Joining the Debt Club

It’s official.. we’ve joined the debt club. Yeah, the economic climate makes such a decision really scary. But we’ve chosen that uncertainty over another uncertainty: that we might never be able to afford a house in a nice neighborhood.

Compared with when I moved here in ‘99, house prices are still triple (even with housing dip) while my salary, erm, hasn’t. At least we didn’t have to content with a hot housing market like some of my friends did, when sale prices were routinely 50-100K above list price and people made offers during the open house.

There’s some fixing that needs to be done, and I’ve been coming home from the library with armloads of books on decorating and construction. It’s a far cry from my college days, when my decorating style was strictly “Bottom-of-the-Barrel Thrift Store” and I couldn’t find a foundation on a house if asked. Oh, and I’m supposed to work while learning about a myriad of things like permits, taxes and fees ?!

I do want to reassure those might worry about me: I am not stressed up. I know better than to hold on to material possessions, and I am heartily thankful to God for this chance to give Peter a space to play. For our friends in the area, it’ll be a little while before you get house-warming invitations, but feel free to drop a line and tell me about your own house buying experiences. I’ll actually listen to the details, down to the last shingle!