Remember the day you signed
The boxes, the work, the mortgage. In five years it'll all be a blur. Write it down now, while it's still sharp.
The details of buying a home that will matter in twenty years are the ones that bore you today. A capsül can wait up to fifty years, long enough to aim for the last payment on a twenty-five-year mortgage. Here's what to note down before it fades, and three messages written in houses that were still empty.
Getting the keys
Write it in the empty house. Read it back once it's full.
Before the renovation
Describe the place as it is. The contrast will be worth it.
The first anniversary
A message delivered one year to the day after you moved in.
The final payment
Schedule a message for the day the mortgage is cleared.
What should you note down on completion day?
The numbers and the state of the place, with no polish. The price, and the mortgage rate you might think is outrageous.
Then the exact colour of the bathroom suite, the avocado one you swore you'd rip out the first weekend. It may still be there.
In fifteen years, that information will be impossible to find, or buried in a file at the bank. It will still say more than anything else about the person who signed.
One photo is enough. The main room, empty, taken from the doorway.
How far ahead can you aim?
Right up to the last mortgage payment, if you like. Prestige covers ten years; for a twenty-five-year mortgage, you add a block of fifteen extension years, at €1 a year.
For the first anniversary of moving in, the first pack is enough. Without buying anything, the date can't be more than 180 days away, which suits the end of the building work, if the builders stick to schedule.
Whole buildings hide messages in their walls, as the Paris Opera does. Many are never found again, and this article explains why a dated email does better than a box sealed behind a stud wall.
What do you write to yourself as a new homeowner?
The setting, mostly. These three messages aim for very different dates.
Callum, It's 11pm and we're eating pasta sitting on two boxes marked "KITCHEN FRAGILE". The fridge doesn't come until Thursday. This morning the solicitor got your name wrong three times. You didn't say anything. Neither did I. We said we'd paint the hallway before the summer. What colour is the hallway? Zoe
Last mortgage payment. Rate when you signed: 3.9%. You thought it was outrageous. You're 61. Go and have a pint at the pub on the corner, if it's still there.
Ruby, Finn, You're 7 and 4. Ruby, you picked your bedroom because it had "a round window". It's oval, but we didn't dare tell you. Finn, you spent the first night in the bath, with your duvet, because "it echoes". You probably think this house is too small now. It was enormous, the day we got the keys. Mum
Common questions
How do you keep a record of buying your first home?
Note down what you're going to forget: the price and the rate, then the state of each room before the work starts. Add a photo of the empty main room. Schedule it all for a date that means something, like the first anniversary of moving in or the last mortgage payment.
Can a message wait until the mortgage is paid off?
Yes. On Capsül, a date can be set up to fifty years ahead by combining Prestige with extensions. For a twenty-five-year mortgage, that's ten years included in the pack plus a block of fifteen years, €29.99 in total. The date won't move, even if you pay it off early.
Can you attach photos of the house?
Yes, if you have a pack. The first two allow one image per capsül, and Prestige takes three. With no pack, you're limited to text, and video isn't supported. Take the same view before and after the work: the contrast does the job, no need to add anything.
What happens if you sell before the date?
Nothing changes: the capsül goes out on the planned date, to the email addresses you entered, whether the house is still yours or not. It doesn't depend on a postal address. A message meant for the last mortgage payment can become a memento of an old home, read from the new one.