housing Archives - Zane Selvans

Moving to Masala

As Bryan is heading off to circle the globe in a few days I’ve had to find a new place to live. His condo is worth more rented out in its entirety than as a combination of two rooms. As luck would have it, there was a summer sublet (with the option to renew) open in the Masala Co-op, where I lived in the summer of 2004 (after serving on the board of the Boulder Housing Coalition, which owns the co-op houses in Boulder).

I decided to renovate my room, since I had the time, and no hard pressure to move. I did some soundproofing between the room and the common areas, re-painted, and built myself a big sleeping loft. Then I moved all my stuff across town by bike.

Here are some pictures of the new space, before, during and after the work.

Sketch of a Future Home

I pinged Norris Minnick and the Buyer Brokers of Boulder last week. Curious to know whether what we’re thinking of exists, and whether it’s economically possible. And to get the desires written down. I don’t know how far in advance one ought to start looking, but I suspect it’s like getting a job and getting pregnant: don’t start trying unless you want it now.

Boulder has so far been able to avoid most of the recent boom, and most of the recent bust. The enforced geographic constraints on development and the relative affluence and desirability of the area probably help. This makes me suspect that getting a low interest rate is probably more important than trying to let the market “bottom”… who knows what it’s going to do. Modest living seems like the best insurance.