Wednesday, July 16, 2008

WFMW


What works for me today? Living with no mortgage! Sound impossible? Well, for the average American it is. However, we've found a smallish house with a smallish yard in a smallish town. And if we'd combine our assets we could pay for it in cash. No mortgage. Why is this house so affordable you may ask? Well, it's got some issues. For starters, it's got REALLY bad decorating. The living room is stark white with aqua painted quarter round on every edge of every wall, floor and ceiling as well as around the windows. And it's got a lot of windows. The carpet is in horrible shape and there's a 1x3 spot on the dining room floor where they might have started to stain it but gave up. Weird. The dining room has wallpaper boarder with neked baby angels on it. The entry to the basement is in the bathroom. The room that would be Avery's is yellow. REALLY REALLY yellow. And the kitchen? It is huge. New cabinets, flooring in good shape, nice wainscoating, a sunny window. And, um, a "skylight". That is of course to say a leaky roof. :) So, a new roof would be top on our list of repairs.

All that said, if we had no mortgage payment we could TOTALLY swing this deal! In doing so, we could save a ton of money over the next couple of years, sell, make more money and buy a nice house with a big yard to raise the kidlets in! So, while it isn't possible for most Americans, living with no mortgage works for me!

If you'd like to find a post of something that would really work for you try Shannon's blog. There's bound to be something there that would work for you!

(And if this post sounds totally disjointed it is due to the fact that Sesame Street is on in the background and they're talking about loud, louder and loudest. It's pretty hard to think straight with Maria, Oscar and Slimy shouting and playing trumpets.)

***UPDATE*** Well, it turns out that living without a mortgage would have worked for us, but it seems that it's hard to buy a house that someone else has already bought. Back to the drawing board.

5 comments:

Marlene McGarrity said...

I'm sorry that someone else got to the house first. I know what that feels like. But that just means there is an even better house out there for you and your family.

I wish we could buy a smallish house for a reasonable price, but even the small houses are $595,000 here in Brooklyn, NY. So we are looking for a medium size house where we can rent out the basement apartment. Hopefully that will help us.

Brooke said...

i love that you were willing to "settle" for this house to have no mortgage. personally i think anyone that doesn't have a house payment must be loaded - and it sounds like you are. loaded with excellent money management skills.

sorry this particular one didn't work out for you. house hunting is very frustrating. good luck!

Anonymous said...

Ah! Taken already?! God's in control. He'll find you another. This house adventure sure is something.

I'll be calling you soon about cooking. My sister's in town this week, so it's a little crazy.

Monica said...

I dream of the day that we actually own our home. I'll pray that God will lead you to the perfect house for you that you can own outright. Can't wait to see what He does.

Lori - Queen of Dirty Laundry said...

I would love to the opportunity to live without a mortgage and to redecorate and rehav a house that definitely needs it.

I pray that you guys find the place God has for you!