The more things change...

The more things change…

My blogs typically focus on forward thinking real estate advice and insight.  This week, I have decided to be more reflective and share some personal thoughts and experiences.

In about a week, my house will become a quieter place.  Both daughters will be in college this fall.  One daughter will be studying abroad, while the other will be a college freshman, leaving just my wife and myself to get to know each other all over again.  It has made me take a step back and look to the past to my own homeownership adventures.

I remember being extremely anxious when deciding to purchase our first home.  We were originally looking for a home closer in to town, only to find a brand new subdivision with decent production homes and killer price points, but a bit further out than we had originally planned.  However, good prices, strong floor plans, lakes and amenities won over the day.  We had just had our first child, so we were interested in the number of young families buying homes, proximity to elementary schools, a third car garage for storage and sufficient bedrooms to keep the family growing.  Being young and upwardly mobile, I was not that concerned with energy efficiency, community control, adequate reserves and HOA fees.  It was all about the needs of today and establishing roots for a new, growing family.

My second home was in a different part of the state.  In this case, there was an existing custom home community that was about 70% sold out.  We bought a vacant lot and proceeded to design our dream home.  I learned from what was missing in my first house and planned it accordingly.  In this case, it was all about the details and finishes.  Ceiling heights, cabinetry, flooring, countertops, that sort of stuff.  I had achieved a degree of professional success, and this was the house where I was going to show it off.  School districts were still important, but, once again, I was not focused on cost of ownership issues as my economic future remained bright.

My current home is an older home in another part of the state.  In this case, it was all about location.  Location to schools (always a concern until college hits), access to downtown, shopping etc.  I refused to be in an inconvenient location for the sake of home value.  Also, I was now comfortable with a home renovation project instead of buying new.  (Professional aside:  For those truly interested in home renovation work please note the following:  Set aside more than you budget.  Plan on it taking longer than you anticipate.  Pray your marriage is strong enough to weather the bumps in the renovation road.)  We have now been in this house long enough to see the kids finish school, live through a series of hurricanes, and have the house prove to us that nothing lasts forever – new plumbing and new roof to name a few (these were in addition to the home renovations). 

We have also lived here long enough to see the community change and mature.  This is actually something that most people don’t give enough consideration to during the purchase process.  It is neither good nor bad.  It just is.  I call it the aging in place of a community.  You can always measure a community’s aging by Halloween.  At first, we would have tons of kids every year.  Then, we noticed that the kids were getting older (no more parents taking them around) and, more recently, that there were fewer children coming by at all.  Hence, the community has gotten older.  It is interesting to see this phenomenon taking place.  The location is still desirable, but with only 5 – 10% of the area changing hands every year, it will take quite some time for the area to turn over to young families again. 

I am not sure what our next home will be.  However, if I were to guess, I would assume that it would be a smaller home.  One with bedrooms for family visits, not for family permanence.  (Please, oh please, let my children be gainfully employed after college!)  One that does not require much of a mortgage so that we will not have to dedicate a sizeable portion of our resources to home affordability.  Energy efficiency will also be important as we cruise into the fixed income years.  Finally, it will probably be one of low maintenance.  Getting on the roof to clean the gutters a couple times per year is getting tiresome.

So, you ask, what is the point of my trip down memory lane.  Well, outside of the nostalgia, there are a few items to consider.  At each home purchase, we planned on living there forever.  As we learned, nothing is forever.  Second, what fit our needs in our early years changed as our tastes and needs have changed over the years.  Third, a home is a living thing.  Treat it right and take care of it and it will take care of you for many years.  Neglect the home and it will bite you in the butt for those items that you have ignored.  Lastly, respect your home as a friend.  Allow your relationship to grow over the years.  You will have good times.  You will have bad times.  But realize that you are tied together and will mature together. 

So, when your home is quiet and you hear the whispers in the night, they are not all the whispers of your own memories.  You may also be hearing the heartbeat of your own home, reminding you that your relationship together has a long way to go.  Remember, it is not the destination, but the journey.  Enjoy the ride.

Until next time…

Keep kicking the dirt!