“Home is the nicest word there is”.
(Laura Ingalls Wilder)
I moved to Fort Pierce in April 2020 during what we thought was the worst part of COVID-19. Different time from what we experience today.
Back then, realtors and apartment managers were not allowing anyone to enter buildings. I remember coming down to Fort Pierce to look for a place to live and office staff made me call them on the phone and speak to them while I stood outside—even though I could see them through the glass door. It was a precaution to keep them safe, but it was a weird dynamic trying to find a place to live.
My intention when I moved here was to purchase a house, condo or townhouse but did not feel comfortable trying to purchase something I could not view—guess I am weird like that.
Found an apartment complex close to my new place of employment and they allowed me to view their model apartment on my own. There’s plenty of space here, a workout room and close to work. Still had intentions to purchase something in this area but did not feel a need to rush the process.
Got the urge to purchase again in the summer of 2022 so decided to put more effort into the process. Started slowly by trying to identify areas I wanted to live in and more importantly, areas to avoid. Got active on Zillow to start locating properties but decided to reel in my search to include condos and townhouses. Decided early on I did not want to take care of my own lawn anymore. Yard work was cute back in the day when I had a house in Georgia, but I do not want any part of cutting my own yard or weed eating in South Florida.
Started touring neighborhoods on my own after finding properties on Zillow. This allowed me to expand my boundaries and get a better understanding of different areas in Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, and Vero Beach. Put more energy into looking at properties in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach—eliminating Port St. Lucie was easy based on the amount of traffic there. Keep hearing stories of how long it takes to navigate around St. Lucie West.
Reached out to a realtor when I wanted to get more in-depth knowledge and help with the search. She has been in this area for a while and has a better feel for the process—I needed someone to guide me. Gave her an idea of what I was looking for to include a price range I wanted to stay within. She quickly found condos and townhouses that matched what I wanted, and we were off and running.
I still was not in a rush, so I was able to view multiple properties to see how they fit what I wanted in a new home. I was very selective on what we viewed since I did not want to waste her time or mine. She gave me a lot of freedom in this process, so this made it more like an adventure and not a task to complete.
The breakthrough came while viewing two condos in Vero Beach. Both looked great online and were in nice neighborhoods, but they did not feel like home. Asked my realtor to find others and set them up for viewing. She agreed but decided to bump my price range up a bit and discovered a townhouse in Fort Pierce that was only two miles from where I currently live.
I never knew there were townhouses in that subdivision—always saw the houses from the road and never ventured in there. We set up a viewing for this townhouse two days later and made our way over to see it. This was the first place I walked into, and it felt like it could be ‘home’. Spacious living room, large kitchen (means nothing really), great space in the bedrooms and a large walk-in closet for me.
Fast forward and I put in a bid for $20k less than the asking price. The seller countered a $5k increase and I accepted. Got a townhouse listed above my stated price range within my price range without having to go back and forth with the seller. Took my realtor’s advice on this process and it paid off for me—no pun intended.
I am using my time to update a few things in the town house before moving in; removed carpet and replaced with wood laminate floors, painting the inside, tile and grout cleaning and a professional cleaning. Did not have to rush my move-in date since my lease is still active—this worked out where I had time to update the townhouse before physically moving in.
There are times when patience pays off and this is one for me. Found a home two miles from where I am currently writing this blog article and I am excited to continue to Walk into the Future.
What does HOME mean to you?
Irie!
“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it”.
(George A. Moore)
Walk Into the Future 