House                                                 Published: October 1, 2008   Updated: October 9, 2008
Home purchasing is one of the most important economic decision in our life time. Once we buy a house, maintaining it is probably most time consuming, and costly thing we have to do. I am sharing my learning, and experience in this page.

To buy a house, I think the most important criteria should be the quality of a school district if you have planned to send your kids in a public school. Recreation facilities in the walking distance are very useful too. After a day of long exhausting work, once I am back home, I can walk around my neighborhood with my daughters. It's so relaxing. I wish my house was in walking distance from a park where I could walk for half an hour without worrying about the car, car seat, the weather, etc.

Notes:

1. I have to change the air filter once in three months: Once I forgot to change the filter for six months. Maybe due to this, the motor of my air conditioner broke, and it cost me about $300.
2. A handyman came to replace the element in my water tank. He did not drain the water before he started to replace it with new one. I even asked him if he needed a bucket . He replied "No". I had never seen before what it takes to replace the element. I assumed he knows what he is doing. Once he took out the old element, and tried unsuccessfully to replace with new one, a lot of water ran in to my basement. I was dumbfounded to see it. I learned that a lot of attention should be given to any repair of a house. I do not want to be nosy, but maybe we do not have another choice.
3. Lawn maintenance: Ignoring my spouse suggestion for all kinds of treatment, I have left my lawn to grow naturally. It is easy, economic, and environmentally friendly, and in a long-term, a healthy lawn. We all talk about the diversity in our life, but we forget its application. I really do not understand why I should get rid of dandelions from my lawn. The dandelion is adding diversity in our lawn.
4. Once you buy a home, there will be a regular spending flow to maintain the home. If you are all-seen, all-need person, it will be a new beginning of mess. Keep the house as simple as possible. Buy only those things that you need on daily basis. Find workarounds to deal with the needs that prop up once a month or year.