The sweet taste of victory

• Amount of dollars increase from monthly rent to mortgage payments: at least $1000
• Amount of money given away at closing: a lot. :)
  
• Number of packages needed to be sent in order for one to arrive: 4
• Number of weeks delayed from original closing date: 2
• Number of sellers needed to fly in from Germany at the last minute: 1
  
• Number of times I just wanted to throw my hands up and quit: too many to remember
• Number of people around the table at closing: 9
  
• Number of our new apartment: 305
  
• Value of finally owning a new home: priceless.

Thanks to everyone for your support during the last trying month. If anyone out there needs a trusted agent, look no further than Elley Kott and Kira Epstein. Anyone can tell you where to look for a place and where to sign your name, but when the going gets tough (as it did too many times in this case), some realtors just go through the motions and some go the extra mile. Elley and Kira went at least 100 extra miles to make sure we got to closing and then added some extra emotional support along the way. They fought our fight and sheperded us through the process like it was their own. We wouldn't have gotten here without them.

Buying property is a real bitch, but if you have the right people on your side- from realtors to mortgage brokers (yay Seth!), at the end of the day, when all is said and done, it's a real rewarding experience.

Now, onto the renovations...!