A Housing Timeline

July 2004
Ed and I meet.

July 2004 - 2005

We do the cohabitation dance of many new relationships. Separate apartments and lots of sleepovers.

2006

I unofficially moves into Ed's apartment, motivated by (in no particular order) love, its proximity to my office and in-unit laundry. I spend one night that year in the apartment I pay rent for and share with Betsy.

End of 2006

With our leases both ending the following spring, Ed and I discuss moving in together and housing options. I want to buy a condo and Ed wants to rent. In fact, he asserts that real estate is currently a terrible investment and predicts housing prices will fall much, much lower.

April 15, 2007

Ed wins and we move into a 2 bedroom apartment. I should note that one bedroom is solely devoted to Ed's office, so there is no guest room.

April 16, 2007

Ed states he could rent in a highrise for the rest of his life. I begin an almost-daily routine of checking Redfin.

April 2007 - 2008

Highrise apartment life is dotted with occasional Lincoln Park, Bucktown and Roscoe Village open houses and frequent impassioned debates on the financial and emotional reasons for buying vs. renting.

Fall 2008

Damn, Ed is right.

February 2009 - June 2010

Wedding planning saps all our time, energy and money. Househunting is put on hold.

Fall 2010

With apartment walls and piles of wedding gifts closing in on us and plans for a baby in the near future, househunting gets more serious. It's clear that Ed's love for me outweighs his love of being a homeowner.

September 2010

We stumble upon Dream House. Even Ed is excited. We schedule several showings, stroll through the neighborhood, get financing in order and I start mentally decorating.

December 2010

We wait too long. Dream House goes under contract. With another buyer. I cry. Dream House is now referred to as The One That Got Away.

January 2011 - May 2011

Half-hearted househunting. Everything is compared to Dream House. Since we're renting, there's no motivation to settle for anything less.

May 2011

She's having a baby! Aaannnddd, we have motivation. Just in case we didn't, my mom announces she will not be happy if she has to stay in a hotel while visiting her future grandchild in Chicago.

Summer 2011

Househunting resumes in earnest. We get a Realtor. School districts start to trump countertops in our criteria. It's official - we're grown-ups.

July 2011

We get an email from the selling agent of Dream House. The builder is looking into a similar project in Old Town and wants to know if we'd be interested. Interested?! HALLELUJAH!! Ed commends me on my poker face.

July 2011 - September 2011

There are meetings with Realtors and builders. City zoning, neighborhood and historical approvals are sought. Floorplans are drawn up. Negotiations drag on. In summary, this project is taking a long-ass time. Meanwhile, nothing else on the market is catching our eye.

October 2011

The Dream House #2 project is still uncertain. If it does happen, we won't be living there for at least a year. Knowing the holidays are around the corner and that the housing market will slow down for the winter, we're not hopeful of finding anything else in the next couple of months, either. On top of that, my January due date is hurtling towards us like a runaway train. Bottom line: we need an interim solution.

So, long story long, that's how we found ourselves the 2nd weekend of October moving all our earthly belongings up 4 floors to a new 3 bedroom apartment. The last few weeks have been spent unpacking, cleaning, hanging, painting, organizing, donating and throwing things out. Pregnancy nesting is no joke!

The best part? I have a nursery to decorate. So stay tuned till next week - there's so much to share with you!