My condo is currently 'under contract' - we just completed the inspection and now I must review the condo documents and await the appraisal from my lender

There aren’t many reasons to celebrate the downturn in the economy, but finally being able to afford a place to live in Washington DC is, perhaps, a silver lining.  I moved to DC about 4 years ago to work for the Center for Clean Air Policy, a domestic and international climate policy think tank.  On my non-profit salary and at the height of the housing bubble in one of the most expensive markets in the U.S., well…. you get the picture!  I despaired of ever being able to afford to actually live here! 

I have been an itinerant renter, moving to 2 studio apartments at the Melwood in Adams Morgan and one shared house in the last 4 years.  Now I am eyeballs deep in sustainable building at HOK and I finally I have 750 square feet to call my own.  I have a signed contract on a condo in the heart of DC, between Kalorama, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, U Street, Adams Morgan and a short 1.5 mile walk to my office in Georgetown.  And if that still doesn’t convince you, my new condo scored a 100 out of 100 on Walkscore - a peeeeerrrrrrfffffeeeccccctttt score!  As a professional Tree Hugger without a car, this is pretty important to me!  Also, there are a bunch of great neighborhood cafes, like L’Enfant Cafe (named after the original DC planner) and Jolt N Bolt for weekend bagel and coffee runs.

My awesome agent, Jessica Wilkie with Long and Foster, sits on the couch in my-soon-to-be-living-room

Because my lease isn’t up until the end of July and I bought this condo from some very nice people who were willing to work with my schedule, I have almost two months (until July 16) before I actually ‘close’ and move in.  Yesterday, during my home inspection (which went extremely well) I took measurements, sketched out a floor plan, and took as many photos as possible so that my fabulous friend and roomate-that’s-coming-with-me-to the-new-condo, Lee, and I can plan our furniture arrangements and select paint colors.  I plan to blog the next two or so months and want feedback on our design decisions!

The current color scheme is a little bland, except for my roommate’s future bedroom which is gray with pink animal decals on the wall.  For some reason she is not planning to keep it this way ;-o So stay tuned – I will be updating you with rooms, furiture and even art decisions – as well as soliciting your advice when we get stumped.

Of course we'll lose the crib, but I think the pink animals are a nice touch!