I feel like I'm surrounded by people in your situation, so if it gets really stressful I can give you a number of people to truly commisurate with: Jeanne is trying to close on selling her little house in Rocky Point and is house shopping in VA. My dad is trying to close on my Poppy's house, is closing on a house in FLA, and is in the market to sell the one in Mt. Sinai. James (Greg's friend) is trying to close on his first house right now as well. It's SUCH a BITCH of a procedure. I feel sorry for all of you and am mostly NOT envious, for the moment. I'll be itching to buy in about a year and a half--where it will be a totally different market, but I will have such wisdom from the trenches. You know, I am certain I forgot someone--that's how many people in my immediate circle of friends and family that are either buying or selling homes.

you could have a housewarming party and strongly imply that lavish gifts are a prerequisite for entry. or you could marry uncle irving, despite the incest/bestiality overtones. of course that might drive people away, but maybe at least they'd send presents.

Ahhhh - my new bf TIVO. I love him so. He is so responsive to my needs. So intuitive. Now, how do I find a human just like this? I am not sure I can. On a related note, on MTV True Life, they showed these people who were completely attached to their dogs. It was so odd to see these early 20's folks just freakishly attached. I am glad my new bf, TIVO doesn't make me feel like that. He waits for me to come home, to give him love. Ahhhh the way it should be.

Now on to my feline issue. Now he needs thyroid medicine on top of everything. This cat is costing me a fortune. But I love him so, and he is so cute. Maybe Calla will post a pic of my cute baby.

In response to this whole mortgage and purchasing a home issue: So often I wonder just what I'm doing wrong that I don't have enough money saved for a down payment! I think I know, actually-nearly three years of living off of a pathetic grad school stipend, only to get a degree that really didn't pay off certainly didn't help...I save and save and save and have like no life...kind of ridiculous, but that's what it takes to get a house on Long Island. Hell, I'll even take a condo, as long as I can own it. Rent is the ultimate rip off, and since rents are so high it's nearly impossible to put enough money aside to get out of it. Sorry for the rant, but this is a major topic of conversation (more like OBSESSION) for me lately!

Good god, Kimmy, you're not doing anything wrong. My $ is all borrowed. Good faith loans upon bank loans. The sad commentary is that for 3 years (when I lived in Manhattan) I paid rent equal and MORE than my mortgage and maintenance payments combined. Hence I saved nothing, a I was making less money than I'm making now. Buying a house on LI is as insane as buying a place in NYC...the taxes are so rediculous. I think that the houses that were built near my parents' old house had property taxes upwards of 16%. Sheesh.

Jimmylegs-- hmmm. Sadly, you are not the first person to bring up the topic of marrying my feline. It seems like the easy way out...besides, I like my men far less hairy...or scabby.

You're right--but this whole notion of having a couple hundred thousand dollars of debt hanging over my head is an alien concept that I need to come to terms with, QUICKLY!...I never carry a credit card balance for crissakes! But, you still need to come up with a downpayment, which can be like $70,000 for a decent place, and that's the sobering part of the deal. Ugh. It scares me that I'm getting old enough to be concerned with this sort of thing!

Ouch! $70,000??? How much is this house, like $400K?? Well, now that I think about it, that's what houses on LI cost sometimes. Actually, that's a relatively cheap house on LI. Don't forget about things like first home buyers' plans and other government programs. It was harder here in NYC to get those, as most apts are co-ops and for some reasons gov't programs don't apply to them. But when it comes to a house, they do. Just make sure that you have good credit. I'm learning SO MUCH through this process. I'd never have made it this far without my gay boyfriend, Skutchie, who is a fiscal whiz.

Kimmy, you and Ralph might want to think about buying a smaller, cheaper place than you'd imagine staying in for a long time (I guess depending on whether you plan to be introducing baby creatures any time soon). Then you could gain equity and probably put a little bit of money in the bank from what you get back in taxes, etc. After a few years the housing market on LI might cool down and then you could snag one of those mansions in Belle Terre. But seriously, you might have an easier time finding something in 5 years, as we'll probably be feeling the Bush fuck-ups in the economy at full blast then.

Steady as she goes Callalillie. Sounds as if things are going just 'swimmingly' as you forge ahead with acquiring your own(ed) abode.

If I dont get the ax on my employment contract on Sept 30th I'll send over a frying pan of the wishlist as a house warming gift.