Maybe it’s because I always loved being a student, but the onset of fall is perennially full of significance for me. The air takes on a luscious crispness, long-neglected sweaters call out to goosebumped arms, Le Creuset pots beckon summer grillers back to the stove, and somehow, some way, every single year, there is a decision to made, one that hangs in the air just like that brand new school year once did. Most folks make resolutions on New Year’s Eve and consider January 1 to be their fresh start. But an academic at heart, my internal calendar is reset with every “school year,” and fall is when I consider the year ahead.
I can backtrack each year and remember my associated Important Fall Decision. This year? Real estate, real estate, real estate. As you might remember from my Day In The Life post, we’ve been Open House junkies for a while now. Let’s put it this way: life would be a heck of a lot easier if real estate in Washington, DC wasn’t so pricey. Because we are unabashed city folks, we’ve accepted the higher prices that come with the urban neighborhoods we love. And we’ve gotten past the self-placed stigma of being in our early 30s and still not being homeowners (mostly). After all, the housing market in the past few years is nothing if not a cautionary tale of why buying isn’t always a great idea (or so we keep reminding ourselves).
But still, the urge to get on with it already, to finally have a Real Home, to be in a spot where we can live for years on end… that’s what keeps us logging onto new listings every week, just in case. The fact that we’ll be moving at year’s end anyway is definitely a factor – who wants to move each year when they could do it once and for all(ish) instead? So this year, my/our/now your Important Fall Decision comes down to this: to buy a place this year that’s smaller than we’d like, and probably not in the exact area we’d like, or to rent a new place for a year, then buy a place that’s better-suited for the long haul in 2012.
Decisions, decisions… tell me, are any of you facing the big Rent v. Buy quandary this year, too? Are any of you gearing up to make some Important Fall Decisions of your own?
And yep, I remember the most important thing: home is what you make of it, and where the heart is. Still, though – I really want it to be here!
I have some very strong opinions about homeownership from the perspective of being there. With that I will say, why own something smaller just for the sake of owning? Especially if one goal is to not move again – with a small place you will want to move and become frustrated. This is compounded by the fact that it won’t be as easy since you will have to sell before you can make those dreams come true. For what it is worth WAIT, save, keep looking and only buy when it is the right place.
Twitter: @spiceandsass
I agree with Anne. I was in a different situation, as we were planning on staying in our condo until we could build on land we have next door to my parents. Then I realized we were not going to be able to build for at least 3-5 years. I began to slowly freak out- you know, the I’m never going to be able to have a baby because we don’t have space freak-out. We can still build, but I found a great house which will keep us happy for 5-7 years. That timeline took the pressure off finding the “perfect” house, but also gave me breathing room. I would wait another year of renting to find your 7 year house- does that make any sense? (probably should have emailed you, opposed to insanely long comment referencing my biological clock).
Twitter: @JenHGann
We have been married for about 2 1/2 years. My husband purchased the home we live in now about 3 years ago. We have remodeled and rearranged until we’re blue in the face. So, we put our house on the market, in hopes of selling it and getting in on the low prices to buy a new home. However, this was not our Plan A. We went back and forth many times between building on some family land, moving into a house that is already paid for by my parents and saving money to build, and buying. We kept our eyes on the listings also, “just in case.” Well, we found a home we really love that we now have a contract on. Even though it’s not in the country or doesn’t have a lot of the things that I initially wanted in a home, we really like it a lot. I work at a non-profit, so the fact that I could have to move and find another job in the future weighed heavily on us when it came to building. So, we flittered back and forth a lot in our decisions. A month ago, I would have never thought that right now we’d have a contract on a house. So life can change in the blink of an eye! Keep an eye on those listings, and you just might find one that isn’t exactly what you had in mind, but will still be perfect for you guys!
.-= Jenny Gann’s most recent blog post: Random Bits Of Info =-.
Twitter: @cydconverse
We ended up going the ‘starter home’ route after first thinking we wanted to hold out until we were ready for ‘the one.’ I don’t regret that decision at all. The freedom to paint and build walls and tear out walls at will is everything I hoped it would be. And more. We’re calling this house our 5 – 8 year solution. Maybe we end up loving it so much we never leave. In our situation, our mortgage ended up less expensive than our rent (it’s really hard to find pet-friendly rentals in Syracuse – NOT a dog friendly city) and I find myself having no regret when the first of the month comes around and the mortgage is paid. It’s not my dream house. Not by far. It’s too young (I really wanted something historic), it’s not in the ideal neighborhood (but we find we love the convenience of being so close to shopping and restaurants even if we’re in the ‘burbs and not in a cute city/village neighborhood like I wanted) and if we cave on our no-kids policy, someday it’s going to be too small. But for now it’s ours and I love belaboring every single paint color decision and thinking about bathroom tile and planting flowers wherever I like. It’s home and we love it. :-)
.-= Cyd’s most recent blog post: Facebook Grey Likes =-.
Twitter: @pjfeinstein
This fall my husband and I are tackling our finances. My goal is come up with a concrete budget. We’ve always been pretty good about our spending, but I want to know where every penny is going.
.-= PJ’s most recent blog post: my love-hate relationship with blogging =-.