6/9/2025. #131
- Jessica Minter
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
#131 - When (if ever) did you go from being a renter to an owner? Describe the first property you owned and why you chose it. If you didn't describe your favorite home using all five senses. |
I actually closed on our first (and only) owned home on April Fools day. 2005. Things were much different back then in terms of housing costs, availability and mortgages for first time home buyers. This was a period of extensive fraud and market bubbles - not long after 9/11. Our friends were serving overseas and missed out on this boom cycle.
As an elder millennial, we were fortunate to barely squeak into a home, even though we were taken advantage of - from misleading terms and an adjustable rate on the 20% (no down payment portion) which really came back to be an annoying problem.
It's not like I was ignorant about finances either. At that time of my life, I had just finished trade school for medical admin and was in college pursuing accounting - working on my associates degree. Back then, before the kids, I was a different person. A workaholic and into management. I wasn't a typical 21 year old. I was intense, driven. Natural manager with a unique background. I loved the combination of medical and management. Felt that it would give me the most job security. Little did I know it would prepare me for what was about to happen with the kids. Managing multi-million dollar NICU micro preemie survivor babies. If I didn't have the background I did? I would have gone insane - from navigating the financial/medical insurance stress alone. I eventually did but that's a story for another day, a caregiver can only carry so much grief and despair. I broke but not from that dynamic.
Anyway 0ff topic -what happened to us with the house was a combination of many things. Personally, I had never lived in a 'house' - even at a young age I was eager to buy one. I grew up in mobile homes. I wanted the security. I wanted the responsbility. I live in tornado alley. I wanted a basement.
Quite simply, we rushed into it. My ex husband and I are both ridiculously overconfident people. Him especially as he enjoyed many trades. HVAC, dabbling in construction, and aircraft. Buying a barebones, brand new house and 'finishing' it ourselves seemed like a great idea. It had just the basics. Only the top floor was livable. So it was like almost half wasn't living space, which was okay because it was just the two of us. We both worked all the time and school, so it's not like we were there often. Something else we didn't think about - lol. 21 year old me was foolish.
In addition, we bought our house in a poor suburb that was undergoing significant redevelopment and investment. The house was part of a new subdivision and one of the first built so for the longest time we had open fields and no neighbors. And also...construction noise and hassle. So much wind too. Weeds/stickers. No fences. No trees. It was a mess.
Twenty years later, it's beautiful and was an incredible community to invest in with friendly people and parks. I love that town. However the house is no longer mine. Divorce. You'd think the kids and I would miss it - but we're now making new memories in a rental house by a lake. I was ready for new adventures. In fact, after that house and that marriage? I'm probably the most commitment phobic person that exists. Just kidding. I miss being a homeowner, just like I miss being married....sometimes.
Now I just burn through maxing out the intersectionality of direct caregiving, behavioral psychology and intervention, ongoing complex medical management, writing and well, advocacy. All of which sounds complicated but really isn't. They are worth it.

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