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The Slice: Sign on dotted line to bear your burden

What’s your Spokane Area Real Estate Regrets Profile?

Please select from the options below.

Bad Things Come to Those Who Wait: Moved here when housing was still extremely affordable. Decided to rent while we waited to see if we wanted to stay. So we waited. And waited. And one day we looked around and house prices weren’t all that much of a bargain anymore. That’s when we decided to buy.

Shoulda Coulda: Bought a house here ages ago. It was insanely inexpensive, but our income was quite small. Still, if we had it to do over again, we should have found a way to acquire a second property and generate some income from rent.

We Didn’t Always Hate Humanity: We never should have gotten into the business of being landlords. Even though we are out of it now, we still flinch when the phone rings. Who knew unemployed, perpetually stoned slackers with criminal records, junk cars and 14 dogs wouldn’t take care of the place?

Appreciation Up to the Wild Blue Yonder: Before retiring in Spokane, we were an Air Force family that spent years in places where supercharged growth was about to take off. If we had bought land in a couple of those locales, we would now be in a position to bid on grotesquely huge lake places.

Location, Location, Location: We built a place way out in the sticks and burglars still found us.

You Can’t Go Home Again: Spokane native who held onto her parents’ place after they died. Always thought it would fetch a good price after a little TLC. But that termite-gnawed, water-damaged, ineptly wired money pit didn’t need a few minor repairs. It needed a visit from Mr. Wrecking Ball and Ms. Bulldozer.

Neighborhood Blockhead Watch: I thought the South Hill was the South Hill. Nobody told me that the part where we bought was usually marked by yellow police tape.

When Groupthink Goes Bad: The people in our condo association are not particularly sane.

Ignored the Warning Signs (Do the Math): We should have figured out that their real estate agent was counting that basement slop jar as a full bath.

Today’s Slice question: If a man could make himself invisible, what would he learn from a day spent eavesdropping at the Nordstrom cosmetics counters?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Several Slice readers would prefer that everyone adjust their schedules as they see fit but leave the clocks alone.

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