Here's the dish on my condo - that's right MY condo.

On Saturday, Joe, Todd and I went to go check out the place for the second time. It was even more splendid than it was the first time I saw it. The rooms are bathed in light from the Northern, Southern and Western exposure. The master bedroom (teehee, if I sleep in there, does that mean I'm the master?) is pretty large 11x12 and has a very nice sized closet. The living room is 14x12 and is full of windows. The second bedroom is perfect for an office/study combo and the bathroom is H U G E - which is good, because there is no linen closet, so I'll have to get some kind of furniture in there to hold my sheets and towels. The kitchen is a largish eat in one, and the cool thing is that the artsy-fartsy guy living there now sponge painted it in a cool looking orange.

The kitchen floor is a cool maroon ceramic tile and the bathroom is black and white. The rest of the floors are oak - and brand spankin' new. I ::heart:: hardwood floors. Some highlights of this place are:

* Central airconditioning
* In-Unit washer and dryer (WOOOHHOOOO!)
* In-Unit water heater - which means no more competition for hot water in the mornings
* It is in a very up and coming way culturally diverse neighborhood which is closer to work.

So, back to my story. Joe and Todd liked the place too. We walked around the neighborhood for awhile, checking out the people, the stores and gave this neighborhood six thumbs up. I saw no yuppies, no Starbucks and no Borders. However, we did see, privately owned bookstores and coffee houses. A town with a real personality! Unfortunately, we also discovered that a new McDonalds is being built less than 1/2 mile from my condo. I wonder what it would take to get them to go away?

Anyhow, so Dave the Real Estate Guy and I sat in a Thai restaurant and hashed over the paperwork and my offer, and then the boys and I walked home, via several of the bars on the nearly 5-mile stretch east. In fact, within one mile of my condo, there is a bar that serves my all-time favorite beer - Stiegl, which is really hard to get on tap in the US. I'm telling you, me and this condo - we were meant to be.

By the time I'd gotten home, Dave had already called me to tell me the seller had countered my bid. We discussed sales and taxes of other units in the building and other properties in the area and decided if we gave them $1k more, we would be giving a very fair price. To my astonishment, the seller agreed to that! I was completely stunned for hours after Dave congratulated me on the phone. I still can't believe that I am going to be owning property very soon.

We went officially to contract right away. This involved writing up another contract with all the right numbers, exchanging attorney information (thank goodness, Dave got me a lawyer - I hadn't thought of getting one). The seller gave me the bylaws of the building and some meeting minutes that I still haven't read. This whole, "going to contract" thing didn't take more than 1/2 an hour, and only took that long because Dave had to photocopy everything for the other realitor.

Saturday morning at 9 am is when our inspector (again, arranged by Dave) will arrive at the property, and yeah, I have to be there. He'll look to see if anything is not up to code, unsafe or broken. For this I get to pay him $225. Then I fax the stuff right to my new lawyer. If all goes well, I have to write a check for 5% of the price of the property. Why exactly I have to give them money before I can move in, I'm not sure.

Closing has already been set for May 30. I've already started pricing movers. More importantly, I need a mortgage (and Mr. Mortgage Broker hasn't called me back yet, but I'm trying to relax. I only called him at 8 am this morning, and the markets were particularly volitile today. Relax, relax. I don't have to have a mortgage committment until April 18, and he has all my paperwork from the pre-approval already.)

Also on the agenda is telling my landlord that I'm breaking my lease, and trying to find someone to rent this place before I move out.

So there you have it - the details of the place. Oh, Nyssa - sorry, but no exposed brick in this place. I like this condo too much to let that bother me though.