The Continuing Journey of Homeownership...
Our house -Feb 2009 (Before we went crazy chopping down plants.)
Things we love about owning our first home...
Watching the kids chase each around all the extra space.
The fact that we are investing our money.
We can paint the walls whatever color we want.
Our citrus trees! Lemon, Orange, and Grapefruit.
Great neighbors.
Having a garage.
NOT having a landlord.
STORAGE SPACE!
Painting the kitchen -Feb 2009
Things we've learned since purchasing our home...
The phrase "licensed, bonded, and insured" means a lot more!
Painting is more time consuming than it looks!
If you get out paint, expect the kids to end up with it all over their clean clothes! (Even if they're not helping.)
Which spouse is the BIGGEST perfectionist!
What it means to have a "good" interest rate.
The difference between fixed rate and variable rate mortgages.
To "get quotes", "shop deals", and "negotiate to the lowest possible price" and then tell whoever will listen about the great deal you got!
One of our many bougainvillea plants. This one is by the back gate and was in bad shape from not being watered. Notice it is still hugely over grown! It's healthy and bright green and pink now!
Things we are learning to live with since purchasing our home...
Our abundance of Bougainvillea plants!!! (Want a plant you can't kill? Buy a bougainvillea! Not sure what they look like? Click here.)
The fact that you can't buy everything you want all at once. Improvements are slow and expensive.
Spending too much at Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware.
Someone else's taste in things... paint colors, counter tops, tile design, landscaping... until we can change it to our own tastes!
So... does anyone else have things to add to our list? What did you and your family learn when you bought your first, or second, or third home? Any advice?
Things we love about owning our first home...
Watching the kids chase each around all the extra space.
The fact that we are investing our money.
We can paint the walls whatever color we want.
Our citrus trees! Lemon, Orange, and Grapefruit.
Great neighbors.
Having a garage.
NOT having a landlord.
STORAGE SPACE!
Painting the kitchen -Feb 2009
Things we've learned since purchasing our home...
The phrase "licensed, bonded, and insured" means a lot more!
Painting is more time consuming than it looks!
If you get out paint, expect the kids to end up with it all over their clean clothes! (Even if they're not helping.)
Which spouse is the BIGGEST perfectionist!
What it means to have a "good" interest rate.
The difference between fixed rate and variable rate mortgages.
To "get quotes", "shop deals", and "negotiate to the lowest possible price" and then tell whoever will listen about the great deal you got!
One of our many bougainvillea plants. This one is by the back gate and was in bad shape from not being watered. Notice it is still hugely over grown! It's healthy and bright green and pink now!
Things we are learning to live with since purchasing our home...
Our abundance of Bougainvillea plants!!! (Want a plant you can't kill? Buy a bougainvillea! Not sure what they look like? Click here.)
The fact that you can't buy everything you want all at once. Improvements are slow and expensive.
Spending too much at Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware.
Someone else's taste in things... paint colors, counter tops, tile design, landscaping... until we can change it to our own tastes!
So... does anyone else have things to add to our list? What did you and your family learn when you bought your first, or second, or third home? Any advice?
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