Home Ownership for Millenials (humor)

It's only the guys who stink. Female goats are very clean creatures. One billy goat can cast a stigma on a whole herd.

We used to keep a couple of goats.

I'm destroying the chicken/rabbit coops today. Don't really want the animals I got now. The raccoon has been digging up the yard. I think it has been trying to get at the grubs in it. (I put out pesticide and that took care of them)

Goats aren't happening.
But a lawnmower will eventually take care of the ivy.
I have been working on taking back the yard from the tree line. Getting the leaves and branches raked up and burned. I got a fair bit cleaned up.
I've picked out some spots for some fruit trees. And planted some herbs in planters on the deck. Still more trash to run to the convenience site and tree stumps to whittle down so the lawnmower won't get killed running over them.
10-10-10 fertilizer is what I've been told to put on the lawn under the pecan trees. It will help grow better pecans and more pecans. But i can't do that until i buy a lawnmower in a couple of months *sigh*

"All good things come" and all that....

Yeah, I can share a story there too. When hubby and I bought our first house about ten yrs ago it had a beautiful tree in the front yard. We had it for several years and it got quit large and needed to be cut back. We were considering what to do, and while we considered, "Mother Nature" took care of the problem. One bad wind storm and down it came, just missing coming through the window where I sat. I heard the noise and knew we were in trouble. There was no way we could clean up this huge tree ourselves. So we got a tree removal guy to come in and take down the entire tree. Of course the ground was wet when he came and he tore up the yard. Huge mess.

We decided we would have to fix the lawn ourselves, there where huge tire marks in the lawn. My parents felt bad for us and said they would come and help. It was a scorcher that day, nothing to block the sun. So here we go trying to put the lawn back together. We must have used 20 or more bags of the stuff. Made at least 5 trips to town. Well we get in the middle of the heat of the day, near 100 degrees and the smell of what we politely call "horse nears" was overwhelming in the heat. And we started dropping like flies. Hubby already has a bad gag reflex so he was out pretty fast. He started to pass out so I had to get him in to the shower. It was a toss up of who went next, but we were all trying so hard to keep moving and get the job done. One would go down for a bit while the other worked. Yep, the smell is bad! I can still smell it. But in our favor the grass grew back and we have a lovely lawn, and we will never forget how that came to be. lol

I dont think any millenials reading this will want the responsbilty of owning a house its just too much housework and they dont get paid enougn for it.

Home ownership provides privacy and self expression moreso than any apartment ever could.

Not to mention gardens....barbeques...and equity$$$$

All that hard work pays off. I expect to make $$ off of my 7 pecan trees. Then there's the maple trees that make sap...which gets turned into maple syrup. Of course black walnut will as well. So does birch. Then there's the fresh herbs I'm currently growing.

The fresh tomatoes.....

Just saying....equity and great food.

Then there's the relationships with the neighbors...people who stay for years. They are great friends.

But I will plant trees and harvest the fruit from it....same as the grape vines. They are mine.

Black walnut... Got any explosives?

"Thanks for the black walnuts. We sure enjoyed them. So did the local bomb squad, as the only way to get them open was to blast. Oh well. Thanks anyway."

We got a couple black walnut trees and some english walnuts. If we could ever figure out how to get them open, we might eat some.

A drill into the trunk followed immediately by a spile, tubing and buckets in the early spring.

A good slingshot and a steel wall works.

Yeah....in the South those black walnuts are just about worthless except for the sap which makes a great pancake syrup. In California they do better...longer growing season and no freezing temperatures. Also a good long dry season that helps that outer husk come off.

You can rent a house who says you have to live in an apartment.

Most homes are not built on good land but also what happens is the developers scrape off all the topsoil to build the house and sell it somewhere else.

You might get maybe 2cms of good soil if you lucky otherwise its just mostly clay. lol

The other thing is if you do happen to buy a home that you could afford it will probably be one you have spend as much money to fix up as its used and falling apart.

That's the case with most everything in this world. Everything falls apart and needs maintaining or work, including our physical bodies. lol.

Our first house was one of those money pits. The house we're currently in could do with some upgrades but they're not dire and we can take our time as we see fit. Even brand new houses can end up with fix it issues, as I've seen from my older friends who bought brand new, never lived in before homes.

My wife says I have to live with her....says she loves me or some silly thing like that. I couldn't really hear her well over the sound of me eating corn chips while operating the saw.

Yeah,
As a construction worker I know exactly how to fix things. And a 130 year old victorian is exactly a dream come true for most of us guys who enjoy this stuff.

Today we have new materials and methods for doing things that make our fixes last a very long time. So we do them once and not again for a very long time. Some things we do....like painted porches need repainting with epoxy every so often.

I've had a brand spanking new home....it too is a lot of work. Built in shelves in the bedroom closets, window treatments, landscaping is substandard and needing work, it's a lot of work to get a brand new house up to snuff.

No house is without work and maintenance.

Our first house was about 100 years old and since both my husband and I are basically ignorant on how to fix things, well, it didn't go well. Paid my brother-in-law to fix some things. He updated some of our electrical, too, which I was super grateful for. Especially when he found out (and showed me) that some of the old wiring was 'this close' to starting a fire. God was really looking out for us at that house!

I've been reclaiming my backyard from the tree line....at least 20 feet to 35 feet in some places has been over run with trees, thorny vines, and brush.
The city workers spent another hour just feeding the wood chipper a stack of branches I placed by the road....they are getting to know my house well.

But herbs have been sprouting in their planters (oregano, basil, and thyme) the sage and parsley haven't yet. I can't wait for the fruit trees....then there's the pecan harvest this fall.

It all looks so easy on YouTube doesn't it?

We bought this place from a couple that thought the very same thing as you did....and found out just like you did.

Nothing is that easy....and in old houses much has to be undone so it can be done right this time...."Bubba" has been everywhere making a mess of things....it is for pros to do. I got a mess of a bathroom floor and gouges from a bad sanding job in the heart pine floors. Makes me want to cry. But I'll get it all done eventually....just a matter of time. Then this place is gonna be da bomb! Two person modern shower and everything.

Today was window washing....

Went around the house washing the exterior windows. Mop and squeegee.

They look pretty good now. I got too much soap in the water at first....but eventually hit my stride.

I've been out trying to mow the jungle we call a yard.
Lawnmower didn't want to work, after a long winter's rest. I figured out how to make it, though, after some help from youtube. lol
One of my friends stopped by and she asked why my son wasn't out doing the mowing. He does it...knows how...but I enjoy being out in the sunshine, getting the exercise, and enjoying the time to myself.

I've also been digging out some old, dying shrubs and blackberries in our front yard. If I can get that area cleaned I want to plant roses in the place of that mess.

Window washing sounds like a good task for my kids. They're always bugging for jobs that'll earn them money....