I don’t think homeownership happens any easier than it did for me. But it’s not that I didn’t struggle to find a house for the longest time. In fact, I’ve been saving for a house for a dozen years while living in apartments. That’s a lot of time to spend sharing walls and wishing for more air conditioning. Living in the south requires updated HVAC equipment which I never had in any of my apartments. The cooling was meager the hotter it got. Still I saved but I just couldn’t seem to get enough for a downpayment on a home. So when my grandma gave me her home when she died, I was beyond grateful. Nobody wants to lose their grandma that’s for sure. But the fact that I can honor her by turning her place into a home she’d be proud of has been my mission. The house is great but it was definitely dated. Grandma lived on a fixed income for a long time. But she was able to manage with the outdate central air conditioning unit. It was pretty clear when the HVAC contractor came out to inspect that the ductwork wasn’t going to work either. That meant a big chunk of more money. So instead, I opted to go with a series of ductless heat pumps. This meant that I could leave the ductwork alone and just have the old heat pump removed. The ductless heat pump are super efficient since they don’t have air ducts. I have four of them throughout the house and I love being able to dial them in independently. It’s almost a sort of zone controlled HVAC situation.