With help and luck, a writer trades rental life for homeownership Eighteen months ago, a random fire consumed my one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan?s West Village. Thankfully, I wasn?t home; a blogging side gig had taken me to upstate New York.
After an unexpected phone call, I rushed back to the city to witness the smoke and soot of the fire?s aftermath. I tried not to feel hopeless: I had supportive, loving friends, most of whom didn?t have renters insurance, either.
Afterwards, I felt the need to more concretely plot my next step. Though I had traveled the world alone, been bungee jumping, and crashed a wedding, I didn?t know that the next milestone of my journey toward real adulthood would feel like my most exhilarating move. It would involve house-hunting?and going from a temporary, two-bedroom duplex to buying a 350-square-foot studio in a co-op building in New York City. Here?s what I learned?and what I wish I?d known before I embarked on this adventure. Even if you think you?re not ready for homeownership, there?s no harm in weighing your options.
After the fire, my mom asked if I?d ever considered buying an apartment. Buying" I hung up the phone, shocked?but intrigued. My self-made parents rented from the time they emigrated from Seoul until their building?s management company told them that they could no longer keep their rent-stabilized rate. To consider buying, I would need their financial support; I barely had any savings myself.
It hadn?t been an im...