New Kitchen, New Mortgage

It’ll be our 10th year in our home and with surging home prices, Paul and I often talk about how lucky we are to have bought when we did. Ten years ago we only had one income (me working at the business journal) while Paul freelanced. Our rent just went up on the condo we were renting and we bought within our budget without any help from family. Our townhome which was sold at $249,000 is now nearing $600K according to Zillow and Redfin, a price we wouldn’t be able to afford today but we it might be even slightly more considering the upgrades we’ve put into the place, namely solar on our roof and air conditioning/heat pumps.

Now with both of us having full time jobs, we’ve taken the next big step: renovating our kitchen. I’m using the term renovation loosely. We won’t be reconfiguring the kitchen, it’s more like new cabinets, countertops and sink. 

Flashback 10 years ago: We were getting ready upgrade the floors when the installers noticed the ground underneath the existing flooring was wet. Upon further inspection, the water damage was more than the floor and had slowly crept up the walls of the kitchen. We determined the movers of the previous owner left the waterline from the refrigerator in the middle of the kitchen floor. (Paul and I recall waterline that was in the sink on the floor when we did a walk through.) The dripping water caused enough damage that all the cabinets had to be ripped out to prevent mold. Our homeowners insurance would only replace it exactly as it was so new cabinets. Since we were only one income, we settled for that decision, doing the rest of the home renovation as cheap as possible.

We’re finally ready to upgrade. After two years of the pandemic and staying at home, Paul and I determined we need a nice kitchen to enjoy. We’ll be fixing all the quirks we loathed since we moved in plus opting for nice add-ons like an undermount sink and a spatula drawer.

It’s not all kitchen renovation that’s new with this place. We’ve also refinanced using Owning.com. It was as stressful as when we initially bought our place but instead done all online. Originally at 30 years with 20 years less, we’re hoping to pay off our place completely in 15 years, knocking 5 years off. 

Here’s to an easy kitchen renovation. Stay tuned for updates!