Miami, FL

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

Published

11 months ago

February 13, 2025

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.

[Did you recently buy a home? We want to hear from you. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com]

“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.”

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.

“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:

Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:

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Related Topics:Featured Fla Little Havana (Miami Miami (Fla.)Real Estate and Housing (Residential)

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Miami, FL

Ole Miss S Nick Cull’s targeting call reversed vs Miami in Peach Bowl

Published

3 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Ole Miss S Nick Cull’s targeting call reversed vs Miami in Peach Bowl

Mississippi football’s Nick Cull avoided an ejection during the College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Thursday, Jan. 8.

As Malachi Toney reeled in a catch from Carson Beck at the Miami 49 in the first quarter, he was hit by Cull in a helmet-to-helmet collision. Right away, the officials flagged Cull for targeting, with both Toney and Cull staying down on the field with an injury.

After officials reviewed the play, the call on the field was overturned, as the officials determined that Cull did not launch and the collision seemed to be incidental. Replay assistant Matt Austin concurred with the call on the field.

The play had a major impact on the game as well. If the call had been upheld, Miami would have had the ball at the Ole Miss 34-yard line with a chance to expand its 3-0 lead. However, a few plays later, the Hurricanes were forced to punt from the 49-yard line.

On the first play of the second quarter, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacey scored on a 73-yard run to give the Rebels a 7-3 lead.

Because he was not called for targeting, Cull was not ejected from the game, which means Ole Miss will have him for the remainder of the game, if he can clear the concussion protocol. He was in the tent following the play.

Cull has 15 total tackles and three pass deflections this season for the Rebels.

Meanwhile, Toney went to the medical tent briefly for the Hurricanes, but returned to the game.

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Miami, FL

Crash involving unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office vehicle impacts morning commute

Published

15 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Crash involving unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office vehicle impacts morning commute

Updated on: January 8, 2026 / 7:30 AM EST
/ CBS Miami

A crash involving an unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office vehicle was reported in Northwest Miami-Dade on Thursday morning, and the morning commute was impacted as a result.

Few details have been released, but the crash was reported in the area of Northwest 79th street and Interstate 95.

Video from the scene showed that the vehicles had heavy damage.

The sheriff’s office said the crash also involved a civilian vehicle, and no injuries were reported.

No other information was released.

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Miami, FL

Miami Heat-Minnesota Timberwolves Final Injury Update: Anthony Edwards’ status divulged

Published

2 days ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Miami Heat-Minnesota Timberwolves Final Injury Update: Anthony Edwards’ status divulged

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that guard Anthony Edwards is now available to play in Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat after originally being listed as questionable with right foot injury maintenance.

Here’s the rest of the injury report and game preview:

INJURY REPORT

HEAT

Tyler Herro: Available – Toe

Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Out – Ankle

Nikola Jovic: Available – Groin

Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team

TIMBERWOLVES

Anthony Edwards: Available – Foot

Terrence Shannon Jr.: Out – Foot

Joan Beringer: Out – G League

Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 8:00 p.m. EST, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV: TV: Peacock,

Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida) 100.3 FM (Minnesota)

VITALS: The Miami Heat (20-16) and Minnesota Timberwolves (23-13) meet for the second and final regular season matchup after just facing off three days ago with Minnesota recording a, 125-115, win in Miami on January 3. The teams split the series, 1-1, last season with each squad winning on the road. The Heat are 36-35 all-time versus Minnesota during the regular season,
including 19-16 in home games and 17-19 in road games.

PROJECTED STARTERS

HEAT

G Davion Mitchell

G Tyler Herro

C Bam Adebayo

F Norman Powell

F Andrew Wiggins

TIMBERWOLVES

G Donte DiVincenzo

G Anthony Edwards

C Rudy Gobert

F Jaden McDaniels

F Julius Randle

Spread: Heat +5.5 (-112), Timberwolves -5.5 (-108)

Moneyline: Heat +166, Timberwolves -198

Total points scored: 239.5 (over -106, under -114)

QUOTABLE

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the forced turnovers: “That is and has to be our identity. We have to play with a recklessness and activity level that exceeds our opponent, and thats not to put down our talent level or anything like that, it’s more about we look different when we’re flying around and making plays and making it tough for the opponent.”