disappointment and reassurance, all in the period of three hours

Last week I had a big moment, in which I toured my very first home. It was actually the outgrowth of a HUGE disappointment - the home I'd had a crush on for quite some time was taken off the market. That link, by the way, LIES LIES LIES when it tells you it's still available. The way I found out the home was no longer for sale was such: after completing my HPAP documentation, I couldn't wait five more minutes to see it, so I scheduled a time later that week with my realtor to tour the house. ONE HOUR before I was supposed to leave work to go see the home, my realtor emails me saying that she heard back from the seller's agent and it was going under contract that very day. I was incredibly, incredibly bummed.

With this news, I moped around for a few minutes before realizing that there was another place I was interested in seeing - and suddenly had a free hour where I previously had not. This new place was of interest less because I had a crush on it and more because it was terribly intriguing. Listed at $129,000 and as a studio, the photos showed something very, very different. So I called up the realtor and, because she's 150% on the ball, she set up an appointment for that very night.

Turns out it's a misleading listing. The photos they used for it, which indicate it's a one-bedroom, are from a model unit - they're renovating the rest of the building's units to match it. So, on the one hand - bummer that a one-bedroom condo in Petworth can't be bought for $129k. On the other hand - kind of a cool situation, right? Since they're renovating the whole building, each buyer gets to choose the specific granite for the kitchen - and has the option to have the walls painted colorfully rather than the boring stock taupe that you normally find.

I dragged a good friend with me and she and I saw four units, priced between $175k and $230k. Surprisingly, my favorite was the least expensive. It had a really neat little sunroom, which could easily be an awesome dining area. That said, I didn't feel terribly urgent about the situation - which, to be honest, is a massive relief. But also frustrating, in a sense! I like the feeling of groundedness that you get from, you know, knowing what the next year of your life is going to look like. Still, it was really reassuring to visit a building with reasonably nice units that I can actually afford - made me feel a lot better about the whole process.