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House Woes
Nov. 3rd, 2006 10:23 pmI have decided that the entire process of buying a house stinks. It is no fun, has no traits that are even vaguely enjoyable, and has evolved over the past century into a process designed to scare, intimidate, and generally induce misery in the vast and overwhelming majority of people who take part in this horrid ritual.
I thought that school debt was bad, but that was before I ever entertained the thought of spending nearly half a million dollars on one item. Admittedly, it would be one particularly large and enduring item, but it's still also several years' wages, assuming that I didn't eat, drink, or consume any other products over those years.
And even given that ridiculous price, odds are I won't be able to find exactly what I want. No matter what I find, I'll be settling for less than ideal. Either it'll be the perfect house in the wrong place, or it'll be a sorry fixer-upper in something near the neighborhood I want. Of course, there's also the fact that, since everyone has been told that it's a buyers' market, and house prices are plummeting like great big lead bricks, suddenly houses that have been on the market for the better part of a year are getting four offers a day.
I know I shouldn't have fallen in love with one particular house, especially before we actually got our butts in gear enough to make an offer. And I know that the fact that we can't have that house doesn't mean that we'll never find a house that we're happy with. But right now, I'm torn between the desire to give up and dwell in our mediocre, closet-free apartment for the rest of my life and the desire to just sulk my way to the next, nearest open-house and make an offer no matter what, just to get the whole frustrating process over with as soon as possible. If I'm going to settle for a less-than-perfect house, then one less-than-perfect house is as good as any other. I know that's not true, but it's a tempting philosophy.....
I thought that school debt was bad, but that was before I ever entertained the thought of spending nearly half a million dollars on one item. Admittedly, it would be one particularly large and enduring item, but it's still also several years' wages, assuming that I didn't eat, drink, or consume any other products over those years.
And even given that ridiculous price, odds are I won't be able to find exactly what I want. No matter what I find, I'll be settling for less than ideal. Either it'll be the perfect house in the wrong place, or it'll be a sorry fixer-upper in something near the neighborhood I want. Of course, there's also the fact that, since everyone has been told that it's a buyers' market, and house prices are plummeting like great big lead bricks, suddenly houses that have been on the market for the better part of a year are getting four offers a day.
I know I shouldn't have fallen in love with one particular house, especially before we actually got our butts in gear enough to make an offer. And I know that the fact that we can't have that house doesn't mean that we'll never find a house that we're happy with. But right now, I'm torn between the desire to give up and dwell in our mediocre, closet-free apartment for the rest of my life and the desire to just sulk my way to the next, nearest open-house and make an offer no matter what, just to get the whole frustrating process over with as soon as possible. If I'm going to settle for a less-than-perfect house, then one less-than-perfect house is as good as any other. I know that's not true, but it's a tempting philosophy.....
