I promise to post pictures of Silas soon... we had a fun evening...
When our landlord was here a few days ago he talked to us again about buying the house we are renting. If we knew we'd be in the area for longer than 2-3 years we'd be likely to consider it seriously. But since a move is within our 2-3 yr plan, we are hesitant. So now we need to know if he's going to sell the place to someone within 2-3 years, which would mean another move for us.
HOWEVER, our friend Betsy just moved out of the cutest little cottage ever... and the landlords are fabulous.... he's a professor and his wife is English and calls him "love." How fun. WE could even pick out the colors and they would re-paint the rooms. The house is having some essential updates right now (including a bathroom update:)) and would be ready in mid-August. Anyone up for a happy anniversary moving party?
We won't move unless our landlord plans to sell our current place within 2 years. But if he does, we'd rather move now, when we know we have a nice place to go to, than some vague date in the future when the options might not be so cheery. We love our little red house! We've put so much work into making it home-y... Jean (Ken's mom) has spent over a week with us painting it! It was where Ken lived when we were first dating! He "carried me over the threshold." We re-did the bathroom together! I love the kitchen! It would be SAD to go . . . not to mention that the furnace at the potential new place goes thought almost DOUBLE the oil. That is almost unbearable to think about.
Aside from the oil, a slightly higher rent, and a smaller kitchen, it is wonderful. The outside is stucco with ivy growing on it . . . the inside has a lot of cute built-ins . . . the basement has good storage . . .there are lots of places for books . . . lots of windows . . . . lovely yard . . . . lovely gardens . . . no scary steep stairs . . . no landlord in Maine . . . no drippy toilet . . .
Now that KT is all settled . . . you have the pleasure of sharing with Kemily moving drama (which we hope will be no drama at all b/c our landlord will promise not to sell until we move... ha ha ha).
3 comments:
The stucco cottage sounds so cute. You have such good luck finding cute places to live. Our farmhouse in Falls Village used have stucco on the outside. It was gray stucco and wasn't really too "cute". Your mother and I used to play "blind" alot when we were small. She would close her eyes as if she were blind and I would lead her around. I guess I wouldn't be a good one to lead the blind because once when we were playing I led her smack into the stucco house. Banged her face up pretty nastily. Ouch. I was only watching where I was going, not where she was going. Poor little Baby Ann.
As someone who held their first property for one year and flipped it for a tidy profit, and also as someone who loves your house even though I haven't been there... I just have to ask: is the owner offering a good deal? Do you qualify for one of those little/zero down first-time buyer programs? (You can ask Brett for more info.) Has real estate been steadily appreciating in your area? Are there inexpensive improvements you can make that would improve the value of the property? BECAUSE if you can purchase this house with putting very little down and feel like you could probably sell it for at least the purchase price 2-3 years from now... why not buy it? It's better than tossing money at rent for the next 3 years, and when you sell it, you'll likely get some of your money back and can move on up to a cozier house. Never mind the wonderful tax breaks that come with homeownership.
I'm not a financial planner, so don't hate me if my advice leaves you living in a box in downtown Hartford, but don't dismiss Little Red House so quickly!
Good advice from Kara!!! Home investment is always good, especially if you can buy it for a good price and sell it for a profit later. Even if you only hold onto a home for 2-3 years, you can usually make a good return on your investment.
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