On Sunday our washing machine died. It announced its passing by emptying the water from an extra-large load of laundry onto our carpeted basement floor. In the same week, a pipe froze, an animal died inside a wall, and we had to remove a kitchen cabinet in order to make enough room for the only affordable refrigerator we could find to replace one that was failing.

But it was the flooded basement that had me shouting ENOUGH!

By Tuesday, the rug was dry (thanks to a fan we left running for two days after removing as much water as we could by stamping on towels and newspapers). By next Monday, we’ll have a new washing machine and a new refrigerator. The dying animal in the basement wall will eventually decompose, and we will fix the frozen pipe.

Do I still want to be a homeowner?