Effusive Alluvions

Hey guys!

As promised, I'm giving you all an update on my "house hunt." Yesterday I looked at one place that had two available units. Today I looked at two different places; one place had three available units and the other place was the upstairs unit in a duplex. I will explain the two units I saw yesterday first:

2/18/09 - Downstairs unit
The apartment opens up into the living room, which was rather small. The kitchen was good in size, but didn't have as much counter space as I was hoping for. The bathroom was a bit small. The bedroom was well sized. There's a door in the bedroom that leads outside to the back where there is available off-street parking (which made me a little uneasy).

2/18/09 - Upstairs unit
This unit opened up more to what I felt like was a more suitable entrance area. The kitchen was a little bit smaller than the downstairs unit, but it had more counter space. The living room in this unit was spacious, which I liked. The bathroom was also more spacious in this unit; the colors were more appealing as well. The bedroom was a bit smaller than the downstairs unit, but being that I have twin bed I didn't think it mattered much. This bedroom also had a door that opened up to a stairway outside that led down to the parking spots. I was more okay with this door in this bedroom for two reasons. One, because this door had a light that you could turn on so that you can actually see what's outside. Two, simply because it's the upper unit so it's less of an incentive for those "curious" people who want to peek inside homes.

** The laundry room isn't the greatest, but well lit. It also has storage spaces for bikes, canoes, etc. The windows in this place are brand new so I don't have to worry about cold air leaking in! My current apartment now has terrible windows. Even with the insulation installed, it's still freezing! I could even smell the smoke from the smokers who go out at night (yuck). So I'm happy that the windows are in great condition. This place also had a cozy feel to it so it made me feel comfortable. The landlord is a very nice guy as well; very friendly =D

Cost: $600/month - includes all utilities except internet/cable (but it is cable ready!)


2/19/09 - Downtown location - 3 apartment units
These apartments looked nice, but there were plenty of turnoffs for me. The apartments weren't the problem, it was the apartment complex as a whole and the location of the place. The apartments were much smaller in space, but they looked fancier than the other two units. I really liked the last unit we saw because it looked really stylish. But the good looks of the apartments weren't enough to win my interests:

- This apartment complex is supposedly "no smoking," but when we entered it smelled like cigarettes and it smelled musty. I am a non-smoker, in case you were wondering about the fuss.

- The complex is abnormally warm, stuffy, and humid. Especially the laundry room. As soon as the guy opened up the laundry room to show me how it looked like, I couldn't even see the laundry room because my glasses completely fogged up. The laundry room also had a strong smell of chlorine.

- The location of this complex is located in the part of town that has and is known for having a high crime rate.

- The management company of this complex is shady.

- Last but not least, the cost...

Cost: $650/month + Electric + cable/internet (not cable ready)

2/19/09 - 2 bedroom unit
This place isn't even worth blogging about. It was literally a dump. Not to mention the price.

Cost: $750/month + Electric + cable/internet (not cable ready)



So the ones I looked at today were a definite no. I submitted an application for the upstairs unit from the one that I saw yesterday. I can totally see myself living there. As soon as I saw the place, I was able to see myself living there. I hope all goes well and I get the place! I will also post an update on that as well. Thanks for reading everyone! Peace.