Adventures in Finding a House: Part 3

Yesterday I had appointments to look at six different properties.  Five duplexes and a single family home.

Some were nicely maintained. 

One unit was priced comparably to nice, spacious duplexes in the same neighborhood and included the utilities in the rent.

Fifteen minutes prior to the appointment, my friend and I pulled up out front. 

The yard of this unit was weed-filled, support bricks were falling out of the porch, tiles on the roof looked like they needed attention, and the gutter appeared to need cleaning.  We walked around back of the place, counted that there were actually four units instead of the advertised two and saw an enormous back yard.  The back of the building looked like it could use a little love.

Five minutes into these observations, my phone rang.   It was the landlord asking if I was still planning to look at the apartment and whether the time was still convenient.  I said that it was and that we were already there.  “Oh, I’ll leave my house now.  It’ll take me 10-15 minutes to get there.”

Since it was already less than 15 minutes until the appointment, I thought it was a bit late to be calling to confirm an appointment that required fifteen minutes of travel time to be on time.  With the observations about the exterior of the house, I was close to suggesting that we move on to the next property.  But the landlord arrived right about that time.

He wanted to know whether I was there to look at the three-bedroom which rents for $1350 or the two-bedroom that rents for $750.  I was thinking that if I wanted to fork out $1350 a month, I’d be looking to BUY a single family home.  I asked to look at the two bedroom.

My friend asked how many units there were in the building and the landlord confirmed four and proceeded to tell us how much rent he was getting off of each one.  My friend calculated that he’s making over $3000 per month on this place.  We went inside.

The interior consisted of two bedrooms that I wasn’t certain could accommodate either my queen size bed or my son’s bunkbeds and a medium/small living room but no dining room.  The kitchen was a tiny, scrunched affair that was smaller than the galley kitchen I had in the 400 square foot home I rented when I first got out of college.  It had a mini-stove. 

After we looked at the place, the landlord wanted to know what I thought.  I said, “I’ll be honest, it’s a bit small for us.  I’m not interested.”  For the size and the lack of repair on the unit (considering that we had just looked at a significantly nicer three bedroom for $800), this place was very much not worth it. 

This man then informed me that he had a 2 level house for rent for $750.  Having looked at a very large number of places online and comparing home sizes, types, cost, and location, I was pretty sure that the house was in a location that had already been vetoed by friends that know the area.

My friend asked for the location of the house.  He told her and she immediately said, “No.  You’re not living there.”

The guy then tried to interest me in a place downtown. 

He was having a very hard time getting the picture.  So, I told him “No, thanks” one more time and we walked off. 

As I said, the other places were much, much nicer.

In talking with potential landlords over the phone, there was one that landlord that struck me as really caring about the property and whether it would be a good fit location.  She knew the neighborhood and the neighbors well. 

Her house is a two bedroom cape code style home with a yard.  The house has a large mudroom, spacious dining room, and a good sized living room.  There is a decent sized bedroom on the main floor.  The upstairs has a large bedroom and a loft/sitting area at the top of the stairs.  The kitchen is a bit small but the large dining room will afford the extra workspace that will be needed from time to time.  There is actually a lot of storage for the size of the kitchen and the mudroom (just outside the kitchen) has enormous cupboards.

The house is also located in an area that I’m told is one of the best school districts around.  It’s a couple blocks from the lake/state park and has a good yard. 

It’s ten minutes from my office.  Since my current commute is about 40 minutes, I’m pretty excited about the ten minute commute. 

House!

Yard!

I put in a rental application and a deposit to hold the house.  They’ll do the credit check this week and we’ll sign the lease.

My son's response:  "Does it have a yard?  YEA!! We can get a doggie!"

Now I can move on to the other logistics, like actually arranging the move and getting kiddo registered for school.