Calling all homeowners

[KCwife]

Homeownership is a big deal. You can cut down on your maintenance issues by buying a new house vs. used. You can hire someone to do your yard/pool etc. I think the benefits outweigh the costs. Yes, a townhome is ownership, but you are also going to have issues arise: roof repair/or replacement- who decides and who foots the bill?, etc. I personally wouldn't go the townhouse route.

We spend a lot of time on the upkeep, BUT it is our space. I really enjoy being able to say MINE. Any updates done benefit us in the short AND long term. PLUS, the mortgage intrest deduction is something that you are going to NEED.

I'm not a fan of the townhome / fee for maintenance kind of places. Plus they don't usually include the interior. Just the outside stuff.

Not minimizing the debt-paying-off portion of the first years (first SEVERAL years in our case) out of training, I'm of the thought that most of that kind of stuff can be outsourced. Some of those 'association' fees are CRAZY high, so paying someone to do your general maintenance isn't all that extravagant. Your time committment to maintenance will also vary dramatically by the age of your house. That is the main reason we chose this place - it was only 2 years old.

We pay a kid to mow, a service to trim our shrubs, lay mulch, we paid someone to do some painting for us. I also have a cleaning lady who comes 1 X every 4 weeks. She gets to do the deep clean, wiping moldings, really scrubbing, and the shower scrubbing bubbles & I take it from there. DH likes some Mr. Fix-It stuff - so he's done some of that on his own, too. We both pretty much detest lawn / garden stuff (I want it to look pretty, but I HATE dirt and worms) ... so that is the bulk of the outsourcing.

[houseelf]

We're in training and we went the townhouse method for exactly this reason. I strongly, strongly encourage you to research the association for the available properties. There is a HUGE difference amongst communities.

With this being said, you will still need to invest in your property. Typically, we plan on at least one major renovation/update per year. (Furnace, window replacement, carpet, appliances, etc.). We have hired about 50% of this stuff out because it is not my fortay and DH literally has no time or inclination.

Yard work can be easily outsourced depending on how picky you are. (My college roommate did about 10 lawns a week!). Honestly, if/when I'm in your place I'm going to be more concerned about ensuring my mortgage payment is reasonable so that I can outsource what I need to.

Kelly

I agree. It is extra work. A new house can be a solution re: upkeep but I know a fair number of people who have had issues for the first year or so to sort out with the builder.

I don't think it is too bad but I'm used to it. I think that having someone mow your lawn or help with the yard is a good idea. I like gardening and stuff but hate, hate, hate mowing. We've also enjoyed having fixer-upper houses because we like remodeling in a masochistic sort of way and the sweat equity part. You don't have to go that route and can look for a "move-in ready" house. I don't think you would forgo weekend outings for house maintenance. At least not every weekend.

[SuzySunshine]

Homeownership is so much FUN though! Seriously, its not that bad, we bought a 12 year old home (which is now 14).

DH does all the yard work, I mow once in a blue moon but never run the weed eater. We did our own fertilizing the first year but the yard never got done when it needed to so it looked pretty bad, so this year we hired a fertilizer company and while the yard looked better (at times) I think we'll go back to doing it ourself next year because it was never fail that they'd fertilize and then we'd go into a drought and our yard would look like crap.

We haven't had that much in-home maintenance to deal with. We replaced all the linoleum with tile, it looks great and we love it. I suspect we'll have to replace a few windows before we sell and my dad fixed our sliding glass door when he was here to help with the floors. We've also remodeled (new vanity/counter top/paint) our main bathroom. But most of those have been things we wanted to do, didn't have to.

You mention a no-maintenance townhome, have you thought about a no-maintenance villa? My IL's just bought/built one in KC. The association takes care of the yard, clears snow, and basic exterior maintenance. The house is not small, just under 3,000 sf. They are definitly what you put into them, we suspect that my IL's paid in the $400k's but we know several others in their neighborhood went in the $600k's so they can run the gamut based on what you want in one.

Good luck - we were so excited to buy our first house that we didn't even consider a townhome. Sometimes I wish we had, but not often. We will never buy a split again though.

Cheri, I remember seeing the pics of your new tile....you guys did an awesome job!

We moved into a new home and haven't had to deal with any upkeep other than cleaning. Older homes do have lots of charm, though.

The yard is another story.... We're on almost 1 1/2 acres and quite a bit of time is spent outside trying to keep up with the yardwork. When I was pregnant and for a short period afterwards, we paid a guy to take care of it for us. Now we're back to doing our own yardwork. DH and I both enjoy yardwork, but with a little one it isn't always easy to get things done. Now that the weather is nice, we just strap DS on our backs and tote him around while we mow or rake or whatever. With all of the work involved, having a yard is still worth it to us. We wanted to have an area for our son to play and for us to hang out with our friends and their kids.

If having your own yard isn't that appealing to you, then a townhome is a nice option. They will probably also shovel snow for you! Homeowner's associations can cause major headaches, though....major politics. And with the amount of money that you'll have to cough up in association dues, you could have hired someone to take care of your own yard.

[DCJenn]

We went the low maintenance homeowner's association way and it has definite advantages for the time-pressed medical family. Our Homeowner's fees are incredibly low and they cover: all exterior maintenance, landscaping (including our 'yard' if we want them to do stuff like mulch and trim trees), security, snow removal, a parking spot (HUGE DEAL in DC), etc. We did get smacked with a Special Assessment to the tune of 21k for a new roof but it's payable over 10 years- and when we sell we have to pay off any balance so it won't hit the new buyers. But it's nice to advertise a new roof, too.

I can't imagine trying to manage the outside of the home plus all the inside stuff on top of training. I'm not a huge gardener though and I find it to adds more stress than remove it. I'm perfectly happy with a maintenance free yard.

Now that we're done with training (hahahaha- like the hours are any better...) we have a contract on a house with a yard. and I fully expect to hire a landscaper to make it as maintenance free as possible.

My thought was I'd rather spend the few spare hours together doing something fun rather than getting annoyed about having more that I was responsible for while he slept or was at work.

DC law requires that if people put a contract on a condo, the buyer gets three days to review the condo docs and can walk away at any time during those three days. (which by the way, asshat had and didn't have ONE complaint- which is another reason why we got her money- she had two separate option periods and didn't use either of them)

Jenn

[mommax3]

We certainly don't spend much time on the upkeep of our house! It is fairly new, which helps. We hire out the mowing and the fertilization, etc., and we are getting ready to hire someone to paint the parts of our exterior that aren't brick and we also need our screened-in porch re-screened. We can't afford the landscaping that we want yet, so we are going with what was already here. DH got me hedge trimmers for Mother's Day, and I was a woman possessed for a few days after that! I really only need to use them once every 4 to 6 weeks, though, and we could pay someone to do that if we wanted to. We don't have a cleaning lady, although I am toying with the idea of getting someone to do the hard floor areas and the 3.5 baths......the two jobs I can't stand. I do have boys old enough to help, though.

We have owned various houses since med school, (and throughout the babyhood and toddlerhood of our boys) and although no one at Better Homes and Gardens has ever contacted us, I don't think we have done that bad of a job! We haven't done our own lawn since med school, and we have hired out most painting and home repair, unless it is VERY simple. DH doesn't know how to do much, and doesn't have time to do it even if he knew how. We have .7 of an acre now, no trees, and I wouldn't want more land than that because of upkeep.....although the privacy would be nice. If we ever move again, I would love a smaller, wooded lot.

Anyway, it is doable, and it is really nice to have something that is totally your own! Interest rates are still pretty low, aren't they?

Sally

You mention a no-maintenance townhome, have you thought about a no-maintenance villa? My IL's just bought/built one in KC. The association takes care of the yard, clears snow, and basic exterior maintenance. The house is not small, just under 3,000 sf. They are definitly what you put into them, we suspect that my IL's paid in the $400k's but we know several others in their neighborhood went in the $600k's so they can run the gamut based on what you want in one.

cheri -

didn't you say your IL's live over here by me? those villas are NICE. The only qualm I have with it is that it's very rare to see young families in that type of setting. Almost all of the folks that live in the Falcon Ridge Villas are 'empty nesters' or 'never nesters' ... no little kids in those neighborhoods.

I'm sure it varies by area -- just something to consider if looking into the villa-type thing.

[SuzySunshine]

They're not the FR Villas - they are at 143rd St - but they're nice too. We got to walk through some of them before they were sold, yowzers! 8)

ETA: A medical school classmate's IL's live near you - but I think they are on the golf course.

[Sheherezade]

We've owned 2 during training years, rented during fellowship and own now. DH and I always buy old clunkers that need fixing up. Our time spent on the house is high, but we can ignore it when the money dries up. The yard is more difficult for me, because it's hard to ignore if the neighbors are looking at it as much as you are. That seems more like a chore to me than the interior stuff.

I do have to say that having no maintainence in the rental during fellowship was a godsend. We thought we'd hate it, being the homewreckers that we are. On the contrary, we LOVED having the extra time to do other stuff.

I agree that the maintainence free stuff can be a scam though. I'd check it out thoroughly before assuming it would be just like renting.

[fluffhead]

Ours is about 50 years old, and I spend quite a bit of time on indoor and outdoor maintenance/projects/repairs. Not to mention the stuff that's too big or unpleasant for me that I pay somebody else to do.
I'd say there's always something to be done - some things are more pressing than others, so if you're good about it, all your free time WILL be used up on the house, but if you just do the absolutely necessary things, you can still watch TV occasionally.