Not What I Expected

I've spent the past three years house hunting. Yes, three years. For one reason or another I never actually committed, which in itself is telling. There is a recurring pattern of non-committal behavior within me that I choose to deny but the reality is I don't like anything that doesn't offer flexibility. Or better stated, options.

Just look at my life. Options abound. I am not married, I have no children, my job (not company) changes every two years, I don't have a set schedule, I do whatever I want pretty much whenever I want to...I have zero non-flexible commitments. 

In some cases, it's not that I don't want them, but I want the right ones. And there are endless criteria that change on a daily basis in regard to the "right" house, car, computer, job, husband, and so on. I'm looking for guarantees where I know there aren't any.

I first learned this while trying to buy a car last year. It took me three months to get up the courage to commit. I love my Volvo, I do, and when I first sat in her I knew she was the one. But as to "why" she was the one probably had more to do with the fact that I was frustrated and freaking out about not having found a car at that point, and she was very nice and would do. Turns out, she more than "did" but I may have just got lucky on that one.

I find myself in a similar situation with a house. I am ready to buy. But. What if I don't like the location, what if I really like it but it's a bad investment, what if I have to move for my job...and so on, so on, and so on. A hundred different reasons I shouldn't buy that house.

So I went house hunting again this past weekend, with a twist.  I have been increasingly frustrated with the crap on the market. Yes, buyers currently have the advantage, but really, who wants to sell their house in this piss poor market? So, I decided to revise my search. I started looking at town homes. Because as much as I would like to believe I am nearing the "building a family" stage of my life, there aren't really any indicators that prove this to be true. Other than my active imagination.

And I found one that I love (I think). It's larger than most of the single family homes I've seen, it's much more updated...crown molding throughout, granite, stainless, iron spindles...the whole shebang. It's also well within my price range to the point where it doesn't even scare me a little from a financial perspective. Not to mention the added benefit of no exterior maintenance, which means I can focus on the improvements I like...the inside!

It might even have, if only in perception, more flexibility. The maintenance is one thing, but I have this vision of being able to rent it out easier than a single family home if I do have to move for one reason or another. It just feels more "transactional". Which is the exact opposite of what I thought I wanted.

Clearly not what I expected, but then again when it comes to big decisions in life this tends to be my M.O. Let's see, going to college in the south...on a whim, never even visited the school. A Volvo SUV...not what I thought a young professional would be driving. Living in Atlanta...was never even on the radar. Working in recruitment advertising (for 13 years)...most definitely not what I expected. Seems the decisions I make on a whim with little to no thought appear to be the best ones.

So we'll see what happens.