…the skinny on the home

i’m going to just do this here. i understand that there are a few of you who’ll undoubtedly want to give me your opinions in person, and that’s all well and good… but maybe i can shoot down some issues by taking a pro-active approach.

ryanne and i are in the process of buying a modular home. we signed the first of two contracts today, the second one is next week and at that signing we will receive the keys to our (new to us) home. there is little to no chance anything is going to change between now and then, as we’ve already been approved. it’s just a matter of paperwork now.

now… i know some people are ready to go off on me, telling me all the evils of buying and living in a pre-made home. i know all your arguments, i used to use the same arguments about others. here is my rebuttal to the biggest of them;

you’ll never get back what you pay for them
this is partially true. well, it’s all the way true in the case of purchasing a brand new modular home. fact of the matter is, ryanne and i are buying a used double-wide modular home, with nearly 1600 square feet, a carport, two huge frickin’ decks, and a corner lot on a fifteen year loan for nearly $125 cheaper in rent than we’re paying now for our apartment. this number includes lot rent (which is guaranteed to not go up for ten years) as well as property taxes. while i can’t argue the amazing depreciation of these things… tell me which is worse, staying in an apartment for five years and getting ZERO back, or staying in a modular home for five years and making very little back? ten years? fifteen?

here’s the thing. the last thing in the world i want from people is any holier-than-thou-we-can-afford-a-house-and-you-can’t type of opinions.

fact: ryanne and i cannot afford to buy a house.
fact: ryanne and i are tired of living in an apartment.
fact: ryanne and i do not want to have kids in an apartment.
fact: ryanne and i are ready (relative term) to start thinking about kids.
fact: ryanne and i will save money in the long run by living in a modular home vs. an apartment
fact: ryanne and i are happy with this purchase.
fact: it would be great if people would just be happy for us instead of judging the purchase.

so, that being said… here are some details.

we’re moving in to westbrook village, which is on angola near holland-sylvania. it’s widely regarded as one of the nicest modular home parks in toledo, and as a bonus (especially when baby(s) start coming) it’s within a few hundred yards of where my parents live. three bedrooms, two baths, and other than needing a serious paint-job, the home is in immaculate condition. a little old lady lived in it before she had to move to assisted living.

in addition to being by my parents (who by the way, ryanne and i would like to say a big “thanks” to for going with us to look at and discuss questions and financials with the real estate dude), we’re also just a couple hundred feet from one of my co-workers. can anyone say “carpool?”

to quench your thirst until i can get over there and get some pictures (probably saturday), here is a couple from the village’s website.

ok, that’s it for now.

please remember what you should have heard a million times growing up, that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it. i’ll welcome face to face conversations however.