The waiting game

Yesterday we put in an offer for The Dream Condo. Now I am tearing my eyes out with the horror and the agony of the waiting.

The Dream Condo is literally that. We saw quite a few places, all of them built recently (since 2000), some around 1000 square feet (like Dream Condo) some giant ones over 1500 sq ft with mezzanines. But none of them felt like home. Dream Condo automatically gave me the feeling that I already lived there. There are only a handful of little projects I could foresee possibly undertaking to make it more our own (like a counter upgrade - gross green laminate countertop in the kitchen, and some other gross laminate in the bathroom. I dream of soapstone.) But even the paint colors are us. They even have the same furniture we do (albeit it is IKEA furniture, and half the city probably has it, but it just fits in the space.)

Dream Condo is in an apartment-style building, but doesn't feel like it. There is a little gate you enter instead of a doorway, and the stairwell leading up to our door is open. We would be on the second floor, so not too high up for the doggies, who are quite old and don't like stairs so much, but not on the ground floor, with people walking by and getting all up in our business. The walls and floors are all constructed of concrete, so there is practically no way to be bothered by neighbors, unless they are hanging out their windows screaming and you happen to be on your balcony. We would have a parking spot. I would be less than five minutes away from half of our clients. The Dream Condo is heated by blowing air, not baseboards, so feels more comfy. There is central air conditioning. A gas fireplace. A giant spa tub and separate shower. Hardwood floors. Cherry wood cabinets. Stone tile in the kitchen. His and her closets. A giant balcony. And no grass to mow.

Why would we choose a condo? It's next to impossible to find a free-standing house in the city that we could afford. Living outside of the city is not an option for us right now, as I need to be close to the business, and we can't afford to rent an office. Plus SB also works downtown. Some of the older condos are really charming and romantic-looking, but how romantic is it to hear your neighbors upstairs clomping around at 5am? And how charming are all the other problems that come along with a place built in 1920? We don't have time for that. Would it be nice to have a yard - theoretically yes. But our dogs are so old and dependent I don't think they'd really enjoy it, maintenance is annoying, and....maintenance is annoying. Our balcony is big enough for a bbq, lawnchairs, a nice furniture set, etc. We can hang out out there on a Saturday and drink beer, read the paper, let the dogs and cat sleep in the sun.

I don't know, maybe I'm being too idealistic. I'm sure once we (if we) move in we will find out what the downsides are to this place. But for now I just want all this offer-counteroffer-countercounteroffer bullshit to be done, and I want to know if and when we are moving. I can't sleep. I have a migraine. I hate negotiations. SB loves them, and is having a hard time understanding my grumpiness. But we should know by tonight. So I'm trying to keep busy and make the day go by fast fast fast.