juliana, I was an apartment dweller until I was 46, mainly because it was affordable. But I knew if I wanted to own, I was going to have to do it and just get it over with. So, I'm starting with this condo and under my 5-year plan (which has 3 more years to go), I will sell it and buy better. I did some funky things to finance, which I don't recommend to everyone, but it's working for me. I took a loan against my 401k for part of the down payment, plus borrowed some money from my father. But, with the downpayment that gave me (18k) it meant when I sell up I'll have quite a bit of equity in it, even at 5 years. The downside is that my total loan payments, taxes and condo fees is much more than I could rent for. However, the 401k loan is paid up within that 5 years (at which time my car is paid off, too), which will give me over $250 a month more income. With the equity and profit from the condo and the extra dough in the paycheck, I should be able to move upward to a much nicer domicile. I'm pinching pennies massively right now, but it will be worth it in the long run. Also on the upside, though, is that I get much nicer tax breaks being a home owner.

I didn't buy a house until last year, when I was 44. Just didn't feel stable enough (or have good enough credit for a decent place and interest rate) until then.

That said, I take great comfort from knowing that every payment is a little piece of my home. I just did my taxes, and I'm getting the largest refund ever, largely because I can now itemize.

And that that said, my main concern in the immediate is making sure there's an income here at Casa Astarte for taxes to be refunded from...

They have a message board that has a whole section devoted to "If I like X-Y-Z from Lush, what BPAL scent would I like?"

Ooh, shiny. Thank you.

For Raq and anyone else who is interested, it looks like answers are Vixen, Masquerade and Obeah. Seraglio apparently compliments Karma but does not smell the same.

Still, there's that feeling I occasionally get when we go visit another friend's new house (and more often than not, new baby) - the feeling of being left behind/not growing up/whatever

Yes. And also, I want a yard to grow things in, a basement for storage, and a room for our theoretical future child. In every other way, the apartment is perfect for us, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry when we move.

In my neighborhood, in the current market, buying an apartment roughly the size of where we live now would be about half a million dollars. And our current apartment's only big enough until we have kids. So we're gonna be renting for a LONG time.

I think if you are living paycheck to paycheck and renting the word is wait. We were doing finewhile renting - but much more paycheck to paycheck now. However, part of the reason for the paycheck to paycheck is home improvement - which we want to do. I am also sure that if we had to sell tomorrow the equity we have gained in the year is enought to finace a new home in a less crazy market -

For Raq and anyone else who is interested, it looks like answers are Vixen, Masquerade and Obeah.

I have an imp of Obeah that was a freebie in my imp order of a while ago -- and now that I think of it, it *does* remind me of Karma. Does BPAL still sell Obeah? I got the impression it was a test scent, and they didn't go with it.

Lyra, if you want to try it -- the imp is pretty much full -- it's yours. It all goes to Play-Doh on me, so I haven't been wearing my BPAL scents. Just e-mail me your snail mail addy.

Lyra, if you want to try it -- the imp is pretty much full -- it's yours.

Awesome, and thank you. Email to be insent shortly.

But Play-Doh smells *good*

Kewl, I may see if I can get imps of those shipped here.

We've rented forever. We are professional renters. It makes me twitchy, but the DH is not into commitment.

But Play-Doh smells *good*

I *love* the way Play-Doh smells -- LOVE it. However, if I expect (for instance) Hellfire to smell like leather and smoke, I don't want the dang Play-Doh scent. It's my chemistry; it's so fucked-up that I turn a lot of scents to Play-Doh. So far, I'm sticking with a blend I made myself of lavender and sandalwood essential oils, because I love that combination AND they don't turn to Play-Doh on me.

Though, thanks to the wallet-emptying crack-house that is Sephora -- which just opened in the mall right across from my office! -- I've found that I really like Obsession Night, which is all dark and warm and doesn't seem to turn to Play-Doh on me. Yet.

Still, there's that feeling I occasionally get when we go visit another friend's new house (and more often than not, new baby) - the feeling of being left behind/not growing up/whatever

Oh yes, this. Over and over again. We've always rented, and while it didn't bother me years ago -- young, had kids early, no money -- it's a huge desire of mine now. Right now we're broke due a really tough two years (and thus living with my father-in-law for a while), but when we leave here, hopefully with a decent chunk in savings, what I want is to buy a house. I get how hard maintaining it can be, because I've seen it with my parents and my in-laws (and my friends, actually), but I want the freedom to paint and knock down walls if I want to, and store things, and have a yard.

A home, really. Somewhere where I won't be afraid the landlord will want to sell the house, or the apartment building won't go condo. I long for roots, for a place to dig in and stay until the kids are grown and beyond, a place they can come back to with *their* kids. It's just getting there that's the trouble, especially since we won't be able to afford a decent-sized house for a while. Unless we move back to Wyoming or something.