I found this quote on Pinterest the other day, and it is is so appropriate for me lately! I had posted a little bit back in the summer about our condo search, which honestly has been going on for over a year. See, we live in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Ft. Lauderdale, if you don’t know it, is pretty much a small town, like, it has a reputation as being lumped in with Miami which it kind of is, but it’s really quite different, and while the county is big, the city itself, and downtown, is small. So it’s kind of cool because it’s actually like living in a small town, it’s completely walkable, you run into the same people over and over, I’ve seen the mayor on a number of occasions, it’s sweet like that. So we love living downtown, but we were in the market to buy. However, unless you’re a gazillionaire (which, I mean, Little Blue Deer does okay but it’s not quite in the gazillion tax bracket if you feel me 😉 there are no single family homes to buy. They’re outrageous! So the only option to buy you are left with then is a condo. Which has a lot of benefits, you don’t have to worry about fixing the roof (ha ha unless the assessment says so), or mowing your grass.
But anyway, long story short, we were under contract on two different condos, and we ended up letting both of them go. We made a major decision last week just to stay renting where we are because the housing market is so tight, and sock away savings, and spend any extra on travel instead of condo fees and assessments. I don’t know if this is a smart decision or not, I mean, when you rent you’re not really building towards anything. But on the other hand, the South Florida market is super overpriced right now, and it seemed senseless to overpay for something we just didn’t wholeheartedly adore. So I’m adjusting my philosophy now for awhile, I’ll be a renter for a bit longer, and we’re planning some trips with our excess condo fee/assessment cash. I’m sure not everyone cares about our housing saga but on the other hand, it’s a major issue for many Americans, it’s like, this crazy emotional thing, if you’ve bought a house you would totally understand! So I just felt like blogging about it, and I’d love to hear about your homebuying experience too, and if you choose to rent, your reasons. We’re all in this together lol!
