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Househunting.
Very busy afternoon of touring potential new homes today.
You know how used-car dealers have this tactic where first they show you some awful pieces of junk, and then they bring out a decent car and you're so grateful that you fall in love with it immediately? Today was much like that - except that the place we toured last really was fantastic. Fortunately.
Place #1: In Bolton Hill, the neighborhood just to the northwest of us. Bolton Hill ranges from extremely, extremely nice (on the end closest to us) to kind of sketchy (on the northern end). This place was on the north end, but on what appeared to be a perfectly good, well-kept block. Pros: extremely cheap ($825/month), quite large rambling 3-bedroom apartment taking up a whole floor of a large row house, multiple skylights (including a big one in the living room and one over each bathtub), two full baths, sunny. Feels very spacious. Near a park. Five blocks from nursery school. Cons: Third-floor walk-up. I kind of don't need to go any further, do I? But also: last rented by art students, so the carpet is full of paint. (Me: "I assume you'll clean the carpets when the last tenant leaves?" Him: "Actually, I cleaned the carpets last week. This is as good as it gets.") Appliances old. Laundry in the basement, i.e., down three flights. Kind of run-down and grotty. Verdict: We could live there if we had to, but we hope we don't have to.
Place #2: In Mount Vernon, our current neighborhood - in fact, right around the corner, on a quiet little alley. The elderly woman who showed us the house said it's been in her family since the 19th century. Pros: Location. Also, there's a very nice, large bathroom on the second floor. Cons: More appropriately sized to be a dollhouse than a family home. The living room was probably 10 x 12 - at most. Virtually no storage in the kitchen. Bedrooms were reasonably sized, I guess, if small - but both sets of stairs were harrowingly steep and narrow, and had no railings. On the third floor there wasn't even a landing - you had to step up from the narrow steep staircase to the doorsills of the bedrooms. Verdict: No. Way.
Place #3: The house next door to us. Pros: OMFG gorgeous! Beautifully maintained old house with gleaming hardwood floors, lovely carved doorframes, bay windows, rich paint colors on the first floor, built-in bookshelves and a built-in corner cabinet, and some beautiful antique light fixtures. Much more spacious than our current house. I'd go so far as to call it "huge." Advertised as 3-bedroom; turns out to have 4 bedrooms but they figured that one was just too small to count. Downstairs has a big space divided in two by French doors, and then a separate large dining room. Kitchen has all new appliances and cupboards. Three (!) full baths, two with clawfoot bathtubs (!) and one with a stall shower. Huge master bedroom (probably, or we might make it a study) with bay window and built-in bookshelves. Little courtyard in front of the house (rare!), mostly brick, with tiny plots of dirt where previous tenants planted herbs. Not at all private, unfortunately, but pretty - and probably less mosquito-ridden than our current shady courtyard. Large basement for storage, with washer and dryer. Also, did I mention that the house is gorgeous? And huge? and gorgeous? Cons: No bathroom on the ground floor. One of the third-floor bedrooms has hideous 70's-era panelling. Kitchen proper is small and doesn't have much counter space; there is a pantry, but it has open shelves rather than cupboards. Verdict: Ohhhhh, we want this house! So! Much!
The person who showed it to us is not the owner. She seemed rather taken with us, and said that other people were calling but she was sure that the owner was looking for really good tenants. I asked if he was looking for long-term tenants (feeling rather gun-shy given our current situation), and she went as far as to say that if we were willing to sign a two-year lease he would probably be willing to come down a little on the rent. (It's currently listed at $1500/month, which is $200 more than we pay for our house now. New Yorkers and San Franciscans may now commence to tear out their hair.) She also didn't think it would be a problem that we didn't want it until March 1st. She said we could expect the owner to call us no later than tomorrow night.
I really, really hope this works out for us. Words just can't express the awesomeness of that house.
You know how used-car dealers have this tactic where first they show you some awful pieces of junk, and then they bring out a decent car and you're so grateful that you fall in love with it immediately? Today was much like that - except that the place we toured last really was fantastic. Fortunately.
Place #1: In Bolton Hill, the neighborhood just to the northwest of us. Bolton Hill ranges from extremely, extremely nice (on the end closest to us) to kind of sketchy (on the northern end). This place was on the north end, but on what appeared to be a perfectly good, well-kept block. Pros: extremely cheap ($825/month), quite large rambling 3-bedroom apartment taking up a whole floor of a large row house, multiple skylights (including a big one in the living room and one over each bathtub), two full baths, sunny. Feels very spacious. Near a park. Five blocks from nursery school. Cons: Third-floor walk-up. I kind of don't need to go any further, do I? But also: last rented by art students, so the carpet is full of paint. (Me: "I assume you'll clean the carpets when the last tenant leaves?" Him: "Actually, I cleaned the carpets last week. This is as good as it gets.") Appliances old. Laundry in the basement, i.e., down three flights. Kind of run-down and grotty. Verdict: We could live there if we had to, but we hope we don't have to.
Place #2: In Mount Vernon, our current neighborhood - in fact, right around the corner, on a quiet little alley. The elderly woman who showed us the house said it's been in her family since the 19th century. Pros: Location. Also, there's a very nice, large bathroom on the second floor. Cons: More appropriately sized to be a dollhouse than a family home. The living room was probably 10 x 12 - at most. Virtually no storage in the kitchen. Bedrooms were reasonably sized, I guess, if small - but both sets of stairs were harrowingly steep and narrow, and had no railings. On the third floor there wasn't even a landing - you had to step up from the narrow steep staircase to the doorsills of the bedrooms. Verdict: No. Way.
Place #3: The house next door to us. Pros: OMFG gorgeous! Beautifully maintained old house with gleaming hardwood floors, lovely carved doorframes, bay windows, rich paint colors on the first floor, built-in bookshelves and a built-in corner cabinet, and some beautiful antique light fixtures. Much more spacious than our current house. I'd go so far as to call it "huge." Advertised as 3-bedroom; turns out to have 4 bedrooms but they figured that one was just too small to count. Downstairs has a big space divided in two by French doors, and then a separate large dining room. Kitchen has all new appliances and cupboards. Three (!) full baths, two with clawfoot bathtubs (!) and one with a stall shower. Huge master bedroom (probably, or we might make it a study) with bay window and built-in bookshelves. Little courtyard in front of the house (rare!), mostly brick, with tiny plots of dirt where previous tenants planted herbs. Not at all private, unfortunately, but pretty - and probably less mosquito-ridden than our current shady courtyard. Large basement for storage, with washer and dryer. Also, did I mention that the house is gorgeous? And huge? and gorgeous? Cons: No bathroom on the ground floor. One of the third-floor bedrooms has hideous 70's-era panelling. Kitchen proper is small and doesn't have much counter space; there is a pantry, but it has open shelves rather than cupboards. Verdict: Ohhhhh, we want this house! So! Much!
The person who showed it to us is not the owner. She seemed rather taken with us, and said that other people were calling but she was sure that the owner was looking for really good tenants. I asked if he was looking for long-term tenants (feeling rather gun-shy given our current situation), and she went as far as to say that if we were willing to sign a two-year lease he would probably be willing to come down a little on the rent. (It's currently listed at $1500/month, which is $200 more than we pay for our house now. New Yorkers and San Franciscans may now commence to tear out their hair.) She also didn't think it would be a problem that we didn't want it until March 1st. She said we could expect the owner to call us no later than tomorrow night.
I really, really hope this works out for us. Words just can't express the awesomeness of that house.
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Fingers crossed that it works out!!!
-J
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It wouldn't actually be the easiest move we've ever made, though. In 1999 we moved one door over in the same apartment building, via an air-conditioned indoor hallway. That one would be hard to top.
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P.
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Are you moving due to downstairs neighbor issues? Perhaps I missed a post.
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That house sounds great. I hope you get it.
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Good luck with the house!
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But I think I missed the intro portion: why are you moving?
B
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We're pretty displeased by the way they've played this, but it does seem as though we're likely to end up in a better situation at the end of it. Not looking forward to packing to move in a hurry, though.