At 4:30 this morning, I awoke to a screeching sound, intermittent and frightening. Just like in all those horror films that have been playing this month, I headed towards the sound. The sound was mechanical, no children or pets in the house and not the robotic voice of the intruder detector alarm. It was not the smoke detector alarm, I cook everything on high, I know that sound. Was it the carbon monoxide alarm installed this year? Scary, right. That deadly gas is odorless.
It was the furnace motor that drowned in the basement that filled with water from SuperStorm Sandy. It appears that it is joining the hot water heater on the list of appliances that succumbed to that event.
I am a first time homeowner. As a lifelong renter, I have rented homes that were welcoming and warm, cozy and secure, with the joy of a landlord who was a phone call away. Should I consider all of this a learning experience? I am trying. I have learned the cost of tree trimming, sewer line replacement and gutters that should be led away from the house, a leaking sink faucet and the difference between a refrigerator timer and defrost thermostat. I am now learning about homeowners insurance claims. I am learning how to clean. None of these things are pleasant.
Here at St. Ambrose, we are all about HOMES, Homesharing, Homekeeping, Home Building, Home Renting and oh yes, Home Buying. After the housing bubble burst in 2007, a debate resurfaced, does OWNING a home matter? Is there a sustainable threshold for homeownership in this country? Should we continue to promote homeownership as the American Dream? Who gets to decide who should be a homeowner and how do you educate prospective homeowners to the agony and the ecstasy of owning their own home?
Our upcoming posts will be about this very issue, along with changing attitudes towards HOME. Join in the conversation, What is your homeownership story?
Talk to St. Ambrose 