Skip to main content

I'm Back, Again!

Yesterday I met up with my friend Dominique for lunch. We laughed and gossip and ruined our diets. We went to the new Michael’s on Atlantic Avenue

 and wondered about downtown Brooklyn shopping at Loft and Housing Works on Montague Street.

Eventually the conversation turned to our dreams.  For as long as I could remember, Dominique has always wanted to start her own business. 

She makes really great natural products such as lip balms, lotions and deodorants.  
I was encouraging her to continue as a sort of side hustle as I felt she was giving up on her dreams. But there I realized that I had also given up on my dreams. It has been over a year since I last blogged and that wasn’t my intention.  My dream was to buy a home and blog about that experience but somewhere along the way I got discouraged and stopped looking. I stopped attending open houses or even searching properties on Streeteasy and Zillow. 




 And so as I got home later that evening I started thinking more about the things I wanted to accomplish this year.  One of those being to blog a least once per week. And two, to buy a home.  Over the last year there has been a lot of positive changes in my life and feel that I am better able to cope with some of the stresses of home ownership, dealing with coop boards and mortgage brokers and finding a home on a moderate budget (no trust fund baby or cash buyer here).  I know what I want (a two bedroom apartment, lots of closet space, close to public transportation) and also what I don’t need.  So here I go again searching for my first home. My dream home. You’re welcome to join me on this journey.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I found another house

At the end of July, I thought that I had found my dream home. I made an offer. The seller countered. Then I accepted the seller’s counter offer.   I was already trying to schedule the home inspection when my realtor, Robert, texted me that the seller wanted to hold off. Well, according to Robert, the seller decided to sell the home to his neighbor’s friend. I was disappointed but then oddly felt relief. As much as I like the home and the area, I was a little worried that the location was a little too isolated. It was close to buses but far away from the train. I was concerned about how I would get to and from work. Robert would still make his commission as he was acting as both the buyer and seller’s agent. Everyone was happy except for me. I then called another former realtor, Louis, and we began looking at properties.   We went to an open house on a quiet street, a few blocks away from a subway station and a block from a bus, that was listed below market value. There w...

Guest Bedroom Reveal!

I have a long to do list for my home. The problem is trying to priorities that to do list. Every item in my home was purchase, from the farmhouse chandeliers in the upstairs bedrooms to the doorknobs. All the door knobs. Furnishing a new home is quite expensive. Even though I am giddy and excited to get this home completely furniture and renovated, I have had to take a step back. I have had to just learn to live in a minimally furniture home.   I love it. I love the bare walls. I love the space.   I love the feel of not having clutter. On my last blog post, I showed some pictures of my kitchen and dining room, Today I want to share a few pictures from some of the other parts of the home. It's not perfect. I still need a dresser and a mirror but those will come in time.  In the meantime, this is what it looks like.

We're in Contract

Last week we completed the home inspection. There were a few concerns such as a leaking faucet and fallen off cabinet doors but nothing that would impede us going forward with the deal. The house appeared to be in good working condition though it is in desperate need of deep cleaning.   My realtor has taken to calling this house a “hot property”, as there continues to be a lot of interest and offers. He was concerned that someone else could swoop in and make a higher offer than mine.   Apparently, there was a prior offer to mine and that deal fell apart after the inspection when the “greedy buyer” wanted to renegotiate the price.   I made my offer at the right time. Also, it was about $10,000 more than the prior offer. My realtor was eager for us to go to contract.   Present at the inspection were myself, my realtor, the inspection, the homeowner and the listing agent. I had asked my mom to come along as well for moral support. Mom did not see the home prior to...