House #2

Last Thursday I finally moved into my new home in Ashburn after 2 months in a hotel.  After getting outbid twice on other places, this townhome wasn't my first choice, but I'm glad I ended up with this place and not the others.  It's 3BR/4BA - 2 masters on the 3rd floor, 1 bedroom and living space on second, and kitchen and sitting area on first.  The main downside is that the house was cheaply built (as most are these days), and furnished with cheap things (e.g. appliances, etc.).  The previous owners also were a bit dirty, so I even after getting maid service for initial cleaning, I am still finding things to clean.  What I really like most about the place though is that there is a pond right behind the house.  I call it my "water" view.   I wanted a water view in Alaska, and I didn't get it there, but now I have one here.  Not exactly the same, but it will do.  

So far I am still in unpack mode and the house also needs to be painted on the inside.  This past week I had a bit of a break with family in town (it was quite stressful trying to get the place presentable enough for their visit), and today I spend the day cleaning up all the mess they left behind.  I'm starting to remember how much effort it takes to own your home (if you want it to be nice), but I think I will be happy once things are settled.  I didn't like being at the mercy of my landlord when I was living in Alaska.  I swore after I bought the last house I'd never buy again, but I think I'm a changed person.  I'm starting to want a nice place to call home.  It doesn't mean the travel bug and wandering soul has left me, but ideally I would have a place I could always return to.  With current interest rates and housing market on the mend, I thought if I was going to buy a place I should do it now.  

The downside of all of this is that I am now half a million dollars in debt between this new house and the mortgage on the other house (now an investment property).  It sounds pretty crazy when you say it like that. The other house is now on 15 year mortgage though, so I should have at least one house paid off by retirement... or so I hope.  Although it seems like a good time to buy, it's also a scary time to buy with all that's going on with government sequestration.  There are huge cut backs going on all across the federal government.  There's yet again a proposal to slash the job I was just hired to do.  I will stay optimistic though, and assume that I am going to stay at this job and in this house for a while.

This bunny keeps visiting to feed on the grass in my yard.