Taking a step towards homebuying

Well, I tried to take a step anyway.

I have been looking at local condo buildings online, just to see what’s available and get an idea of how much things cost around here.  My last experience with accompanying someone buying a home was in a very different part of the country, so I’m trying to acclimate myself to the sticker shock.

I found a building not too far from where I live now that looks great online.  It’s new, and they have open hours.  It doesn’t seem to have all the features I want, but it was a good starting point to try to get my baseline.  So I checked their hours, dressed up to make myself not look like a college student (I often get mistaken for someone in her late teens, not someone in her late 20’s), and headed over.

And couldn’t figure out how to get into the building.

Now, I’m not an idiot.  But I couldn’t get in.  The building is secure, which is obviously a good thing.  There’s a call box, but no indication of how to call up to the office.  The sign outside had a phone number.  I called and got the generic “You have reached ###-####. Please leave a message at the tone.”  I wandered around, called the number a few times and nothing.  I pulled out my handy dandy phone and sent an e-mail to the address on the sign.  Then I gave up and went home.  Once home, I used the online form on the website to contact the company.

That was Monday.

This is Thursday.  I still haven’t heard anything.  Now, I’m not in sales, but I would think that if someone wants to buy your product, you are more likely to sell it if you respond to their e-mails.

So I guess I’m going to have to find another place to look.  I’m a little frustrated.  It’s not as if I had my heart set on this place, but I at least wanted to see what was out there, and I want to see how the reality compares to the website.  It would be a great beginning to a baseline.

Oh well.  Back to square one.