I started getting serious about scoping out townhouses yesterday, and it was a joyous then frustrating then educational experience. I visited four places with my mom (who enjoys doing this sort of thing and besides, I could use the help of someone who's been there before), and the first one I visited was by far the best of the lot. It was a gorgeous 3/2.5 unit with a postage-stamp-small yard in the back, high ceilings and placed in a reasonably quiet neighborhood. And it seemed to be in the upper range of what I could afford.
That is, until I got back to my parents place and started breaking down all of the other costs. It was a horrifying process, consisting of me adding up the numbers, one of my parents asking "But did you add in this?", me asking "What?", me adding in numbers for items I hadn't considered before, and then watching as the townhouse slipped from my grasp.
The good thing is that for the first time I have a solid idea about how much is too much house for me. The bad thing is that I don't know if I'll find anything as nice as that first place at a price I can afford.
Anonymous said: