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• Friday, January 26, 2007 06:51 AM

  Worth the Work

  I bought a 20 year old townhouse in my early thirties. Everyone thought I was crazy because I was alone (ie, no man), and it was a stretch financially for me at first. I could not afford to do much to the house except basic maintenance for the first 2-3 years. And yes, I was continually doubting myself: maybe everyone else was right and I *was* crazy!!

  However, once I settled in, I slowly started fixing things: painting, ripping up carpeting and replacing with tile or laminate, changing out lighting fixtures and all the wall outlets and switches, etc.

  This progressed over 6 years. Room by room, I made changes with the help of my parents and then my boyfriend (who came in the picture 3 years after purchase). Eventually he moved in, and we really started doing the heavy renovating (plumbing, cabinetry, etc). It was hard work, and we had to do it piecemeal because we couldn't afford to do everything at once (like those flippin' tv shows!). It was also frustrating living in disarray for all those years. What we didn't have experience with, we researched or asked others for advice.

  Then 2004 came with its horrendous hurricane season (I live on the east coast of Florida), and we lost half our roof. It could have been alot worse though: we only had the two other bedrooms damaged, and our bedroom and the whole downstairs was livable. So we continued living in the house for the next 2 years while we hired a contractor to re-renovate what we had just finished doing with the insurance money we got.

  Long story short: a contractor and their workers do not care about your house. We had to continually get on their butts to do things right. Luckily we had alot of experience over the years and could spot when they were taking shortcuts. We could have done the work better ourselves, but the insurance regulations penalized any work not done by a contractor by reducing the payment by 20%. So we were stuck.

  My point is: yes, a house is an investment not only financially, but emotionally. But it is so satisfying seeing the accomplishment of your labor. If you can hang in there, have realistic expectations about fixing the place by doing it slowly over the years as you can afford it, and then take the time to enjoy your results as they occur, you *will* be rewarded! The home will be truly your own and much much better than any apartment.

  —karinb Read karinb's other letters
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