by Mrs. Xennial
From time to time, you’d hear about how renting could be a bliss because it is so much less obligations and responsibilities. It is true, since the maintenance mainly falls under the owner’s expenses and to-do list, and renters could simply sit on their asses waiting for the magic to happen regardless of the cost (unless they are the ones responsible for the intentional damage to the property). Renting could also be a bliss financially, as you are not expected to carve out (or save) a chunk of your savings (be it as part of the emergency fund or set aside on its own). Words cannot express my self-doubt when I heard Bryce Leung and Kristy Shen’s Quit Like A Millionaire, a particular chapter focusing about how home ownership is not worth the investment. I remember I had that audio book with Kristy reading the chapter as loud as my phone allowed, and I could still feel the chill and cold sweat while I was in the shower listening. They weren’t wrong; because if you do the math, it is actually quite a scam to be brutally honest. And depending on where you are located at, this scam could potentially be better or worse (if you calculate the property tax, school district payment, insurance, etc.).
Then I started to reflect on our first year in Washington… that almost full year or horror. As mentioned before, because of the Xennial K-9s and felines, we were really restricted to where we could rent. And because of them, honestly, we were practically down to those sketchy section-8-looking apartments. Okay there is no plural; we had one option. Period. (Side note: nothing against section-8 housing, as it has its place in the society. But that particular setup we stayed in was literally a combination of crazies that is way more than what we would like to handle.) Between crazy neighbors next to, and above us (no, we do not enjoy the 3am squeaking bed and sex noises from above, Norah Jones’ Don’t Know Why I Didn’t Come next to us every afternoon for the 1000th time, OR the threat to check dog poop DNA to locate whose dogs have been pooping on the grass from the landlady), our last renting experience was filled with WTFs and trauma (which was definitely worse when lockdown happened). But, if you are the few lucky ones who have great landlords/landladies who really go above and beyond in caring their properties and their tenants, good for you. If the math also works out for the best, kudos to you as well.
Now that we are in our house, there are few things I do differently than my first home ownership experience. I’m not sure if that all together makes a whole lot of difference; but in my mind, these help with the ownership (at least I feel better):
Clean Your Appliances
Back when we were in Hawaii, one of our worst habits, was not cleaning often enough. Again, it was the “hey we ain’t renting anymore and we get to do whatever we what” mentality that got the best of us. Yet, little did we know, because we lived so close to the ocean, everything rusted away. And I mean, LITERALLY EVERYTHING. We’d notice rust on our stainless steel appliances, tea pots, and even our cars. All the “new” appliances quickly looked like they’ve seen better days, and our busy schedule, time spent on commute, and stress from work were not helping us motivate ourselves to clean on a more regular basis.
When we first relocated to Washington state, there were only a few things I purchased for the apartment (and now the house), including an instant pot and a coffee pot (adding a new electric kettle to the mix now). We are now more selective in what we buy because storage and counter space are limited, and we’ve had a past where we’d have things stored away and rarely used (and thus rusted away even faster). We do have functioning (albeit really old and loud af) appliances, which we would like to eventually replace; but since most of them are functioning well without adding extra power bill, the urge to spend isn’t quite there yet.
However, one thing I do make sure to do more often than I used to, is CLEANING ALL OF THEM on a regular basis. That could mean a daily/weekly/biweekly wipe down (stove top gets wiped clean more often; coffee pot and instant pot’s exterior gets wipe down perhaps biweekly or when mess happens). I’m also added to my routine to dust/wipe the surfaces everywhere, run a clean cycle of the coffee pot, clean the rim of the washer (since hair and dirt traps there), and vacuum the dryer where lint could go astray both front and back once a month. I’d like to think that cleaning helps with keeping the machines function properly (if not, at least it looks good doing its job); but also mentally, it helped me realize that “hey these works just fine; needs a little TLC from time to time; no need replacement aka no need spending money unnecessarily yet.”
ps, Yes, now when we watch HGTV, if anyone says "location, location, location" in a tropical destination, which, in the House Hunter International happens pretty much every other episode, you'd be damn sure that Mr. Xennial and I will be yelling at the TV: "yeah sure, shit rusts away when you're that close to the ocean!"
Clean Your House and Protect It from Wear and Tear
(as much as possible)
Sure, it may seem like a no-brainer; but back then we weren’t very brain-y. From Hawaii to Washington, I’ve become more persistent in cleaning the floors (sweep and mop), dust the surfaces, etc. for the house we currently live in. I do a quick sweep and cleaning on the weekend, and it has become a routine. If any Xennial felines make a mess (e.g. hair ball happens), I try to clean it up as soon as I notice, too, to protect whatever surface that damn hairball landed on. Not only does this help me with a “clean start” feeling of the following week, but also a good way to check everything from time to time (like this morning I decided to run a clean cycle for the coffee pot). I’ve also become a bit more obsessed with adding the felt pad underneath the furniture, too. Even though the flooring is hardwood and previously sealed; there were visible scratches from some pieces of furniture already, and I’d like to prevent it from any further damages.
Part of cleaning is also preventing clutter everywhere. We’ve had a bad habit back in Hawaii where “if it ain’t broken, we’d keep it.” It also wasn’t helpful when we have taken over people’s things when they moved away and/or got divorced. That “I’d use it one day” mentality was not helpful at all. Those clutters would eventually either rust away or gets sticky/dirty if left unused (courtesy of the ocean mist). Over here, sure, we aren’t clutter free. But we are definitely being more active in recycling (putting boxes away for recycle), and cleaning the clutters in the house more often, too.
When we clean, I focus on the interior for the most part; while Mr. Xennial is more the exterior. Hey, cut me some slack; this is only the second house we’ve purchased (third for Mr. Xennial), and we didn’t have to deal with cleaning rain gutter back then. I have to admit, on days even when I’m in a better head space (and energy), I may not get to everything I want to clean on the weekend; but I try to make sure to come back and take care of it eventually. It also gives me a good start for my work week considering I work from home, and a clean space is always a good thing.
Start Your “Emergency Fund” for Housing
Not to say that we expect our houses to be burnt down or burglarized (knock on wood), but many podcasts that I have listened to have suggested setting aside at least 1% of the the value of the house for any potential “hiccups” there could be. That could be as small as “the door hinge needs replacement” to “the roof needs to be replaced.” A small project could cost $5 in hardware and $20 of your sweat equity; a big project could easily be a $5000 job (or more). Even with the property insurance, just the deductible can be hard to spit up if you aren’t prepared for it at all (and insurance doesn’t cover everything). I think this is important for your main residence, but even more important to set aside for your rental properties (if you have any) since… well… you never know what your tenants are capable of doing…
Anyways…
Home ownership may be a blessing for some, as it is part of the “adulting” that many of us wanted to do. I still hear the “white picket fence” on my friend’s wish list when they were looking for a house. Yet, depending on your situation, it could be a blessing or a curse. For our house in Hawaii, it was a blissful curse that we didn’t realize til it was too late, and that’s why we hope to be better this time. Before you jump into the real estate market for one of the biggest purchase of your life, definitely learn more before you drop everything for an adulting expectation. Do your math; learn about the process; and don’t trust everyone when they try to “up your loan amount” and suggest that you look for something beyond what you can afford in a long run. (Don’t know what I meant? Check out my previous post What I Wish We Had Known Before Becoming a Home Owner particularly regarding “house poor.”)
If any other home owners would like to add their tips, feel free to drop a comment below. I’d really appreciate that. 🙂
Xennials on FI/RE 
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