would you like to comment on that?

ok ya'll.. back to the old comments system. yeah! it's so much better, no?

well, an update on the home buying front. a disappointing one, no less. i finally found a place that i fell in love with AND was well within my price range. a few outstanding amenities included the much priortized room for a pool table. maybe not an 8 footer, but hey, i'm a flexible kinda gal. a 7 footer would do me just fine.

next, the kitchen was spacious enough to fit my (small) dining table. the place had a dishwasher, new appliances (though not stainless steel, but i'm ok with that), a front balcony AND a back porch and a decent sized bedroom.

and as a finale, i'll fill you in on the most beautiful bathroom i've ever seen in my not-so-long journey of house hunting. the bathroom had white italian tiles with a few tiles of green, blue and maroon thrown in the mix with a stackable washer-dryer in the corner, a square shaped toilet seat and a corner jacuzzi tub with - get this - a rainshower head that had to be at least 12 inches in diameter that juts directly down from the ceiling. i kid you not. i've since had dreams of taking showers under that thing!

but, as all good things come to an end, so did this. i went through the whole round of offers and counter offers and the seller actually came back with a price that matched the amount i had set as a limit in my brain. but then after reading through the association's financial statements (i am after all an accountant) and their budget for next year which i got via fax after the original counter offer, and several conversations with my realtor and the building's property manager, i realized that it was not a financially sound investment. the assessments are just way too high for what i'm getting. the worst part was when i found out that they've had "special assessments" on going for the past 7 years, and will continue indefinitely because it's a really old building. now, if ya'll haven't been able to fix all you need to fix in 7 years, then damn, ya'll have some serious problems! albeit the seller was going to pay me 2.5 years worth of special assessments at closing.. but what happens after that? and when i try to sell? after the 2.5 years, i'm looking at close to $400/mo just in assessments! that's like paying rent in addition to a mortgage! not to mention 2 or 3 years down the road if i try to sell it there's no way i'll find a buyer willing to pay that much in assessments and still make a decent profit on the sale. i've been shying away from lakefront highrises for that same reason! but at least they had swimming pools and doormen and cable included!

so yeah.. i wasn't born yesterday. my realtor says i should sleep on it. and i will. but i doubt i'll change my mind.

so, my friends.. the search continues. wish me luck!