I now am the proud owner of.. a mortgage!

[carynb]

Well, it's done. Yay! I've signed the contract, so I'm committed to lots of years of lots and lots of debt. Heh. I've taken one night to celebrate and laugh and feel great and ... still not sleep, dammit!

I'm still kinda nervous about the whole thing, but I think I'm starting to settle down a bit. Hopefully, sometime in the next 10 months, I'll start getting some sleep. *g* For now, it's all about the debates about upgrades - do I need the roughed-in bathroom in the basement? How about the vaulted ceiling in the family room? Should I get the oak staircase, or not? I have to set a budget going in and not spend more than that, but it's gonna be difficult. *g* At $80 a pop for the phone/cable/network outlets, how many do I want? Is the tiled backsplash in the kitchen necessary? How about potlights over the fireplace? Should I run a cold-water pipe to the fridge for a water dispenser, even though I'm not planning on getting a fridge with that in it right now? All these questions! I have to balance between what I want and what are good touches for resale, and not spend more than x. This is NOT going to be easy.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate making decisions? The next 6 months should be fun. *g*

I took my camera with me last night, to get some shots of the lot.

	The empty lot This is where my new home is going to be. As you can see, there's not much there, yet. *g* The sewers, electrical and gas have already been run, though. They should start digging the hole very soon - they're going for building permits for the models going on the lots this week.
	Out my (future) front door Looking to the southeast, out what will be my front door, this is what I see. Those trees are zoned to remain an open woodlot/green space area, with walking trails and such. Should be nice. I was kinda obsessive about looking for a place with green space nearby.
	Other direction Looking out my front door, looking north east. That's a high school being constructed down at the end of the street. You can see a little of the funky streetlights, too.

Comments

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

Imagine it's five years from now: are you kicking yourself because you wish you had the upgrades, or are you short of money and wishing you hadn't splurged?

A second bathroom is a good thing, and it sounds like that would be easier to put in now than later.

The rest of the stuff sounds like it could be put in later if you decide you need it; but how much will it cost vs. how much do you want it?

Re: the fridge: do you drink water/like ice in your drinks? If so, it's a nice feature. But your fridge won't be able to use it. But will your next fridge?

I would do what *you* want, and not care so much what some hypothetical buyer might want. Right now having outlets in all the rooms is important, but by the time you sell, your buyer might have all cordless phones and a wireless network. Or something that hasn't been invented yet.

I think what I would do is list all the upgrades in the order of how important they are to you, and start buying from the top of the list until you run out of money.

[carynb.livejournal.com]

I think what I would do is list all the upgrades in the order of how important they are to you, and start buying from the top of the list until you run out of money.

Best idea, yet. And most logical. I think I'm just so caught up in all the options that I can't think straight. *g* The fireplace is the one thing I truly, truly want. Everything else, I'll just see what I can do. I'm also trying to look at difficulty to do later, if I change my mind, and I think that is what's throwing me off, a little.

I mean, I don't really want a roughed-in bathroom in the basement right now, but doing it later would be an absolute bitch. If I ever get around to finishing it and setting up a media room down there, I'm gonna want it.

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

Difficulty (ie cost) to do later is very important. Do you have a second bathroom? If so, it's less important to have a third one unless you're going to be spending time downstairs. But if you don't, some day your one toilet or shower might break...

And there are some things no one can really advise you on; how *I* feel about an oak staircase is completely irrelevant to how much *you* might want one. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think about how much it matters to you. Is it worth having a larger monthly payment or a longer mortgage? Will you hate the inferior one, knowing what you could have had?