College basketball tournaments and college football bowl games. Playoffs and championships in all four major American sports. Major golf and tennis tournaments. All sorts of other international sports. For the person who’s obsessed with athletics, the entertainment is nonstop all year long.
While it’s fun to attend sporting events in person, it can get costly, and you can’t possibly be there for every event you want to see. Thankfully there are high-def TVs, satellite dishes, and streaming services. You can create an awesome viewing experience in the comfort of your own home – unless you’re a renter. Then, the experience becomes much less awesome because of these 5 things you can’t do:
You can’t paint the walls in the colors of your favorite team.
There’s no better way to show your team spirit than by proudly displaying your preferred squad’s primary colors everywhere you can. Your wardrobe? Absolutely. Your car? For sure. Face paint? Go for it. But what about the walls of your home? That would take your fandom to the next level, but if you’re a renter, you have to ask your landlord for permission before you do any painting. And if you do get the ok, at some point you’ll have to change back to neutral colors or risk losing your security deposit.
You can’t mount multiple TVs to the walls.
In the early stages of the NCAA basketball tournament and the pro sports playoffs, there are multiple games on at the same time. Sure, you can set up several TVs on stands, but mounting them to the wall to create a casino sportsbook vibe is a better way to go. Unfortunately, that involves drilling holes for mounting brackets into the walls, which is a no-no for renters unless your landlord is cool with it – and you’ll definitely have to patch those holes before you move out if you want your security deposit back.
You can’t be as boisterous as you’d like to be.
Apartment dwelling isn’t ideal for the true sports lover, because let’s face it, you like to get involved in what’s going on. Cheering on your team, booing the refs, shouting some colorful language at the opposition – it’s all part of the fun, even at home. Your neighbors might not agree, though. So, you have to hold yourself back or risk getting a noise complaint.
You can’t have the whole gang over.
Whether you’re renting a house or an apartment, chances are you don’t have as much square footage as you would like. That means when the big game is on, you can’t be the host with the most – as in, the most space for all your friends to stop by and enjoy the action.
You can’t make a putting green or add a basketball hoop.
Most people who love watching sports love playing them as well. Golf outings with friends, pickup basketball games and more are all on the agenda. In an apartment, you don’t have a yard where you can hone your greenskeeper skills and work on your putting stroke. You also don’t have a garage or a driveway where you can put up a backboard and work on your free throws. You might have these things if you rent a house, but again, it’s up to your landlord whether you can make these additions to accommodate your practice regimens.
Here’s something you can do: Become a homeowner!
If reading this article made you a little envious of other sports fans you know, it’s time to step up to the big leagues. When you own your own home, you can paint the walls any color you like, drill holes in them, entertain without enraging the neighbors (assuming things don’t get completely out of hand), and customize your property any way you want (as long as it’s allowed by local zoning laws and your homeowners association if you have one).
Contact a Homeowners Licensed Mortgage Professional today to get a place of your own. We’ve reserved a spot for you on the homeownership roster!
