'We all have a pretty good internal compass,' she says, adding that it's easier - and best - to make a decision when your instincts and your research are 'close.' (It also helped that a cafe and pool are on the same floor.) Her high-ceilinged condo 'spoke to me' the moment she walked in, she says. That doesn't mean your gut instincts should be ignored. Her mantra: maximize your investment and minimize surprises. With the real estate market coming back strong, Cusato says there's never been a more important time to take a moment and reflect on what works best. 'We don't take the time to look at what works for us.' We make decisions on what we're told we should do,' she says. 'We don't always think about what we actually want. What about us? What's wrong with us when we go house hunting?

She likes the flexibility of renting.)īut enough about her and her floor-to-ceiling glass view of the world. She touches on everything from your seven-year plan, your financial discipline and how settled you are in your job and career. At this point in my life mobility is important.' In fact she calls herself a 'proud renter. 'It was a no-brainer,' she says of moving there. She found her one-bedroom condo three years ago when 'great deals were to be had' in South Florida. She also wanted to be able to walk to restaurants, shops, ball games and cultural events, something she can easily do. 'I didn't want to be alone in a house at the end of some cul-de-sac,' she says. As a single woman, she wanted safety, for instance.

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