Not Buying

A few days ago I posted a Blog about whether or not we should buy a condo somewhere along the Jersey Shore.

I'm sure you will all breathe a sigh of relief when I report we decided not to buy. I spoke to a realtor from the agency that handled a sale for a my son's friend. The salesman was very cooperative and emailed us a group of available listings in the price range I gave him.

We were able to view the rooms, including all furniture and appliances and the overall facilities and I thought, Wow, this internet stuff is really cool. Look at all the details they provide on each listing. And therein lay the deciding factors.

We looked at the taxes, the maintenance charges and estimated mortgage payments and then slept on it overnight before making a decision. For my wife the decision was easy. Since she handles our finances she decided she did not need any more paperwork.

We went through a similar process some years ago when we spent some time in Arizona during the winter. We also thought about buying into that attractive setting then concluded we could rent for years for far less than it would cost us to buy. And we wouldn't have the hassle of ownership and all that entails.

So I thanked the New Jersey realtor for providing us food for thought and rather than risk indigestion, we left the table.