As 2004 quickly approaches, so, too, does our dream of home ownership. Last night while getting ready for bed, Jen randomly said to me, “I’m tired of renting. Let’s buy a place.” Of course, this is what we’ve been talking about and planning to do for quite some time. For most of that time, however, I’ve been the biggest advocate of purchasing a home. Jen has been getting more and more comfortable with the idea lately, so it’s great to have heard her say something like this. It means that we’re both really ready.
And things are progressing rather quickly. We received our official pre-approval letter last Tuesday after having looked at the beautiful new condos being built a block from our place (555 Irving at 7th Ave.) and getting excited about owning something. Of course, the condos aren’t a reality for us because of the dogs, but they were so nice that we had one of those moments wherein we questioned whether having dogs was a good idea in the first place.
I also spoke last week with our landlord about what happens if we find “the one” before our lease runs out January 31, 2004. We are responsible for the rent through the end of the lease, but we have the option of finding someone to take it over for us. Our landlord also brought up a good point: It’s possible to have a closing as long as 90 days, so, in theory, we could buy a place November 1, 2003, and close on January 31, the same day our lease ends. Of course, to time it that perfectly is probably not a reality. We also have the option to go month-to-month in our lease after January 31, in case we still haven’t found a place by then.
I’m excited that home ownership is getting closer and closer.
