is it truly location, location, location?

an update: saw a ton of condos on wednesday with my lovely real estate agent. she definitely seems to 'get' me, and a lot of the places would be just fine, if not ideal. two really tickle my fancy: one in an awesome location that's very small (and i have two people and a LARGE cat to think about), another in a less-awesome location with more space. hmmmm. any thoughts? a recent first-time-homeowner friend of mine said the conventional wisdom is "whatever you buy, you can't pick it up and move it," so you better like the location. she quickly followed that with c.w. #2: you can't make more space. so, yeah. i have no idea what to do. and there's a third option: wait it out longer, see if more places pop up, and see if i have a bit more $ than i think to play with. it's possible i will. no matter what, i'm not buying anything RIGHT away, but there is a slim possibility next month will be my last paying rent. it blows my mind every time i think about it.

on the prowl

well, it's official... i'm house-hunting. well, to be more accurate, condo-hunting. for two years or more i've been scanning listings, trying to get a grip on the local market and doing a lot of thinking about what i do and don't want. i do want to live somewhere where i can walk to the metro during the day without trepidation, and reasonably but more cautiously at night. i do want a one-bedroom... when i started the search, it was before the market dropped (or, i'd say, normalized), and a studio was the best i could hope for. fortunately, my patience seems to be paying off and now it's not out of the question that i could have a one-bedroom like a civilized person. it'd be nice to live somewhere with some sort of basic exercise room. i'd prefer a gas range. and no condo fees over $300 - that's just bananas. i don't want a place that needs a lot of work, and i don't want to live somewhere where i have to worry about leaving my car in the street.

the time finally came to stop observing and dig in when i saw a property listed that sounded perfect. it's a conversion in a great area, and though i know it'll probably sell out before i get it all together, it was the kick in the pants i needed. to that end, i've been preapproved for my loan, an unsettlingly easy process online with my credit union. and today i meet with the woman i hope will be my agent! i'm pretty pumped.

i've got an interesting and exciting variable in all of this... cam. we're going to move in together (it feels so strange to type that! it's a first for both of us.) once i've got my place. he wants to help financially, and while i'm definitely not going to buy a place i can't pay for 100% solo, it's intriguing to think about how his contributions will ease my financial situation.

and of course, much more intriguing than even that is the thought of combining our lives. we virtually live together now as nomads, crashing at his place or mine, and the thought of erasing all that commuting is like crack. i know the homebuying process is complex, frustrating, and expensive... but i feel like it's going to be worth it in the end. i can't wait to have a place of my own... and then to make it ours.