My wife and I are about 3 weeks from closing on our first house and I am losing my god damn mind. All of our finances/budget work out while still having savings for emergency repairs, our inspection went well after having to back out on the first we offered on (tree fell on the house after offer was accepted, thought we could fix but it was a wash) and we really like the area and first impressions of our neighbors.
I know buying a house is a top “most stressful thing” an average person can go through, but this is a lot harder than I thought and I didn’t downplay it in my head. I am guessing I will feel like this for the first year or two and progressively it will become normal right? We have a lot of support from our families (financially, emotionally and labor/handypeople) so I am still optimistic about the whole thing, but my appetite is non existent and insomnia seems to be working in overdrive.
What’s that sound? Is it supposed to make it? Did it make it before? Is that wet? Why is it wet? That bug is new, haven’t seen one like that. Electric bill is higher this month. Got the escrow statement; it went up again. That crack… Seems longer. Door squeaks again. Was the drain recessed like that? Are you sure? That’s loose, should probably do something about it. Gotta run to the hardware store. They’re backordered on that thing that melted in the fire. The AC is dripping again. Is the water pressure lower than usual? What’s that smell? Is it coming from under there? Why is the milk spoiled? Is the fridge warm to you? Grass is long again. Sprinkler got run over by a neighbor. We need to do something about the dead tree.
Literally things said at my house IN THE LAST THREE WEEKS. Holy shit why.
Gotta love having an old house. It’s simultaneously reassuring and deeply stressful when a professional looks at something that seems really bad and just says, “Well, I can tell from the layers of paint that’s been there a long time. So if it hasn’t become a problem in all that time, it’s probably fine. But give me a call if your house starts falling apart.”
Sounds similar to my mental chatter about our house.