Things: they are happening
Jun. 30th, 2021 03:18 pmSince last we spoke—warnings at the link for discussion of mental health, death fixation, weight, babies—I upped my meds dose again, got a promotion in honor of the crap-ton of work I did last summer while high on serotonin, and… bought a condo.
!
Given that the housing market here was obscene even before the pandemic hit, and based on friends' and coworkers' recent experiences and agents' advice, I'd expected to spend a long time browsing and making occasional offers that would be rejected in favor of cash offers way above asking price with every contingency waived before securing anything. So it was a surprise to have my first offer accepted, at asking price, just two months after taking a state-sponsored online home buying course.
I'd also expected, or even hoped, to land on one floor of the triple-deckers that define middle-income housing in the greater Boston area, or a small single-family home further out if I was extra lucky, yet here I am in a condo complex. It's got tall windows and trees outside and CENTRAL HEATING/COOLING and a POOL, it shouldn't involve too bad of a commute once we go back to the office in the fall, and it's two bedrooms instead of one, so for the first time in more than 10 years, visitors can enjoy a door when they stay over, along with not sweating or freezing their butts off.
On the one hand, my bank account now provides none of the safety net I'd taken comfort in for years. On the other hand, I can stop worrying about being kicked out at lease renewal time (*cough* last apartment) or not having control over things that should be fixed (*cough* current apartment). If you can believe it, the monthly mortgage payment will be less than what rent cost. Now to convince my brain to stop yelling THIS IS ALL A TERRIBLE MISTAKE at intervals and ease the occasional pit of dread in my stomach.
Move date is in less than a month.
I put together a registry and then dithered about sharing it online. Brain: It's tacky to ask people for stuff! It's extra tone deaf in a pandemic! Yet why should registries be the province only of people getting married or having kids? So here is the link. The intro contains some of my Thoughts and Feelings. I hope you will forgive me if you find the whole thing untoward.
!
Given that the housing market here was obscene even before the pandemic hit, and based on friends' and coworkers' recent experiences and agents' advice, I'd expected to spend a long time browsing and making occasional offers that would be rejected in favor of cash offers way above asking price with every contingency waived before securing anything. So it was a surprise to have my first offer accepted, at asking price, just two months after taking a state-sponsored online home buying course.
I'd also expected, or even hoped, to land on one floor of the triple-deckers that define middle-income housing in the greater Boston area, or a small single-family home further out if I was extra lucky, yet here I am in a condo complex. It's got tall windows and trees outside and CENTRAL HEATING/COOLING and a POOL, it shouldn't involve too bad of a commute once we go back to the office in the fall, and it's two bedrooms instead of one, so for the first time in more than 10 years, visitors can enjoy a door when they stay over, along with not sweating or freezing their butts off.
On the one hand, my bank account now provides none of the safety net I'd taken comfort in for years. On the other hand, I can stop worrying about being kicked out at lease renewal time (*cough* last apartment) or not having control over things that should be fixed (*cough* current apartment). If you can believe it, the monthly mortgage payment will be less than what rent cost. Now to convince my brain to stop yelling THIS IS ALL A TERRIBLE MISTAKE at intervals and ease the occasional pit of dread in my stomach.
Move date is in less than a month.
I put together a registry and then dithered about sharing it online. Brain: It's tacky to ask people for stuff! It's extra tone deaf in a pandemic! Yet why should registries be the province only of people getting married or having kids? So here is the link. The intro contains some of my Thoughts and Feelings. I hope you will forgive me if you find the whole thing untoward.