Due to the home purchase I'm obviously moving out of my rental. Because the place I'm in now is in a better part of town and is a private condo the rental is actually posted with the real estate sites and is often shown by realtors. I arranged with the current landlord to be sure that they only show the rental on appointment, because between my fiance and I someone is always home, and with our large dog (and the fact that we're moving) we want to be able to prepare to show the rental.
Which leads me to my rant. Last weekend on Saturday morning we were out dropping our recycling off at the recycling center, which is a good 6+ miles from the rental, but much closer to our new place. We were on the way home when I got a phone call from the management company that handles the rental for the condo. A realtor wanted to show our condo in an hour. Due to the fact we were already on the way home and the house wasn't in bad condition I agreed, an hour should be enough time to get it ship-shape. We got home and promptly got to work cleaning up the bits that needed work, 30 minutes later the door buzzed, which drove my dog through the roof. We had been planning on having her out of the house at the time they were to arrive to limit disturbances, instead they showed half an hour early. The house was NOT in the best shape, I was fighting the dog to get her out of the way, and it was all a mess.
Fast forward to last night. We received a call yesterday evening requesting a showing this morning "between 11:30 and 12:00". I agreed because we could CERTAINLY have the house ready to show and the dog out of the way with that kind of warning. We got the house cleaned up (no small feat when you're moving, so much clutter) to where there are only a few understandable piles of boxes. The dog was taken out by my fiance to the new house to keep her out of the way during the showing. I stuck around and did some final touching up and to be prepared to let the realtor and whomever in to show the house. It is now 12:40 and NO ONE has showed, my fiance is on his way home with the dog.
When did it become acceptable to show up 30 minutes early for an appointment to view someone's HOME? And when the HELL did it become acceptable to just BLOW OFF a similar appointment? I wasn't looking forward to showing a place I'm trying to move out of to begin with, but with the only 2 experiences I've had so far being so inconsiderate as to NOT keep appointments it makes my discomfort with the thought that much more acute. Whatever happened to common courtesy, the obligation to call someone when plans change, and to be sure to do your best NOT to disrupt someone else's life just because you want to do something? There are lots of situations where people disregard common courtesy, but I feel that none is more RUDE than when you're viewing someone else's HOME. We still live here and are already disrupting our lives to show you the place. PLEASE do not put us out further by blowing off or changing your appointment without warning, it's incredibly inconsiderate. I can't wait until we get moved into our own place and don't have to worry about this shit any longer.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Semi-Personal Less Ranting Post
So this post isn't so much of a rant as a mental spill. I recently purchased a home with an FHA 203K rehab loan. This means that while the house is already mine and I have the keys I will not yet be able to move in for at least another month due to repairs and upgrades being made on the house.
The timing in buying a house might seem strange to some but my thoughts are as follows:
First (and foremost) I've been renting for years, giving my hard-earned money to someone else to pay their mortgage or line their pockets, and now that I'm fairly certain I've found a place I'll want to remain long term it just doesn't make sense (I had been moving frequently from community to community and even state to state over recent years).
Second, while some may argue the case that when my job is not 100% stable I shouldn't be investing in a home ... my counter is this: NO job is EVER 100% stable, no matter what it is something can go wrong. In addition, I will have to come up with the money to pay housing expenses somehow, whether it be rent or a mortgage it has to be paid (especially seeing as I have a child to support), so I may as well be building equity.
Thirdly, the housing market where I live has pretty much hit rock-bottom, mortgage rates are extremely low due to the hard economy, if you can qualify for a mortgage now's the time to get one.
And lastly, the market being as low as it is and the economy relying so excessively on the housing market right now is the PERFECT reason to buy now, I get the recently passed tax break for purchasing a home in the down economy and get the feel good of doing my small bit to help lift the flagging housing market by buying one of the millions of foreclosed homes on the market.
In addition to all of these perfectly viable and arguable reasons for buying now the most important is that I'm reaching the point in my life where I'd like to be able to do my own thing with my own place. I'm sick of white rental walls, give me some COLOR. I want to be able to HANG pictures on my wall and not worry about what the fucking landlord is going to say about the holes. I want to hang a fruit basket from my kitchen ceiling. I want to be able to get the most energy efficient appliances and be truly in control of my own utilities rather than doing my damnedest to lower my utilities despite the leaky windows and 20 year old appliances in the rental I'm in at any given time. And, as stupid as it may sound to some, if my fucking sink breaks I want to be able to dive under the cabinet and FIX it not call someone else and have to wait until they can send someone over.
So I guess this means I'm ready to own a home, and the private back yard will be wonderful for the kid and the dog, they can't get enough run-around time in the commons at a rental. And thus, I dive headfirst into the foray of home ownership in the middle of a period where so many people are losing that privilege, wish me luck.
The timing in buying a house might seem strange to some but my thoughts are as follows:
First (and foremost) I've been renting for years, giving my hard-earned money to someone else to pay their mortgage or line their pockets, and now that I'm fairly certain I've found a place I'll want to remain long term it just doesn't make sense (I had been moving frequently from community to community and even state to state over recent years).
Second, while some may argue the case that when my job is not 100% stable I shouldn't be investing in a home ... my counter is this: NO job is EVER 100% stable, no matter what it is something can go wrong. In addition, I will have to come up with the money to pay housing expenses somehow, whether it be rent or a mortgage it has to be paid (especially seeing as I have a child to support), so I may as well be building equity.
Thirdly, the housing market where I live has pretty much hit rock-bottom, mortgage rates are extremely low due to the hard economy, if you can qualify for a mortgage now's the time to get one.
And lastly, the market being as low as it is and the economy relying so excessively on the housing market right now is the PERFECT reason to buy now, I get the recently passed tax break for purchasing a home in the down economy and get the feel good of doing my small bit to help lift the flagging housing market by buying one of the millions of foreclosed homes on the market.
In addition to all of these perfectly viable and arguable reasons for buying now the most important is that I'm reaching the point in my life where I'd like to be able to do my own thing with my own place. I'm sick of white rental walls, give me some COLOR. I want to be able to HANG pictures on my wall and not worry about what the fucking landlord is going to say about the holes. I want to hang a fruit basket from my kitchen ceiling. I want to be able to get the most energy efficient appliances and be truly in control of my own utilities rather than doing my damnedest to lower my utilities despite the leaky windows and 20 year old appliances in the rental I'm in at any given time. And, as stupid as it may sound to some, if my fucking sink breaks I want to be able to dive under the cabinet and FIX it not call someone else and have to wait until they can send someone over.
So I guess this means I'm ready to own a home, and the private back yard will be wonderful for the kid and the dog, they can't get enough run-around time in the commons at a rental. And thus, I dive headfirst into the foray of home ownership in the middle of a period where so many people are losing that privilege, wish me luck.
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