Lately I've been doing a lot of house planning. Buying a small house sure as hell beats paying $875/mo for a 1-bedroom apartment! I have already planned out lucrative affordable areas, what type of house I want, how much I can afford, etc. I am looking to buy a house in about 1.5-2 yrs, after house prices have fallen a little more. By that time, I will have my car loan paid off to zero a few yrs early, I'll have ~$13,000+ saved for the down payment, and my credit score will be even better. I already have a credit score in the low 700s, but in the next year or so the one bad mark on my Experian credit report from 2002(wasn't even my fault; loooong story) will have fallen off.
I told my dad about my house buying plans, and he is very supportive and proud of me, which means a lot. My dad is a carpenter and self-employed contractor, so he knows a lot about houses, what to look for, and what renovations will need to be completed(I'm seeking a 100-yr-old post-Victorian). He agrees that paying $875/mo+ in rent for my tiny place is "throwing money down the drain."
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Meanwhile, I have a same-age cousin who just got married and moved into a house in summer 06. Yes, this is the same two-faced jerk of a cousin who invited my entire family to her wedding and excluded me, then told our mutual grandmother to keep the entire wedding a secret from me. I wrote about it last year in this thread:
http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/sho...cousin+wedding
Now I've been planning to buy a house because that's what I myself want to do, but I still feel a little "behind" that cousin "Molly" already has a house. It's embarrassing enough that Molly was working in her full-time job field long before I did, back when I was working in retail and financially struggling to find a stable place to live(how else do you think I turned to dancing??)...despite the fact that I'd always been the more studious, hardworking, motivated cousin. It's embarrassing enough that Molly and my grandmother exchanged inaccurate belittling gossip about me in the past during the years that we didn't even see each other. And now she has a decent house with her husband.
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On Christmas, my grandmother visited my dad's house the same time I visited. I told her and my dad about my ambitions to buy a house within the next 2 yrs, and I assured them that their Christmas money to me would be used wisely for savings towards this future house. My grandmother praised me for saving my money responsibly, but said a few light comments such as, "Well, I don't want you to go into debt over your head by buying a house." WTF? Does she think that I'm incapable? In an earlier visit when I made friendly convo with my grandmother and asked her how Molly is doing with the new house, she said something to the effect of, "Well yeah they bought a house, she's a little different because her husband makes a lot of money." What, does she think that I'm still struggling at min wage? What does that show about how my grandmother perceives my supposed success and status? (NOTE: Molly's husband is NOT a millionaire or anything big like that, but he does well for himself)
I understand that my grandmother is looking out for me, and that she doesn't want to see me buy a house I cannot truly afford and end up being one of the many people going through foreclosure and homelessness. She is trying to protect me. But what annoys me is, why does she have a better perception of cousin Molly's situation and not mine?
I just want people to see me as ABLE. I HATE it when people tell me that I'm "not ready" to have a baby or buy a house, yet they turn around and support/congratulate other people my age looking to do those same things.
I'm not saying that I want to move out of my comfortable apartment or have a baby right now...I'm just saying that I want people to see me as capable and able. I want to know that if I were in a situation where I had to buy a house or have a kid right this minute(e.g., accidental pregnancy, or stumbling upon a can't-be-missed great deal on a property), that people would perceive me as ABLE and be there to support me. For example, when I
was accidentally pregnant 2 yrs ago, people opposed me and made me feel like I was "illogical and irresponsible" for NOT getting an abortion...their pro-abortion jargon stressed me out to the point of miscarriage. I WILL
NOT LET ANYONE TALK DOWN TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN ABOUT A HOUSE
OR A KID!!
So what do you think? Do you think I seem "ready" and "capable" to get a house within the next 2 yrs? Also, do you think my grandmother's assessment is fair or unfair? I just wish people would view me to be just as capable as the next person.
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