So now I’m (sort of) really thinking about homebuying now. This weekend I passed a couple Open House signs and Kwabena and I stopped. It was exciting just looking, just imagining if we had a single-family home.
I’ve come to realize that it’s not just about more space. Yes, more space would be nice, but not an absolute must. No. I have come to realize that the things I want are things that condo living and townhouse living won’t give us, per se…..
…such as….
A backyard!
Whenever I fantasize about a larger home, it always involves beautiful, private landscaping, with plenty of spaces for the boys to run around. Kwabena is super active, loves to run, and just needs SPACE to do so. Yes, we could easily take him to a park. But how cool would it be to open the back door and just let him run wildly through a fenced backyard, or to play on his own slide….while we made dinner? Or while we sat on the deck, sipping a beer, enjoying sundown?
I also want a good school district. I don’t want Kwabena to attend the schools close to us. I want him to attend a school with more diversity, less poverty, and better opportunities. If we stay in the condo, we will have to send him to private school. If we move to a better school district, we could send him to a great public school. I would rather the latter.
I’ve placed the “bug” in Kwasi’s ear over the last couple days when he’s called from Ghana. It will be important to have him on board, and to sit down and mull over just how much we can truly and reasonably afford. Some people have suggested foregoing retirement and personal savings, as well as other “luxuries” in order to pay for the type of home, in the school district, we want, but it scares me to think of living that way–to me, that just signifies that you truly can’t afford to live in the house AND have all your other expenses. And if that is what it will mean for us, then so be it.
I don’t want to be someone that has this attitude of “but we deserve it!” or “but we want it!” I honestly believe that is how people got themselves into foreclosure, because they bought when they weren’t supposed to….OR…..they bought more than they could afford simply because they thought they could…or because they “sacrificed” other things in order to sink all their disposible income into a home. Then things happened, like job loss, or illness, and that home that needed 2 incomes in order to stay afloat began to sink.
THAT is my fear……of sinking….of winding up with nothing……making bad financial choices, and not allowing my clear reasoning, or gut feelings, to dictate what we should do. It’s a fine line between being reasonable and being afraid. And I do think I have a bit of fear about increasing our expenses, for all those “what ifs” that could destroy us financially.
Anyhow……at least we will give it good consideration based on sound facts instead of F.E.A.R. (false evidence appearing real).
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