A year of home ownership

This weekend marks one year of owning a home for me. It has been an adventure for my wife and me dealing with all the issues homeowners face.

Just getting through closing was a battle. I tried to get a follow up inspection but the only time I could was hours before closing and he found a big issue that needed to be addressed. The stress of finding out just hours before closing there was a big problem was a level of stress I was not ready for.

When we finally did close there was no time to celebrate as I had to go to work covering a Linton football game against North Vermilion an hour later. I will always associate Linton vs. North Vermilion as the game I went to after buying my first house. Thankfully and mercifully, Linton won 52-7 as I did not have the energy to cover a close game.

Since taking possession though it has been an adventure dealing with contractors on trying to fix certain things on the house.

When we contacted a prominent plumber in the county about replacing pipes in the basement we got passed over. The plumber drove around our home slowly to see if our house was worth the trouble, or to see if it appeared we had income to match his prices. Either way, the plumber drove away and did not make contact with us afterwards.

When it came to replacing some vinyl siding a contractor asked if we could provide a sample of the siding needed to make the order. The contractor from Clay County drove off with an extra piece of vinyl that was stored in the garage and said he would come back with an estimate. Three months later, we are still waiting on an estimate.

When we were worried about our air conditioner in April an HVAC contractor in the county simply washed the air conditioner with our own hose and charged us over $100.

In Greene County it seems that if your house has an issue, you are better off fixing it yourself. My chimney was leaking water and I found a fix for it while spending less than $50 to do so at Riles Hardware. I am guessing a contractor would have charged 10 times that.

I am a sports editor and not an economics reporter but I am guessing housing is the big issue county commissioners and town councils are dealing with. I do not see much new construction in Greene County and the existing houses typically need a refit. The problem though is that it is expensive to update old homes and I doubt there is enough economic growth locally for young buyers to justify that expense.

At the same time, owning a home in Greene County is an upgrade over parts of the country. People who make far more money than I do in New York and California can not afford to buy in their markets. Places like Linton and Bloomfield are spots where the dream of home ownership is still attainable for the middle class. Even in Indianapolis, the market is not in favor of middle-class buyers. Bloomington might be in the same boat as Indianapolis soon if it is not all ready.

To those buying a home in Greene County this year, may your first year go a little better than me.

Nathan is the Sports Editor of the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at npacegcdw@gmail.com. His “Low Budget Sports Show” airs once a week on Facebook Live.