Spent a good chunk of yesterday putting my Cougar to bed for the winter. Plastic on the ground, wrapped up under the cover that I always use since the garage is so dirty. Got the Stabil in the tank, got her up on jack stands, brought the battery back to my apartment to keep it on a tender…
Then came home and successfully navigated the process of agreeing on a price, apparently I’m to become a homeowner finally. Contracts are signed, gonna go meet with the inspector on Wednesday, then it’s all up to the lawyers. Got my interest rate (FHA loan, almost nothing down) locked in at 3.75% today which I’m told is freakin awesome. Oh and the best part? They call it a 3-car garage but I think that’s underestimating it. Has a double bay door and single bay door going to the alley in back, a double bay door goin to the side-drive in front, really tall ceiling, built in shelves on one wall and pegboard on another, and has a heater which I’m told won’t pass village inspection so it probably won’t be there when they come.
I could not feel more lucky right now. Totally looking forward to unwrapping my Cougar and driving her to her new home next month. The stupid $@*% that rents the other half of the garage where she’s parked now didn’t leave her garage door open this time, she OPENED MY DOOR AND LEFT IT THAT WAY. So looking forward to getting out of there and into my exciting new man-cave. Ha!!
Awesome. Home-ownership is great; you get to “do your own thing” as long as you comply with local ordinances and codes. On the other hand, your “Cougar budget” will probably take a hit; how much depends upon what shape the house is in and what you want to do (as opposed to HAVE TO DO) with it. We got a screamin deal on an older, three bedroom former rental house back in 1989 that was perfect… didn’t even feel a squeeze until the third child came along. But it was a former rental, so… new water heater in the first year; furnace and air handler gave out in 1995; had to replace with a heat pump to meet local codes (The old natural gas furnace sat in the heater closet sideways; legal when it was built in 1958, BIG code violation in the 90’s); almost all the plumbing has been replaced, only a 12’ section where it enters the house is original, and I don’t relish ripping down the new elctrical service panel we just put in this time last year to replace it (The old panel was original to the house, same story as the furnace); lots of sheetrock work; and, just for grins and giggles, I now-and-then start cutting into the walls of a room to upgrade the electric - it was all #12 wiring, but no grounds. Same song, third verse! Next year will be a new roof and fresh paint outside.
But it’s a great feeling living under your own (and the banks) roof, even if you’re saving up for new shingles You (or at least I) feel more… “respectable”. And, if you want to rip out that 220V electric outlet behind the stove (because THAT is still natural gas fired) and put in a new outlet on the back patio for a welder, the landlord isn’t going to complain. If he does, just punch yourself in the mouth for being an a-hole.
Back in 2008 our evaluation was three times what we paid in 1989, not bad for 19 years. Of course, by the time 2009 rolled around real estate was in the tank and we were barely above water. By the time 2019 rolls around the mortgage will be paid off early and it will (hopefully) start appreciating again.
My only regret with “This old house” is that I don’t have a garage like yours; only a one-car carport. Hey it was built in the 50’s - how many “average folks” had a “need” for two cars? (Let alone two 1/2-ton pickups and a 38-yr-old Cougar) If I were to re-locate the second freezer and the paint-storage box to the back patio, I could almost push the Cougar in far enough to get the entire trunk area under the roof; but then it would be a PITA to bring anything much wider than a new dishwasher into the side gate to the back yard, since that gate -naturally- enters off the carport.
But, you’re no longer sharing rental garage space with some nimrod that leaves your side wide open so your car can get vandalised and your tools and stuff stolen. If you lived in my neighborhood, you could even wander out your dining room door into the carport with a 12-bore shotgun in your hand to run off whomever is out there making sounds of skull-duggery at 2AM; and even the deputy living next door isn’t gonna complain, unless you let a load of buckshot fly and the BOOM wakes him up. Even then the two biggest gripes he’ll have is
1.) You woke him up.
2.) He’s gonna have easily 2-3 hours of paperwork to fill out for being the first responder to the obvious “Shots Fired” call; especially because he’s County and the incident happened inside the City Limits.
There are plusses and minuses to home ownership; I think the plusses lead by a fair margin. AND you’ve got the makings of a great Man Cave - for which I’m insanely jealous.
And “kitchen” type cabinetry is THE way to go, especially if you look on Craigslist, and find someone doing a remodel…“you come remove them, you can have them”…
You (or at least I) feel more… “respectable”. And, if you want to rip out that 220V electric outlet behind the stove (because THAT is still natural gas fired) and put in a new outlet on the back patio for a welder, the landlord isn’t going to complain. If he does, just punch yourself in the mouth for being an a-hole. 
