It’s so incredibly funny how totally into getting a mortgage I was while I was renting… And now that I’m in the area 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 also hated paying rent for inferior heating and cooling with loud neighbors, but so I was nearly obsessed with saving for a downpayment. But simply putting cash together for a down payment was a real challenge; first, I am in a public service job that does not spend my money a fantastic deal of cash. Secondly, the more I save toward a house, the more the prices seem to explode. It was maddening because I felt as if I was consistently chasing my tail when it came to house ownership. But then my fantastic friend and I were approached by one of my colleagues and his partner, then they were looking to put together a group of people who would buy a big house together. I was easily interested so my fantastic friend and I took another meeting with a lawyer to understand how to protect all of our interests; then once that was worked out, my fantastic friend and I found the perfect house in a big three story home, and each story could be its own residing space and my fantastic friend and I would share a official kitchen. My friend and I were also able to pool our cash for the down payment and the renovations that were needed. Instead of replacing the central air conditioning, my fantastic friend and I chose to use ductless heat pumps on each floor. This way my fantastic friend and I all had our own temperature controls and could track our energy use when it came to heating and cooling separately. It’s really worked out fantastic and I really do love having a mortgage.