Are You Better Off Renting or Buying a Home?
This is the second installment in The Essential First-Time Home Buyer Guide. If you missed the first article ‘To Buy or Not To Buy,’ you can read it HERE. The Essential First-Time Home Buyer Guide is being created as a part of Shaunta Grimes’ Blog-Your -Own-Book Challenge.
“You don’t smell that?” is a common question in my house. My wife and sons have been graced with a sense of smell that makes bloodhounds jealous. My sense of smell is terrible, which is both a blessing and a curse. Still, when my wife asks me if something stinks, I tend to believe her.
For three straight days she thought something in the kitchen smelled off. I took out the trash, cleaned out the dishwasher, and scoured the refrigerator for the source of the offending smell. On the fourth day a small swarm of gnats around the drain in the kitchen sink helped me narrow my search. The smell was coming from the drain. Cleaning the garbage disposal did not solve the problem. I knew I had no choice but to look under the house. Armed with a flashlight, I squeezed myself into the crawlspace.
To my horror, I found days worth of food waste collecting on the vapor barrier. The drain pipe had broken and was ejecting waste water and ground-up food onto the floor. It was a disgusting mess. As I stared at the large pool of filth, I knew I had two choices. I could…
