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In Miami, a Young Family Sought a House to Grow Into. Would $750,000 Be Enough?

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In Miami, a Young Family Sought a House to Grow Into. Would 0,000 Be Enough?


When Leonor and Taylor Willis moved to Miami in 2021, neither of them had ever set foot in the city before. “Not except for changing planes at the airport,” Mr. Willis said.

The couple, who met at Georgetown University, had been living in a rowhouse in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. Ms. Willis, 28, worked as a teacher and Mr. Willis, 31, was a consultant for regional airlines. They loved the city and their urban lifestyle. But when Mr. Willis was offered a new position at a Miami-based rail company, the two headed south for an unexpected new adventure.

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“When you think of Miami, you think of TV — ‘Miami Vice’ or ‘Burn Notice,’” Mr. Willis said. “Whatever you’re seeing there isn’t the real Miami, so I had very little idea of what the real Miami might be.”

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They landed in a two-bedroom rental on the 47th floor of a downtown tower, to preserve the walkable lifestyle they’d enjoyed in Baltimore. They also kept their rowhouse, taking on a tenant to help offset the $5,000 rent at their new apartment, which they felt was worth it thanks to its huge windows and sweeping views.

Ms. Willis left teaching to take a work-from-home job handling business development for a software company (she also works as a freelance photographer), and used the condo’s second bedroom as an office. Even with three furry friends at home — a keeshond named Maurice and two cats, Napoleon and Charlemagne — the apartment was cozy but not overcrowded.

Then in late 2023, the couple welcomed a baby girl and squeezed her crib into their bedroom. They soon realized the baby would need her own room — not because she disturbed them, but because they disturbed her. “We were making too much noise in our sleep and waking her up,” Mr. Willis said.

The idea was to rent a new place with a primary bedroom, a home office for Ms. Willis and a room for their daughter, but it was tougher than it seemed. “It’s hard to find apartments that have three bedrooms,” Ms. Willis said. The ones they did find were asking significantly higher rents.

They wondered if it made more sense to try to buy a house — but without giving up the city lifestyle they loved. For Mr. Willis, who grew up in the far-flung suburbs of Dallas, walkability was key. So the couple started their search in neighborhoods where restaurants and shopping could still be reached by foot, as much for their daughter as themselves.

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“As she gets older she’ll have the opportunity to do things a little more independently than being strapped in a car seat all the time, which is what my childhood was like,” Mr. Willis said.

They put the Baltimore house on the market to help with a down payment, and eschewed working with a broker, opting instead to comb listings on real estate sites and find their own way to showings.

Their search began casually and stretched over a year. By last summer, they had zeroed in on a couple of residential neighborhoods where Mr. Willis could have a 15-minute commute to his new job as director of commercial operations for a jet fuel company near Miami International Airport. They had sold the Baltimore house for $465,000 and set their budget for a Miami home to around $750,000.

On the couple’s wishlist: three full bedrooms and, if possible, a second bathroom for guests. Neither is keen on yardwork, so they looked at places with small yards. And both were hoping to find something with some architectural character, maybe Art Deco or Spanish revival.

Among their options:

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Injury Bug for Miami Basketball Gains Another Player Early in the Season

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Injury Bug for Miami Basketball Gains Another Player Early in the Season


The Miami Hurricanes have won five of their last six games early in the 2025-26 regular season. Head coach Jai Lucas has done a great job recruiting and finding the right talent for the Hurricanes; however, that is when they get a chance to see the court.

Entering this season, the Hurricanes struggled to stay healthy. Four-star freshman Treyvon Maddox hasn’t even seen the floor yet, while the rest of the team is trying to find a good footing.

Against UL Monroe, star five-star freshman Shelton Henderson went down with a lower leg injury with 1:29 left in the first half. It seems he avoided a major injury, warming up in the second half, but Lucas decided not to put him back in the game.

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“We’re still kind of evaluating and seeing what it is,” Lucas said after the victory over the Warhawks. “He tried to kind of go out there and start the second half, run around a little bit, so we’ll see.’

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However this is the tip of the iceberg with the injuries for the Canes.

UM is playing playoff levels with this tight rotation. Starter are playing 30-plus minutes against quad-four teams because of the lack of bodies.

Marcus Allen and Donte Allen have missed every game since the Hurricanes defeated Ole Miss on the road. Ernest Udeh Jr. has been in and out of the line all season. Noam Dovrat has a nagging shoulder injury that will keep him out of the game; Tru Washington has missed time; Tre Donaldson is powering through some little nicks; and now the Henderson injury.

The Hurricanes have the talent to be a Sweet 16 team in the NCAA Tournament, but they have to be on the floor at all times. The Hurricanes are only playing seven players a game right now, and it will either help them or hurt them.

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The Hurricanes are set to face the FIU Panthers, while they try to get healthy at the right time. The Hurricanes are dominating on both sides of the ball, but the challenges from opponents will continue to increase.

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“I expect a war,” Lucas said. “They’re really good. [FIU head coach Jeremy] Ballard’s done a good job this year with his team construction,” Lucas said. “They play with confidence. They play free. They’re aggressive. They’re big. They got really good guards.”

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Charging e-bike suspected in destructive Miami house fire

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Charging e-bike suspected in destructive Miami house fire


MIAMI — The smell of blackened, burned rubble still lingers inside the house where an early-morning fire left a family devastated. Outside, debris from the firefight remains scattered around the property.

The fire tore through a duplex near the 1800 block of Northwest 53rd Street Saturday morning around 10:30 a.m., forcing everyone inside to flee.

The blaze is believed to have been caused by an e-bike, though officials say the exact cause is still under investigation.

“With every step,” Josue Paz said as he walked through the damage, he faces heartbreak and devastation.

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What was once his family’s living room is now reduced to piles of ash and rubble.

Paz said he was inside the home when an e-bike charging in the house suddenly caught fire.

“Yep, that’s part of the bike. Right there, right there,” he said, pointing to debris.

“I couldn’t really process anything and it just happened,” Paz said.

Paz rushed to get his family out before the flames spread.

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“My first thought was getting everybody out of the house. I was trying to call everybody,” he said. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s get out.”

Fire officials say lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and e-scooters have been linked to a growing number of fast-moving fires nationwide. Miami Fire Rescue is still working to determine the exact cause of this fire.

Despite losing everything, Paz said surviving the fire is what matters most.

“I’m glad that I got my neighbors out, I got my family out,” he said.

Six people escaped the fire, along with a dog. They are staying with loved ones as the fire department continues to work to pinpoint how the fire started.

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Woman found dead on roadway in SW Miami-Dade

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Woman found dead on roadway in SW Miami-Dade


A woman was found dead on the roadway in Southwest Miami on Friday morning, deputies said.

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, just before 6 a.m., deputies arrived at the 9800 block of Southwest 170th Street after receiving reports of a person who was unresponsive and lying on the roadway.

Once at the scene, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pronounced the woman dead.

Her identity has not been released.

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A death investigation is underway, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the woman’s cause of death.

MDSO said there are no suspects at this time.



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