This month Debe Maxwell is hosting an ActiveRain contest titled "Homeownership - an Active Rain Challenge".
I grew up in Bluewell, WV. Bluewell is a small community outside of Bluefield, WV. My parents had purchased a few acres and had a two-story brick house built on top of a hill in Bluewell. My Dad and Mom saved money to get the property and build this home. After graduation, like a lot of young people, I moved to Washington, DC and started working for the Department of Navy. There where many great memories as well as sad times in this home.
Before I got married, I rented houses. I usually had roommates 3/4 women. The houses were all furnished with my furniture. Each roommate had to have their own bedroom furniture. This really worked for me and I never thought of purchasing a home of my own, Talk about paying someone else's mortgage... yes I did.
I'll never forget this Realtor/friend who was always trying to get me to buy a home and rent out the rooms. No, I was scared. Hard to imagine. If I had only listened to my friend. Guess I saw what my parents went through scraping at times to make the mortgage. That was hard for my parents as there were 11 children to feed. Still, I was single and could have purchased a home and been my own landlord.
When I met my husband, we purchased a townhouse in Annandale. It was a lovely 3BR/2.5 bath home, in a great location. We lived there for ten years. We also purchased an investment property. A nice one bedroom/one bath condo on Lee Highway near Rosslyn, VA, that we renovated and rented.
After living and working in the Washington DC Metropolitan area for 35 years, it was time to move. My husband and I are both from West Virginia and decided to move back to our roots and closer to my family. Below is the home we had built in 2005. It is a 5-Bedroom/4.5 bath home consisting of 4900 sq ft of living space.
We love our home and this special quaint, historic town located in southern West Virginia that offers the modern conveniences of big city living with all the flavor of small-town charm. There are fewer people, less traffic, less pollution, well you get my drift. Mostly, I love our home as I live closer to my six sisters.
I tell all my young clients if they can purchase a house now, do it. Do not pay someone else's mortgage like I did for 15 years.
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