I'm excited to report that I finally finally bought an apartment! Ever since I won EPT San Remo I wanted to invest wisely, and I thought that a flat in London would not only be a solid investment, but will also put a permanent roof over my head. I've essentially been living out of a suitcase for two years and have been staying at my parents' house whenever I'm back in the U.K - not too cool for a 28 year old!
My journey to becoming a homeowner was long and arduous, starting all the way back in early 2011. I found a place I was interested in, but that fell through. Then, in January of last year I found the perfect apartment. I was supposed to close on it in March and had even told Vanessa Selbst and her girlfriend (now fiancé) Miranda, that they could stay there with me for a couple of months leading up to the World Series of Poker. But March rolled into April and the sellers still hadn't given me an exchange date. Then April turned into May and I was flying to Vegas to spend the next two months at the WSOP. I kept asking what was going on and eventually was told we could close when I returned in July. Well, I came back in July and it still wasn't done. They went all the way to October promising me "in a few weeks, in a few weeks" only to finally turn around and tell me they didn't want to sell the place after all. Grrr.
So the search began again the next day. I walked around the same neighbourhood and happened to find an apartment for sale just around the corner. It was more expensive, but I absolutely fell in love with its huge wrap-around roof terrace. Conveniently, a few days later they reduced the price to nearly what the other place was going to cost, so after a bit of haggling I got it for a good deal. It's a really cool feeling knowing I'm a homeowner. This piece of three-dimensional space that's made out of bricks and such is actually mine.
I finally closed on the 21st of December, the supposed "doomsday". It went smoothly, except for the ominous sign of pooling water on the floor beneath the 5 year old boiler. I knew owning a home would come with a lot of responsibilities, but I didn't expect them to be so drastic and so soon. Hello plumbers...
The absurd thing is, in the first month I owned it, I didn't spend a night in the new abode. After I got the keys, I went straight down to my parents' house for Christmas, then jumped on a plane to Los Angeles for New Year's. Keving and I went for a spot of skiing in Mammoth, flew to the Bahamas for the PCA, then went to Vegas to play in the NBC Heads-Up Championship.
For a long time, the only piece of furniture I owned was a foosball table. Really, that's it. It's a full size one so there's not much room for a real dining table so guests shouldn't expect any fine dining. Ultimately, I want the place to be a girl's version of a lad's gaming apartment. It has a huge roof terrace that I'm going to fill with telescopes, basketball hoops, ping-pong tables and other fun stuff to satisfy any revelry that will inevitably take place.
Liv Boeree is a member of Team PokerStars Pro