Renting is one way to keep your monthly outlays (somewhat) stable, while when you own things can be more unpredictable.
It is a good time to buy in the area, though (but it probably will still be a good time to buy in the area for at least few years).
Yup, when calculating the monthly cost, we’re including the property tax estimate and “oh shit” fund.
It seems that we’ve been paying a low rent for what’s out there for as many bedrooms as we need. We haven’t been able to find anything as low as what we’re paying now, and we’re trying to reduce costs. As our landlord wants to move into the house at the end of our current lease, buying seems to be the only available option.
I don’t know if this is big enough (or if the neighborhood is scary), but I noticed this house last night which looked /way/ nicer than the list price would indicate (maybe the pictures are just really good?)
1716 Coleman Ave, Lansing, MI 48910
http://www.lansing-realestate.com/index.php?option=com_cmsrealty&Itemid=66&action=listingview&listingID=44755&cmsrealty=user
I know a good agent who likes to work with first time buyers too, if you need one.
Or wow, this is possibly an error – but you apparently can get a 5 bedroom house near me for only $11,700:
http://vt.realbiz360.com/Listing-844654.html
oh yeah, that one must be an error – it was listed at $117,000 in March so probably just a typo.