My real estate situation is not the usual. I own a house, but don’t live there. I lease from an extended family member, who basically has been renting this place out for about half of market rate for the last ten years.
As a result, he’s lost a lot of dough and at this point, just about breaks even, so understandably, he’s not willing to put money into the house. As a result, while I have the privacy of single family home living, something I do not take for granted, I do live with a certain amount of squalor: bad windows, a deck that’s falling apart, carpets that are beyond cleaning and a chaotic back yard.
Recently, my landlord agreed to put on a new roof, which is about half done. That seems like a decent contribution on his part, so I’m taking on some responsibility for making additional home improvements, the ones most important to me, as opposed to my landlord, who has an incomprehensible obsession with bay windows.
Besides the fact that quality of life is important, especially as I grow older and have fewer tomorrows than yesterdays, I figure that putting money into this place isn’t a lost cause. The house will be part of my daughter-in-law’s inheritance some day, so one way or another, the improvements will stay in the family.
Thus, I’m getting bids on new flooring in 2 rooms. I’d like to put in better, non-bay windows and replace the deck, maybe with a slightly larger one. I’ve booked an appointment for 1-800-GOT-JUNK next Saturday to clean out the basement and the back yard. Maybe these changes will be motivation to do some painting and some serious landscaping. We’ll see.