How Buying a Home Changes You
Buying a home tends to change people in more ways than they expect it to. Sure, you already know your savings account is about to get drained for your down payment, but the differences between the “owner” you and “renter” you extend well beyond the size of your bank account.
- You Use New Lingo – You will no longer be having conversations about your landlord complaining about your dog. You won’t be talking about how thin the walls of your apartment are and that your neighbor keeps you up all night. You will start talking about terms like “building equity,” “HOA,” and “return on investment.” Terms you never cared about now mean a great deal to you.
- “Weekend” Has a New Meaning – As a renter, you likely look forward to relaxing, enjoying the outdoors, meeting up with friends, etc. As a homeowner, your idea of fun becomes digging a trench for your decorative fence or breaking in the new carpet cleaner.
- The Future Dictates Decisions – When you are a homeowner decisions tend to get made based on how they affect you in the future. As a renter, you buy a large umbrella for the patio. As an owner, you may still buy that umbrella, but you will also spend hours deciding what tree to plant that will provide the best shade when it matures years from now.
- Talking to the Neighbors is No Longer a Chore – When you rent, you really don’t have to go out of your way to get to know your neighbors. You may live next to them for years and never even learn their name. Why should you? It’s not like you are going to be neighbors well into the future; and if you end up not getting along, you can always move out! As a homeowner, getting to know your neighbors becomes more important. You don’t have to be friends, but you want to know that if your house is on fire someone is at least going to call 9-1-1. These people are going to be living near you for a very long time, so going out of the way to extend a friendly wave when you pass or help your senior neighbor unload their groceries just naturally feels like the right thing to do.
Buying a home will change you on some level. Priorities shift and you can’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment when you look at the surrounding walls, knowing they belong to you!