dwelling report

It's interesting how things work.

I made a "vow", if you will, that I was going to get a house in 2007. It's '07 now, so I've been exploring options for my next dwelling.

Here's what I've learned so far.

1. I will most likely not buy a house because I would be stretching myself too thin in order to get what I want.

Some of you may remember that television commercial with the guy who was in "debt up to his eyeballs"; a funny look at what can happen when you live beyond your means. I won't let that happen to me.

2. If you can't afford in a house, you can afford a really nice condo or villa.

As aforementioned, it's interesting how things work. Condo and villa prices are, admittedly, awesome. And I mean awesome in a good way. As a native New Englander I never seriously considered going condo, mainly due to the reason that Connecticut condos suck. They're boring, overpriced, boxy and almost corporate looking. Bleah. However, the Florida versions are nothing short of spectacular. Truly.

3. When is a condo not a condo?

If a dwelling has:

...a one-car garage attached
...over 900 square feet of living space
...a driveway
...a yard
...no neighbors above you

..doesn't this qualify as a house?

Almost.

The two things that keep it a condo or villa is that it's attached (not detached) and you don't own the land.

Still.. only by a hair does it qualify as what it is. For all intents and purposes, it is a house. It's financed the same way, looks and acts the same way and so on.

Just for comparison, a 1200 square foot house usually has three bedrooms and is considered by most to be "normal" sized. Since the place is just for me, 900 square fet is all the space I need.

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So.. it looks like I'll be going condo or villa. I'm leaning towards villa because it's more like a house.

Further bulletins as events warrant. Stay tuned.