Happy New Year
To end the year on a positive note, I dedicate today’s entry to the “compelling personal need” to change housing situations. When a person has such a compelling need, his or her housing is no longer suiting his or her lifestyle.
When it comes to people who are in the position to buy, it is generally a move toward better, not worse. They have the option to buy or to rent a place that is better suited to their needs. As a buyer’s agent, I tend to see less of the painful side of housing loss due to divorce, unemployment, disability, and death. There is almost always an economic trigger to buy, such as securing a better commute to a job, low interest rates, the end of a lease and expected rent increase, change of personal status such as choosing to live alone instead of in group/grad student-type rentals. But, in many cases there is more to it.
Love is a huge factor in housing choices. I am not talking about love of the house – I am talking about love of another person or other people. People move so couples can move in together. People move so that a child can have her own bedroom or a yard to play in. People even move to get a better place for their dogs.
People also move to downsize. Dianne Schaefer, from my office, likes to work with people who have too much space and help them find something that fits their current life better. Love has a factor in this too. Many people love their adult children, but don’t need to keep their rooms as a monument to their adolescent poster choices. The downsizing mover benefits from having less space, but easier space to afford and to maintain. Many times there is joy is letting go of the too-big, too-needy family house.
When I think about the moves in my life, many were pragmatic: moving to follow job offers, moving to pay less or get more space for the money. I didn’t buy my house until my landlady sold my rental and I didn’t want to take pot luck on a new landlord. The places where I stayed for years were places where I was living with, or near, people I loved.
Let’s hear it for the compelling need for housing. We all need safety, warmth, and comfort. May we all be lucky enough to have home and people to share home with. It is my hope that everyone has the resources to buy adequate shelter in 2011. Whether you are renting or you own, I wish you a home, not simply a warm space.
Happy New Year! I toast my readers and their loved ones. May 2011 be prosperous and find you at home, in good health.
What compelled you to buy, or to move from rental to rental? Did love come into it, or was it wholly pragmatic?
