Equity

I just pulled the trigger on a condo in Austin. To say that I’m a little freaked-out is an understatement.

I flew down to Austin this past Tuesday to meet-up with my agent, Anna Anami. I got hooked-up with Anna from a recommendation made on the forums for incoming McCombs students. I really lucked-out, because Anna was awesome. She knew I was in Austin for just about 24 hours, and had a whole lineup of properties to look at, many of which I was very familiar with because of all the information she sent me in the weeks prior to me coming down.

I had decided, prior to coming down, that I was primarily interested in new construction. I can get into the details later, but that was the direction I was leaning towards. The first place we checked-out were the Caswell Lofts which are located 1 mile from UT, 1 mile from Whole Foods and related shops and about 2 miles from the Downtown and Warehouse districts. The Lofts are located across the street from a park (which has a frisbee golf course!) and a community tennis center.

Fast forward past several other buildings and developments, and I found myself back at Caswell for a second look the next morning (Wednesday). I walked through pretty much every unit they had still available, looking for subtle points that I might have missed, comparing the views, trying to imagine myself in each space.

The builder’s agent (Dave van Heusen) was very cool and patient with me through the process. My two main dilemmas were: how much space do I need (827 vs. 977) and how happy would I be in a back-row unit, not facing the park? There were a few units hitting different price points based on how big they were and which way they faced. I could feel myself start to freeze and go into a tailspin. Pros and cons danced through my head, and I started talking about needing some time to think things over. I told Anna I’d be in touch the next day (Thursday).

And then, as I walked to a coffee/sandwich shot for a bite before heading out of town, and calm came over me, and I knew what I wanted to do. As I walked into the shop, thinking about how I would call Anna after eating lunch, who should be there but Anna herself, just wrapping-up some lunch of her own. Quite a happy coincidence, and one that saved me a quarter (or some minutes). I told her which unit I wanted (212) and that was that. The contract has been signed and 4% earnest money has been overnighted to the seller’s Title company. Now I just need to settle on a lender, close on the condo, and presto, I’m a building equity.