Thank you for coming to Apartment MBS! Allow me to introduce myself – I’m Meredith, and I’ve lived in Los Angeles since 2011. I moved to California from the East Coast with the goal of working in the entertainment industry…which meant more crappy assistant jobs than I care to admit.
The whole time I was working those demeaning entry-level positions, I stayed in the same studio apartment. And good thing! In 2011, rent was $800 a month. Thanks to rent control, I never paid over $1200 for it. Was it tough living in 360 sq. ft. for 8.5 years? IT WAS. Did it feel like my building was crumbling around me? ?. But if I moved into another rental, I’d be paying twice as much for something just as crappy. No thank you.
(Silver lining – living in such a tight space taught me to be exceptionally great organizing and getting rid of clutter!)
I decided a long time ago that if I was going to move, it was going to be into something I owned. I know a lot of friends that are frightened at the burden that comes with home ownership…but not me! I like to get my hands dirty. I like knowing something is mine.
For a long time, I worried that that wasn’t possible.
…until I ran the numbers.
When I did the math, I realized that if I could scrounge up 3.5% down, an FHA mortgage was going to run just a bit more than rent would. Plus, I’d just spent a year in a well-paying job.I knew mortgage companies would like that.
Tentatively, I met with a real estate agent. She confirmed what I hoped would be true – buying a condo was totally within reach.
Fast-forward through the messy process (which I’ll outline on this site – stay tuned!) and I purchased my place in March, 2020.
My condo needed help. The walls of the bedroom were painted a color blue that could best be described as electric Dodger blue. The microwave was broken. Fixtures are outdated. But like I said, I like to get my hands dirty!
That’s when I thought it would be fun to document that fix-‘er-up process, as well as provide advice for other single women (or men, or people) buying property all on their own.
Thanks for stopping by – let’s have some fun!