Home buying: Fantasy vs Reality (what every potential buyer should know)!
If you have fantasies of owning a home, here are the realities:
You're essentially still renting. Your landlord is the bank that holds your mortgage. You pay 'em every month, PLUS interest.
You'll have a balloon payment once a year when your property taxes come due. This can amount to tens of thousands, but nobody prepares you for this expense when ya buy a house.
Many people are 'house poor' because homes need upkeep and maintenance, like having to re-roof, re-plumb or re-fence your property as it deteriorates over the course of time you're living in it. Repairs to a home are costly, even if you're just repainting the exterior or replacing rotted-out window frames.
And then, there's your utilities. Alarm systems to protect you from home invasions, electricity and gas bills, and watering your grounds so your lawns and gardens stay beautiful, adds to curb appeal. If your outside areas are neglected, the home that's sitting on 'em is devalued.
When I was much younger, I had fantasies of owning a home. It meant safety and security to me. I had a few home-owning friends I envied, until I saw how house-poor they were. One repair after another, left 'em nearly broke. They had no spare money for travel, personal purchases or even pet food. By the way, I purchased my first home (the one in which I'm currently residing) at age 63.
I'm not trying to rain on your parade. There are wonderful advantages to 'owning.' 1. You get to write off some stuff on your yearly income tax, especially if you have a home business. 2. You get to do upgrades and changes to your home and surrounding grounds that apartment or condo living seldom (if ever) permits.
The upshot? There's a lot less responsibility on you, if you're renting~ but there's no panacea to all this. A home requires almost constant maintenance, either by YOU or someone you hire to do it for ya. So, try to be happy for now with what you've got, rather than lamenting about what you DON'T yet have.
And while we're on the subject, you'll make far MORE compromises in a relationship with someone else, than you do just hanging with You! Get to work at building a nourishing, friendly, supportive, respectful relationship bond with Yourself.
Appreciate all the little abilities and talents you have, and routinely congratulate yourself for these~ for nobody else will appreciate you nearly as much as you learn to appreciate yourself.