House Hunt Lament

We drove around Rockford, Delano, and Hanover today, checking out neighborhoods. The homes for sale inventory in these areas is low. At the same time, we are seeing homes stay on the market for longer periods of time. Weeks now instead of the days we saw over the past two and a half years in this area. I've been watching the market since about January 2021 when Megan was shopping for a home in Rockford.

People think home prices are cheaper here than in Woodland. They are not, necessarily. Homeowner’s insurance and real estate taxes are more in this area. In Woodland for our home, we paid $500 a year for homeowners; here it is $2500 and up for the same valued home. Due to the weather, primarily hailstorms in Rockford, roofs are replaced in less than 15 years. A roofer told me that most places won’t install a roof guaranteed for more than 15 years. A twelve-year-old roof is considered a big risk when buying a home. New roof prices start at $20,000.00.

I have concluded that until I have the cash in hand for a house, I am going to stop looking at the housing market for what I think I want. Nothing has spoken to me except one house and that ended up being a poor choice for us. I love the house BUT it is heated with propane. Propane is extremely costly. I also have it in my mind that it is dangerous. As a child we lived in a home with a propane stove, and it blew up one night. I remember everything being covered in soot for days as we tried to clean up from it. I am sure technology is better than in the 1960’s. Still, the cost is not one I want us to take on.

I loved driving around and checking out neighborhoods though. It is neat to see how much people love their homes. It is good to rule out that most of the homes in downtown Rockford are out of the question for us. The garages are detached. It would be one thing if the garages were connected even by a small, covered walkway. Nope, in some cases the garages are at the back of the property and accessible by staircases. Can you imagine people walking up outdoor stairways after a snow or ice storm? I am too old for that stuff. I want to be able to unload my car from the comfort of an attached garage.

Other neighborhoods are newer and have no trees, backyards, or personalities. Those neighborhoods are easy to rule out.  Especially the areas with McMansions. We are at the age when we want to not have too much house to take care of so that we can’t enjoy living in it.

I have convinced myself that when the time comes, the house we want will become available. So, I need to stop my ‘house hunt lament’ and spend my time on a pursuit more rewarding. I’ll let you know what that may be at some point. For now, I am happy reading, hanging out with grandkids and Joe, and catching up on some television shows and movies I missed over the past 40 years.