Article July 18, 2005 Issue

LOOKING FOR YOUR DREAM HOME?

By Beverly Peake

My husband and I were excited about buying our first house. We'd been renting for several years and now felt ready to invest in our own place. We wanted to stay in the same town, as we belonged to the local Church of Christ, Scientist, and I was active in the community theater. So we hired a real estate agent and set out to find our dream home.

Surprise, surprise. We couldn't find a single house in our price range, except an unattractive one in an undesirable neighborhood. My husband saw potential. But I said, "No way!"

Weeks went by with nothing new becoming available that we could afford. I began to panic, thinking we'd have to settle for something we didn't like. My hopefulness turned to resentment. "If it weren't for our low salaries and those high interest rates, maybe we'd have a chance," I muttered. I felt cheated as I looked longingly, even enviously, at the homes our friends were buying.