A friend has been sending me messages looking for advice on buying a house. I am not really the person for such advice, but I guess he wanted some perspective because he is up in the air as to whether he is going to build a house, get a newer house, or an old house that requires a lot of work. I think in his head he wants an older place, but I don't think he is necessarily the kind of person who is currently able to handle the work involved.
But he could become that person.
Before we bought our place, several people thought we weren't the kinds of people who could manage a house, let alone an old house. Though to be fair, my wife isn't really that person still. However, since I am here, we do okay. Finns seem to have some kind of cultural stigma around house ownership and I think it makes a lot of people scared about owning one. It isn't the cost as much as it is the work involved that many people especially today, can't or don't want to do. We have chosen convenience and owning a house, isn't convenient in Finland.
But after speaking through some loan stuff, I said to him that the biggest challenge he might face isn't actually the work itself as I think he will quite enjoy that learning process, but the fact that it all takes times to get done. An old house is kind of never ready and there are always more things to do. And with money considerations on top, there are a lot of prioritisations and a lot of things left undone around the place, waiting for some distant future. I am not sure he has the kind of personality he can let things slide for months, or years.
If he does develop that (or have it hidden away all these years), I reckon he will quite enjoy getting his hands dirty, even though it scares him. He is the kind of person who still hasn't changed his own tyres, despite cars needing to do it twice a year here. However, once hie is in a house, he will be forced to do a lot of new things.
Is that the kind of life he wants though?
The thing is, that despite me being confident he could learn, he tends to stress a lot and put a lot of pressure on himself when things don't go right. Old houses are filled with drama naturally, so so someone who panics a bit might not really enjoy all the compromises - another thing he isn't a big fan of.
I think at times we set ourselves up for failures with the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves. We want to be "the kind of person who" does something, but we tend not consider if we can be or are willing to change into that kind of person. I think my friend for instance can see himself raising his family in a house in a cool old suburb, where they play in the garden. And while I can imagine that outcome, I am not sure he can see himself actually doing the work to achieve that scene. Perhaps it is better to take a step back and see if our story, has potential in reality.
Otherwise, we are building our houses from sticks.
At the moment, he doesn't have to rush as his apartment has only just gone on the market, and because of the kind of place it is, it might take some time. Like many apartments in specific areas, they are all kind of the same, so there is very little to differentiate his from any other around it. Why buy one when the other is a bit cheaper? But what an apartment offers is a lot of convenience, less maintenance, and snow work taken care of in the winter. Is he ready to give that up?
I don't know, but at least he is reaching out to people and seeing what kind of experiences they have with it. My own experience is not altogether typical though, since I had a stroke soon after buying the house and while we were deep in the midst of renovating. However, while untypical, it is also typical that when renovating there are going to be unexpected, unplanned, and unbudgeted surprises that arise that can fundamentally change what is possible and the overall experience.
For some, this is the excitement of it, for others, the fear.
There is no big bad wolf trying to blow the house down.
So what is there to be afraid of?
Taraz
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Not sure how it is in Finland, but in USA a brand new house means that you don't have to do anything for at least five years. You don't have to, but with the house ownership you start feeling like an owner and want to improve the place. For example we bought our home in 2018 and it had one year warranty, so anything breaks and they fix it no questions asked.
But we wanted AC and not just AC, but the most quiet one on the market, which meant throwing away a brand new heater that was less than one year old and put in a new heater and AC (AC was not an option on our new home). So that is $15K+ right there in 2019. Then I wanted to make the garage look nice, so I used special texture to texture the walls and paint them, then bought some cupboards in red from Costco for $1,000 so that had to be put in and required some more supplies like 2x4 and large bolts. Then I wanted tiled floor for the garage from Costco that is another $800+ and more labor from me. Then I wanted to improve landscaping, then I decided that 10'x10 patio is just to small for anything so I doubled it in size another $1,000 for materials and my labor. And this is how the new home goes. Old houses need a lot of constant maintenance and if he never owned a home I would suggest starting with a brand new pre-built home. Building your own house is usually more expensive and you get tempted into all kinds of custom stuff that costs a fortune :)
Same here, if not longer. Also, old houses are sold with some kind of guarantee on structure too, if it is in the contract. it can be up to ten years after sale on some things.
Even new homes need things done, but far less.
The trouble he is having here with a new build, is actually getting land. Very little available and expensive. Many have to buy an existing, demolish and rebuild. It is pretty silly considering how relatively large the country is, and how small the population.
Yeah I'd be terrible at doing work on it if it needed it.
Read recently that coin base offers mortgage loans on your bitcoin. Not that I have any, but, always wondered if at some point I could get to a comfortable hive amount where one could use hive to pay off a mortgage.
Then again not sure if that amount is reachable/realistic atm, especially not if you'd have to rely on author rewards as we know how that can go. :D
It would be great (if Hive price was stable and up enough) to be able to pay some of the mortgage with it!
Feels like a pipedream at this point in time, especially when you start thinking about the tax toll as well if you were to start doing that. :D
This is weird. Before we moved to this house we lived in apartment. I am way happier living in a house and would not want to live in apartment ever again. Probably the biggest problem with moving to a house was that I could not find my Witcher books for a while.
One time in Hive one user said that I am promoting myself and my art too much. But I believe that if I want to succeed at something I am probably not promiting it enough. That I need to care even less about what others may think. Be bold and willing to climb over others' heads. For intance in facebook I saw a post from mayor of the city asking artists to come to come this friday and show their ideas. I know this is an opportunity. I don't do street art but maybe they could find a street artist who could redo one of my pieces on some building. So a more bold person would most likely come for sure. But I still am not sure if I should come.
I think most are, but I also think a lot of people here have grown up in apartments only, so they end up being scared of houses in some way :)
I think being bold is a key to a lot of success factors. At least for me, I haven't been very bold. In many cultures, they aim to cut down the tall poppies, but I reckon that we shouldn't fear judgement.
I think the biggest challenge with an old house is that there will always be something waiting to be fixed. It may be trouble at first; but later, learning new skills and seeing the results of your own work can be satisfying ;)
This is the best part of it at least :)
I can't stand home renovations. They take up a huge amount of time. In that time, you could read a ton of books and watch plenty of videos featuring interesting people.
Consuming the work of others instead of creating something yourself though :)
Nothing under the moon lasts forever—except for the one thing that defines our civilization: the accumulated information about this world.
Buying an old house involves dedication, time, and hard work; sometimes I think about buying a plot of land and doing the work little by little, but people tell me I’m better off just waiting and buying a finished house. It’s like moving—there’s always something missing, and it’s not just about paying the deposit.
If you aren't the kind of person willing to get dirty for months and years, a new house is okay too :) I have some friends (women) who love being in old houses and working on them.
An old house requires a lot of expense, energy, time, dedication, and care, in addition to money, which over time can be more than having a new house. If the person isn't ready for that whole process, it would be best to look for another style of house.😇
A caravan :D
I'd prefer that he gets a new house.
Unless he's ready for the stress that comes with an old house.
Sometimes the hardest part is not the work itself but being patient enough to learn and deal with the problems that come along the way. I believe people can surprise themselves when they are willing to learn and keep going.
As an artisan who has all the time, living in an old house won't mean stress to him because he is always ready to fix up. But at times, the mental stress too become unbearable. A new house is a peace of mind to behold but in all, personal decisions matters a lots.
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