On the Home Front

I went to the bank today to see what my chances were of getting pre-approved for a home loan. I should have known better. A smart person would have called ahead of time to make an appointment, because I guess the home loan guys don't work on Saturdays. Plus side, I can finally take my personal day and schedule some time off from work for an appt at the bank. Whether or not I should do this is another story (buy a house, not make a bank appt).

If you know me, you know I am a list maker. So I made a list of the pros and cons of buying a house.

Pros:
*I get to paint the rooms any color I want
*Interest rates are really low right now
*I wouldn't be throwing money away on over-priced rent
*I would have more room than an apartment
*CD rates totally suck right now, so it is basically futile to have one. I should make my money work by investing it into property
* I could finally get a house rabbit!
*slight chance that I could have a bedroom and an office

Cons:
*My mobility would be reduced because I would have to stay in the same area for a while. No more "I'm going to move to Africa to teach the village children." Not that I was really thinking that, but it's nice to have the option.
*I would have to buy a lawn mower and mow the lawn. Unless the house I buy is like the townhouse I rent now, meaning there is no lawn and nothing but bark chips.
*It's possible that the house may not come with one or any of the following: dishwasher, oven, washer, dryer, fridge. In that case, I'd have to buy them.
*My budget would become a lot tighter
*If something breaks, I have to fix it. Or pay someone who can.

What am I missing?


UPDATE: Okay, so after like ten minutes of posting this the bank called. It was the loan guy who was supposed to call me for our appointment. We chatted and I told him all my info, and I'm pre-pre-approved. He said everything looked good, he'd just have to check my credit and W-2 info before issuing me a formal letter. He's calling back on Monday.