Great post!

 

I would add that if you live in your own house, you decide whether or not to do some renovation, or roof replacement, or something else. Or maybe you can live with the way those things are.

And if you decide to fix or replace something, you can do it yourself, or find a cheaper handyman without any state license. 

 

But for the apartment buildings replacing of some things are simply scheduled, even if they are working properly, and any person doing the job must have a state license (in Maryland it is a new law). Guess how much that would cost? 20 years ago we were selling our old house, and we were required to install a special outlet for a microwave oven; that simple work cost us $350 cash, but we received an official receipt. A handyman doing small repairs in our house said he charges about $30 for similar work.