Hunting the wild... real estate
Jan. 1st, 2006 01:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jim_pI've been LJing off and on about Tam and I and our search for suitable real estate to live and work. If we had the wealth of Bill Gates it wouldn't be a problem -- we could buy the Exact Right Property for us (which for us would be a building in an upscale area with retail on the ground floor and at least two living units above or attached, preferably near the T). That way we could each have our separate living spaces *and* our frame shop/art gallery all in one place.
Since we're not nearly so well-heeled, we have to hunt hard and compromise. It's gotten us thinking a lot about what is really important to us and what we can flex on. As it is, we don't always agree on what is or isn't a showstopper.
Adding to the urgency is the fact that Tam's studio space is going away on Jan. 31. That's when her lease runs out, and since her building has been sold she doesn't want to re-up; she wants to get into a stable situation now. I can't blame her. She's been complaining about how this search is consuming her life; she can't do any artwork anymore until this is resolved. It's starting to do the
same to me too... I had planned to do stuff in the frame shop and for my chorale during the post-xmas break, but I ended up spending the bulk of my time and energy on the property search. Frequently I'd stay up until 4 or 5 in the morning, trying "one more MLS search", "researching just one more property", "wait, that one is small but it has deeded parking" and doing all the mental gymnastics required to keep multiple axes of compromise straight...
Our second choice would be a large live/work space. We had one cruelly snatched away from us already, we're on the lookout for others, but they're even harder to find than affordable condos.
Plan J is for me to get a small condo to live in, and we look for a commercial work-only space that we can share.
We're working all our options, but we so want this to be over! Waaah!
Since we're not nearly so well-heeled, we have to hunt hard and compromise. It's gotten us thinking a lot about what is really important to us and what we can flex on. As it is, we don't always agree on what is or isn't a showstopper.
Adding to the urgency is the fact that Tam's studio space is going away on Jan. 31. That's when her lease runs out, and since her building has been sold she doesn't want to re-up; she wants to get into a stable situation now. I can't blame her. She's been complaining about how this search is consuming her life; she can't do any artwork anymore until this is resolved. It's starting to do the
same to me too... I had planned to do stuff in the frame shop and for my chorale during the post-xmas break, but I ended up spending the bulk of my time and energy on the property search. Frequently I'd stay up until 4 or 5 in the morning, trying "one more MLS search", "researching just one more property", "wait, that one is small but it has deeded parking" and doing all the mental gymnastics required to keep multiple axes of compromise straight...
Our second choice would be a large live/work space. We had one cruelly snatched away from us already, we're on the lookout for others, but they're even harder to find than affordable condos.
Plan J is for me to get a small condo to live in, and we look for a commercial work-only space that we can share.
We're working all our options, but we so want this to be over! Waaah!
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Date: 2006-01-01 01:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-03 09:44 am (UTC)