Thursday, June 5, 2014

That location, location, location thing is no joke

When we moved to Central Florida, we still hadn't sold our house, and we certainly didn't have the money for a down payment on a house in addition to rent. Besides, we weren't sure if we were going to like it, and we didn't know exactly where in the area we might like to live. 
But now it's been almost two years since we made the move to Florida, and we've decided that we're probably going to stay (employers willing, that is), and we know what neighborhoods we'd like to live in. 
Unfortunately, we can't afford those neighborhoods. At least, we can't afford houses in those neighborhoods that aren't "fixer uppers" in the truest sense of the word. 
We ended up selling our house at a time when the market was really depressed, so we took a huge loss. Nothing we could do. It's just how life is. But the equity we had built up in seven years, plus our original down payment all vanished. Add in moving costs and life, and we're back to "starter house" territory in a market that's much more expensive. 
So we're re-evaluating what's really important to us as we continue our search, and just know that with patience, hard work in looking, and a little luck, we'll eventually find something that's just right. 
We'll keep you posted.