"We were prepared for renovation hassles, tax and insurance disasters, and even increasing maintenance costs — but we were NOT prepared for this…”Owning a home is often viewed as one of the most important milestones in life. Lurking behind the joy and pride that many new homeowners boast about, however, is another reaaally complicated emotion that's not talked about as much: regret.
Had we purchased a home at the cost our lender said we could 'comfortably afford,' we would've literally gone bankrupt. My advice is to be extraordinarily conservative.""I was a lifelong renter — and expected that to continue — until I inherited my parents' 1907 Victorian home. Hey, presto, instant homeowner! There hadn't been any upkeep on it in 20 years.
"I've been most annoyed with having neighbors that you can't just up and move away from. I bought a country house specifically to avoid HOA authoritarianism dictating how I could live in my own home. It turned out the couple I bought the home from had purchased the lot next door to build on and very specifically created a shared driveway situation.