Piece of Luck

by Katie B.
(New Orleans, LA, USA)

When my husband and I separated, I was first of all lucky to find a small semi-furnished co-op apartment. The owner was going to be away for a year. It would be perfect for me while I was still in school and while I looked around for something else.

As fortune would have it, while I was in the small co-op building in a rental on the top floor, the same identical apartment came up for sale, two floors below.

Because the building was still under price controls, I was able to buy the apartment for an absurdly cheap amount of money. During the time that I lived there (for 10 years), the building changed its bylaws so that apartments could be sold at market rate subject to the approval of the other co-op members.

I was moving out of town and sold my co-op for more than 5 times what I paid for it. And because I was moving to a less expensive area, I really felt like I could buy anything!