It’s so funny how totally into getting a mortgage I was while I was renting.
And now that I’m part of a homeownership plan, I see why.
It just feels so much better to be building equity instead of just paying the rent. And I hated paying rent for inferior heating and cooling with loud neighbors. So I was nearly obsessed with saving for a downpayment. But putting money together for a down payment was a real challenge. First, I’m in a public service career that doesn’t pay a great deal of money. Secondly, the more I save toward a house, the more the prices seem to explode. It was maddening because I felt like I was constantly chasing my tail when it came to home ownership. But then I was approached by one of my colleagues and his wife. They were looking to put together a group of people who would buy a big house together. I was definitely interested so we had a meeting with a lawyer to understand how to protect all of our interests. Once that was worked out, we found the perfect house in a big three story home. Each story could be its own living space and we would share a common kitchen. We were able to pool our money for the down payment and the renovations that were needed. Instead of replacing the central air conditioning, we chose to use ductless heat pumps on each floor. This way we all had our own thermostats and could track our energy use when it came to heating and cooling separately. It’s really worked out great and I really do love having a mortgage.