Looking for a House
Posted in Me and Mine
Jan. 31, 2008 at 09:59
by BrendaBee
When Lew and I retired to Greensboro it was our decision to rent rather than buy a home. We certainly are not looking to accumulate equity since we planned not to be selling the house until we no longer had need of any shelter but a nursing facility. Also Lew just didn't want the hassle of the upkeep, painting, mowing the lawn and all the other things that home ownership requires of one. When renting you need only make a phone call when something goes wrong or quits on you.We chose Lake Brandt Apartments primarily because of the year round indoor pool. I love and need to swim almost daily to keep the old skeleton well oiled and operating. Without the swimming I feel like the Tin Man! And, the rent seemed comparable to other apartments that didn't have this lovely feature. They also allowed animals and there was no way I was going to give up my Darling Dinah.
I had done some research on renting since other than a short period before our home was built we had never rented. The literature stated that rents usually increase an average of 3 to 4 percent a year. We figured we could well afford that increase and it wasn't all that unreasonable though it was possibly more than the Cost of Living.
We moved into Lake Brandt on October 16, 2004 and have been content and happy to set down roots here. I have put in a flower garden on the slope off our patio that isn't mowed and last winter we had the rooms painted since I truly hate white walls. The rent increased but at a reasonable rate. We were getting comfortable and furnishing and decorating the apartment to suit our wants and needs.
This year the rent went up a whooping $80 per month. We were shocked to say the least. True there were new owners and they were making improvements in the apartments, but they were doing this as people moved out and had done nothing to our apartment. And as far as we knew had no intentions of doing anything but maintenance because I had asked and been told it wasn't likely. So what with the huge hike? We tried to negotiate a reduction but to no avail. It seems ours was the lowest rent in the building and we needed to come in line with the rest. And to top it all off the indoor pool is closed due to the water situation.
So Lew appointed me to look for some place else to live. There are less expensive apartments available but as I see it we would be merely changing one problem for another down the line when the rent again becomes more than we are comfortable with. So I am now looking for a house with fixed rate 30 year mortgage. This way the only thing that will possibly change is the taxes on a yearly basis.
I have done the footwork and secured financing and know exactly what type of loan we can get and for how much and the approximate interest rate. This is a Buyer's Market and the Fed dropped the interest rate another 1/2 point just yesterday so all's looking good where money is concerned.
I have also procured a Realtor and am signed up with the Listing Book. The Listing Book is a neat feature as it gives you information of what is available on the market with daily up dates as new listings appear on line. ( I do love computers! ) You can set your requirements as to price range, bedrooms, bathrooms and area of the city/county so you will see only homes that match your criteria. It is kind of fun and certainly beats all to heck the old way of relying on the Realtor to choose homes to show you and then running yourself ragged and getting the various features of the homes all mixed up in your mind.
I have an appointment to go out to view my first three houses tomorrow. Lew refuses to go with us as he will only look at the final version after I pick it. In October 2004 I never thought I would be setting out house hunting again. And certainly believed I would never again be faced with the packing and unpacking! BB
We
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Feb. 2, 2008 - Untitled Comment
I'm very surprised. Given the criticism you've had of our community, why do you want to put down permanent roots? After all, our government officials are all corrupt. The White people can't "get their act together." Maybe someplace else, you know, like Knoxville or Mobile would suit you better, do you think?Posted by Anonymous
Feb. 2, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Ooops. Sorry. The above comment is from jw.Posted by Anonymous
Feb. 2, 2008 - Untitled Comment
jw, Darlin' I have missed your pissiness. I stated why exactly I love Greensboro and fully intend to stay. I also fully intend to continue to pick at the corrupt government until something is done about it.Now get to hell off my site! I don't bother myself with fools. Brenda Bowers
Posted by BrendaFayBowers
Feb. 2, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Aww! C'mon Brenda! It's a legitimate question. And you accuse ME of pissiness? Your intentions in this community are to "pick," and mine are to attempt to bring people together and heal.And now, for DARING to ask a question, I'm banished. Okay. I'm gone.
But if you do decide Greensboro is too corrupt for you and you decide to move on, give me a call. I've got boxes.
Posted by Anonymous
Feb. 7, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Bubba"Aww! C'mon Brenda! It's a legitimate question. And you accuse ME of pissiness? Your intentions in this community are to "pick," and mine are to attempt to bring people together and heal."
And you had the audacity to say this?
"Given the criticism you've had of our community, why do you want to put down permanent roots?"
Like many others, Brenda's criticism is intended to point out the flaws in what is otherwise a good place to call home.
I think her viewpoint is just a little more attuned to what's happening here than yours, regardless of your tenure or your position.
Did you ever stop to think that your "healing" people just might create more problems than it actually fixes in some cases?
Posted by Bubba
