Sadly hilarious. I was 26 when we scraped enough together to by a shitty house on the wrong side of town for $68K. It was on the market for two years. We qualified for a 203K loan for $30k added to the mortgage so we could put in heat, windows, a roof, walls, ceilings, floors, electric, plumbing, fix the structure and get a basic bathroom and kitchen. Everyone thought we were nuts, friends were afraid to park on our street, and only two grandparents said, “Go for it.” After the first big reconstruction push (‘twas a very long year) it took nearly 25 more years until it was exactly the way we wanted. Then a job opportunity encouraged a move and we sold it for $660K.

If we stayed in apartments we would have nothing but our memories of bad apartments (and probably low credit scores). I’m thrilled your story had a happy ending. If you play it right and make smart choices, with some luck it will only continue to get happier.