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Showing posts from 2017

Almost Debt Free

Four years ago, when I started this blog, I was obsessed about homeownership. It was all I thought about. I was in contract to purchase my first home and I also recently graduated from a master’s degree program. Needless to say, I was cocky and confident. I was optimistic. I thought that everything was falling into place. But then the coop board denied my application and the job that I thought would materialize did not.  I was sad and angry for a long time. I stopped blogging and became even more depressed as I couldn’t find a home in my preferred neighborhood or my price range. I knew someone who had contacts on the coop board and I asked them to enquired about my application and why I was denied.  He was informed that I the coop board was concerned that I did not have enough cash and they wanted a cash buyer. They were also concerned about my student loan debt. As I had just recently graduated from school, I hadn’t yet started repayment. I left graduate school owing Sallie Mae appro

Single Female Buys Home

Over the last several years, I have attended a ton of open houses and house tours here in Brooklyn. I have noticed that a lot of the potential homebuyers are single and female like myself.   Because this homebuying process has been so competitive I have never really surveyed the competition to find out why they chose to buy a home alone. For me, I have always wanted to own something whether I was married or single. I have always had a strong desire to decorate my own home, just how I want without the approval from a parent, a roommate or a landlord.   I have also been curious about female homebuying struggles such as dealing with mortgage approval, real estate agents, coop boards or just searching for a property in general. Female homebuying is not an anomaly. However, at these open houses I’m still met with these “poor dear” looks from real estate agents. Especially among male real-estate agents. I have found real estate agents as a whole to be rather aggressive. Granted they do

I Got Pre-Approved!

Realtor.com So, I guess I’m really doing this now. After hemming and hawing for the last few months, I’m finally ready to begin the mortgage/home search. And what better way to start than getting pre-approved.  Last week, I spoke to a mortgage consultant and after submitting W2, pay stubs, banks statements, etc, I got pre-approved for a mortgage. The mortgage approval amount is pretty much what I expected if not too aggressive for my liking. I’d liked to find a lower priced property than the pre-approval amount.  Also, I’m not opposed to buying a property that needs a little work, I’m just not into doing any major renovation work.  I’m moving cautiously but the bottom line is, I’m once again looking at properties.  I’m really excited. I feel more comfortable, confident this time around. I'm a lot calmer. Maybe because I've been through this process before. I know what I want. I know what I need. I know where I want to be. I'm not intimidated by cost or pushy

Dipping My Toes

While surfing StreetEasy, I noticed that there was a new two-bedroom apartment listed in my ideal neighborhood. The price is absolutely ridiculously overpriced though I was curious and wanted to see the apartment in person. I knew from past experience that the apartment looks much larger usually in person than they appear on line. I clicked the call the agent feature on StreetEasy and I was connected to a Broker name Owen. Owen isn’t the listing agent however he would meet with me at the property and offer me guidance, realtor services if I needed to make an offer.  I wasn’t going to make an offer.  Firstly, the property was ridiculously overpriced.  Secondly, it was small.  The apartment opens into a small foyer where you can see the living/dining area. Left of the foyer was a retro pink bathroom, then a master bedroom with two nice closets (one of them a walk in).  The second bedroom is actually I half bedroom right off the kitchen. Owen made a point of telling me that the kitchen c

Apartment Stalking

I have a confession. I’m a stalker. http://shrink4men.com/2011/02/16/female-stalkers-part-2-checklist-of-stalking-and-harassment-behaviors/ For the past two months, I have been stalking this perfect two-bedroom cooperative apartment online. Almost daily I view pictures on Streeteasy.com and Zillow.com and breathe a sigh of relief when I see that someone has not yet snapped it up. It’s not a huge place. It’s a two-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and living/dining area. I have imagined hosting Christmas and dinner parties here. And boy do I let my imagination run wild with design ideas. I have painted the living room a nice grey and hung flowy white curtains to the windows where currently there are blinds. In the kitchen, I have stained the cabinets, modernized the hardware and changed the backsplash to glass tiles that I found at home depot. Despite the imaginary home decor ideas, the apartment is otherwise perfect and in move in ready condition. Except of course tha

Budgeting and the New York Lifestyle

The other day I met up with my good friend, Tracey. These days we always seem to talk more about our careers and financial matters.  Tracey and I are in the same career field but have different kinds of responsibility. My job, for a large government agency, requires spending long hours on my feet and travel to many locations. Glamorous it’s not but it allows me a lot of autonomy. Tracey works on a yearly contract for a university in Manhattan. I live in Brooklyn with a roommate. Tracey lives in Manhattan with a roommate. Tracey complained about her lack of autonomy and job security.  Tracey, like many people, feels that she is underpaid for the lifestyle that she wants to live. I mentioned several times in this blog how totally uncool I am. I don’t hang out in trendy coffee shops and don’t spend long hours queuing to get into the hottest new restaurants. I don’t have a gym membership. Instead I take great pleasure in finding free and inexpensive things to do around the city. Wheth

Debt Free Journey

In the last few months,   I started 2 new jobs and bought a car. But let me start at the beginning.  In 2016, I made a resolution, along with the usual lose weight promises of years past, this year I had a plan of focusing on my financial future. Managing my debt. I asked myself what goals I wanted to accomplish in 2016 and developed a plan of how to accomplished those goals. I made a vision board and then I drew my own mind map. I was watching motivation videos on YouTube and TED talks. I would watch Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey and be inspired. I was on a goal of financial self-improvement. I made it a goal to find a higher paying job with my company. I mastered the “tell me about yourself” question and practiced my response in the mirror. I was confident. And after multiply revisions to my resume, careful crafted cover letters and multiple interviews, my hard work paid off. I got a job. Yeah me! Three years after graduate school, I finally got a job in my field.  With new job cam