7 commandments for house-owning couples
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- February 25, 2025
- 101
Many years ago, a couple who were neighbors decided to get a divorce. It was a sad time for all their friends, as well as their house. While their house was being built, it wasn’t long before their troubles began. That new house was totally unprepared for such an emotional upheaval.
On moving day, the husband walked out the front door and didn’t even say “goodbye.” That hurt both the wife and the house, which was a brand new dwelling with plans to be a terrific tax deduction for her young owners.
Feuding couples fill their houses with a great deal of stress. Occasional disagreements are to be expected, but real conflict is nerve-wracking. Angry people have been known to yell, slam doors and even throw things at walls. Houses hate that.
Too often marital discord leads to one combatant rushing out the door in search of a divorce attorney. If its owners cannot be reconciled, the house must face the spectacle of “property settlement” rearing its legal head. It’s demeaning for a brand-new house to be labeled “property” instead of “home.”
The terrible truth is that building a house can be a marriage killer. The matrimony-murdering dangers inherent in building a house can be avoided if both partners faithfully follow these commandments:
First, decide and agree on what size house you want and can afford. Second, learn the joys of compromise. Third, never go shopping with your spouse for wallpaper. Fourth, develop vast quantities of patience. Fifth, set aside 30 minutes each day not to talk about the house. Sixth, always agree and decide on the color of the carpet and paint before you go shopping. Seventh, save your builder’s sanity by avoiding daily plan changes.
By faithfully following these rules, couples should emerge on the closing side of house building still together. But, by no means let down your guard. Living in a house is several times more stressful than building one. For help with that refer to the original Ten Commandments.