A room of my own

At last, it appears that I will no longer be homeless in Claremont!

Claremont-McKenna has some faculty housing available, houses that they rent for 20% below market value. Once you start renting, you have to stay for at least a year, but you are allowed to stay for several years if needed. Today their agent wrote me and indicated that a nice little two bedroom had become available that will suit my needs just fine. Awesome!

My goal, given current prices, is to save up a new down payment for a home as quickly as possible. Half of my previous down payment was invested in stocks--so took a big hit this last year. Moreover, I was saving for a home in Durham, while homes in Claremont seem to run about 60% above value.

Ironically, rents in Claremont are somewhat more in line with Durham, which means that after the 20% discount, I might even be paying slightly less than I did for my apartment here.

There have been issues in the past with getting into faculty housing at CMC, but fortunately with the fall in housing prices many have been leaving the rentals in order to take advantage of the prices. My hope: after a year of saving I'll have an understanding of Claremont and its neighboring towns enough to purchase a home and finally install that sweet sweet home theatre system I've longed for lo these many years. It's good to dream.