And true to my domain name: I bought a condo, the first (but not the only) one I visited.

Domain name aside, it was a little unsettling how quick and easy the whole process was. First I met the realtor and gave him my preferences. Three days later we visited a few spots, and made an offer that very day. It was accepted the following. Two days after that, the inspection and financing conditions had been fulfilled.

And that was that. What I thought would be a long learning process of a few months, getting to know the market, searching high and low for the diamond in the rough, et cetera, took less than a week from initiating the search to concluding the purchase. Between drinking coffee at the kitchen table and throwing the dog her ball, I’d bought my first property.

And I’ve now begun to carry the Ikea catalog with me.