01285: Townhouse Wanted

I spent some time this morning looking for possible housing options, and thus far I've yet to see a potential unit that I really like or would want the likes of Tobie to even consider. I know I can be picky, but this is a purchase we're talking about and I want it to be perfect for us. And perfect may seem to be a rather tall bar to set, but I think it's only proper. Any home we end up buying may become our permanent home for quite an amount of time. And all the stress and effort into looking for a place that we "invest" now will translate to many more years of happy bliss in the future.

I listed some of our preliminary requirements for a house in a prior blog post, and think that'll pretty much stick. I've been running a few internet searches for town houses in Cubao and Makati in general, although I acknowledge that somewhere closer to Makati would make a heck of a lot more sense. I work there. Tobie sometimes works further south. And Prince is also based in Makati. To all roads seem to point in the direction of Makati, but that also means potentially higher rates for houses. So do we trade off less of a commute in exchange for higher property value?

But first I need to line up actual properties to review as options, and that's the real tricky part here. I'm starting to wonder if sticking to the internet isn't so great an idea and perhaps it's already time to start going the more "traditional" route by exploring local classified ads for possible listings and the like. Or I could keep spamming my social networking contacts and see if anyone has possible suggestions or perhaps realty agents that they can refer. I really want to make progress on this item so that the rest of our life can start to fall into place. Once the housing question is address (and our mortgage payments begin), then we can start to map out other stuff in the future like advancing our respective careers, considering exploring other passions or interests, having pets and tending a garden. That sort of a thing.

Or maybe we're being unrealistic. Maybe we should concede and just go for a good condominium unit or something. But considering we're probably going to pay around the same amount for a fraction of the space and less options for laundry and pets and all that fun stuff, well, it does seem rather silly. And don't forget how association dues will forever burden the property as if it were a rental.

And I'd really like to make sure that the place that we do settle in has room to grow. And by growth I'm referring to leaving open various options for other things like the aforementioned garden (or at the very least a variety of potted plants) and of course the option for a dog (or two) like how Prince has Poy-Poy over there.And so on and so forth. So many goals.

I've been wanting to own a house for so long. At times it feels like a crazy pipe dream at times - something that I've been holding on to over the years and constantly revisiting time and time again. And I'd like to think that we've gotten pretty close to getting particular townhouses here and there, but the feeling just wasn't quite right.

But I trust in the fact that sooner or later (and preferably sooner), we'll come across a house that will feel just right and with almost all the things that we're looking for. It'll be close enough to perfect that we'll know it right away and it'll be a scramble to get our hands on it. Sure, it'll mean restructuring the budget, learning to live within our means despite the burden of a mortgage, but beyond such trivial details, I know it'll be pretty awesome. And that's something worth striving and sacrificing for.

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