Would you rent this apartment?

Lincoln Adams | July 12, 2009 @ 4:50 pm

A few days ago I got a call from a real estate agent letting me know a studio apartment at a complex near my job was available. I had been looking at this complex since 2007, primarily because it was located in the most ideal area: close to work, right by the water and next to a gorgeous park, the surroundings were so pretty you could almost forget the urban jungle that was next door.

I made an appointment for a viewing last Saturday and drove to the apartment grounds on what turned out to be a spectacular summer day. There was a bagel cafe across the street and the aroma of coffee filled the air. The trees whistled and the birds sang, while in the distance a blue ocean beckoned and fed the stream that led into the park next door. Yep, I could definitely get used to living here.

I met up with the realtor and the moment we stepped inside, the magic ended.

As the door opened, a narrow stairwell immediately presented itself which I had to walk down. Wait, this apartment is lower level?? :blink:

The descent into madness begins.

The apartment was right by the bottom of the stairs, pretty convenient I guess, but also a recipe for noise, noise, noise:

A basement studio at a garden apartment? Seriously?

Is that a doorbell??

The door swung opened and I took a look inside. The studio was big, very air and roomy, and I could tell even with furniture there would still be plenty of space to maneuver around:

This is an apartment they said was practically ready for me to move into...

Can you say, doity?

The windows were simply tragic. Not only was it blocked by slabs of concrete, but they looked ancient:

Cobwebs filled the window in the bathroom.

The main window above the sleeping alcove.

They used tape to cover the screen holes???

After I almost gagged from daring to look outside the windows, I moved on to the kitchen:

If you wanna look inside you better ask yourself: Do I feel lucky?

A kept thinking a tentacle would reach out and strangle me if I got too close.

I kept thinking a tentacle would reach out and strangle me if I got too close.

Gas stove. Boom.

Now on to the bathroom!

Ew.

Ewwwwwww...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Ok, that’s quite enough now. The realtor then showed me the laundry room, which was literally down the hall. The apartment was next to a storage area too, so if you opened the door and looked to your right this is what you would see:

So this is where they keep all the stolen merchandise!

Right after the storage area was the coin operated laundry machines:

No hot babes washing her lingerie to be found here.

No hot babe washing her lingerie to be found here.

You want me to wash my stylish Old Navy shirts in THAT??

After we went back outside and I got a chance to suck in the fresh air again, the realtor informed me that the apartment was being offered for $100 less a month, that there would be no broker’s fee annnnnnnnd I would get first month’s rent free. I get the impression that they were having a little trouble getting this unit filled. Uh huh.

I’ve gone apartment hunting once or twice in the past, and I remember one time when I went to a place with two of my coworkers to check out a small one bedroom. The place was filthy, but my coworkers kept walking around and going ooooooo and ahhhhhh, this is so awesome! They thought I was being a snob because I refused to live in such a dump, especially one where the landlords were 80 something year old folks who would probably forget they were even renting it to me and call the police one night thinking I was a burglar. That would have been awkward.

But anyway, checking out this place made me think of that time. The studio was hands down a complete and unmitigated disaster area. No amount of cleaning would ever make it sanitary, especially considering I had allergies too.

But was I being too snobbish? Was I asking for too much to want to live in a nice, cozy apartment that was clean, roomy (and preferably above ground?)

It was really tragic to see such a horrific looking place in such a beautiful area. Right now I live in a decent apartment with my folks that was clean, had carpeting, a washer/dryer, all those basic amenities that I tend to take for granted, even though it’s in a less than ideal area (as in, next to a train station and a water tower and an army of day laborers that infest our streets like a plague.) Regardless, an apartment like this was so hard to come by that we all breathed a collective sigh of relief in finally discovering an apartment that didn’t look like something out of Dante’s Inferno.

I don’t want a luxury apartment for crying out loud, I just want one that’s clean, but apparently just being clean enough is considered a luxury as well. :blink:

Ah well. I’m still glad I went to check it out at least. I had been looking at that area for so long that it was nice to finally rule it out and focus my attention elsewhere, and maybe eventually find a place that will turn out to be even better. And if that makes me a snob, so be it. :nyah:

Tags: apartment, appointment, bathroom, coworkers, filthy, kitchen, landlord, laundry room, living, luxury, sleeping alcove, storage, unsanitary
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log

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20 Responses to “Would you rent this apartment?”

Call Me Mom wrote a comment on July 12, 2009 @ 05:20:pm
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Pluses appear to be:
location-it’s close to everything you want;
granite counter-top;
are those hardwood floors being covered by the dropcloth while they paint?(of course hardwood floors can be a negative too);
Is that ceramic tile in the bathrom or linoleum? (Ceramic tile = + linoleum-not so much.)
You are the gate keeper for the storage area so you will know if someone is near your stuff as well as being near the laundry so that when that hot babe comes around to do her laundry you will be able to pop out and make conversation;
You are downstairs so you can tap dance if you like without bothering anyone beneath you.
:dancena:

Negatives appear to be:
underground-if you have allergies that means mold-that would be a strong no for us as my hubby is allergic to it;
the cement block view of the outside;
the narrow stairs will make it difficult to move furniture in and out;
the doorbell needs to be repaired;
it’s currently dirty – one assumes you can clean or hire a service. (I would also ask them to replace the refrigerator and the bathroom vanity);
You are the gatekeeper for the storage and laundry areas-you will hear it when folks come down to do their laundry or visit their storage areas.

I don’t know what your area is like and you don’t mention if what they are asking for it is reasonable for the area so I have no comments about price. Do you have a plan in place that will allow you to afford better on a long term basis in a few years? Is this a transitional apartment or long term? For a first place that is transitional-it could be worse. Long term-I don’t think so.

Call Me Mom wrote a comment on July 12, 2009 @ 05:30:pm
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Oh, and I prefer gas stoves for cooking, but that’s when they are modern and dependable and I have an entire basement beneath me that will fill with gas should the pilot light go out before I would be asphyxiated. I would worry about that before I would worry about an explosion.
Although, come to think of it, one of my apartments in college was soooo much worse than this. That stove was ancient and nearly broke my fingers while I was attempting to bake some cookies because it was so touchy. It was also right next to (as in “I can reach out and touch it from here”) the local train tracks. I didn’t stay there long. So, yeah, to me this isn’t a total waste of your time to look at because it’s better than some of the places that I have lived.

Tish wrote a comment on July 12, 2009 @ 05:53:pm
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Just say NO!

Remember those really cheap luxury apartments I showed you here? Maybe it’s time to move down south.

Good luck with the apartment hunting!

Sabrina wrote a comment on July 12, 2009 @ 07:58:pm
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Hm, lemme think about that.

one one thousand, two one thousand….done.

Nope, not a chance.

Leanne wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 10:28:am
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Yes, snobbish is a good word to describe how you’re being. That place is NICE, though the view is horrible, the location is where you want to be (and that’s what really matters). All it needs is a cleaning (that’s construction dust/dirt, which I assume they’ll clean up when they clear out). Everything in that place appears to be very new/recently upgraded.

I can’t even imagine what you’d say about my house. I don’t have granite or stainless steel, my bathroom has been under construction for a year, there are gaps in my floor trim, my flooring is lumpy (on a slab) and the trim around the windows isn’t even painted. I have cracked windows that are painted shut, my neighborhood sucks, and I pay a mortgage and manage to live from day to day in this place. It must be a miracle.

Seriously – um, it could be worse. Much worse.

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 11:08:am
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@Tish: That would be quite a commute though. :wideeyed:

@CMM: The allergy issue pretty much seals it for me. I also refuse to be a troll. :tongue:

@Sabrina: I see you have more exquisite, demanding taste here. :wink:

@Leanne: I’m surprised your house hasn’t been condemned yet. At least it’s all above ground though. :nyah:

But like I said, the allergies and the mold pretty much made the decision for me. I was practically sneezing the whole time down there, plus there would never been any peace and quiet since it was next to the storage and laundry area. I didn’t take a picture of the heat vents, but it had been painted over several times and rusted all over. The toilet wouldn’t flush, the locks for the door to the building were flaky as well as the one for the apartment, so it didn’t feel safe either. The apartment simply wasn’t well kept and probably used to be a storage room before the property got the idea to squeeze another unit in so they could make more money.

I could easily afford to spend $500 more a month than what they were offering it at. It’s not worth my health and well-being especially when I’ve seen much more sanitary places. So the hunt continues. :shades:

Leanne wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 11:14:am
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I totally get the allergy thing – but honestly? If that place was on the top floor, I’d be driving out there to smack you on the head for being so picky. Clean it up, fix the toitie. kwim? Allergies are a whole different ball of wax. Or hair. Or mold. Whatever the case may be.

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 12:22:pm
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If it was above ground I might have considered for a few more seconds. And just because I want carpeting and a bit more cleanliness doesn’t mean I’m picky. Oh, and a washer/dryer hookup too. :whistle:

Remember, it has to look presentable enough so the chicks will dig it. :kissgrin:

Call Me Mom wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 01:29:pm
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$500 MORE a month? :jawdrop: Holy scha-moly! We rent a duplex with three levels and a cathedral ceiling on part of the main level with a large yard in which I can have a small garden for half again as much as you could pay more. There are too many people looking for living space where you are if $500 more isn’t at least doubling your rent for a studio apt. Tell me they were only asking a few hundred a month with heat/AC included or I’ll think you’re all out of your minds to live there. :cuckoo:

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 02:42:pm
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LOL, welcome to NY. The studio here was $1100 a month, which is considered cheap for an apartment complex. I also saw a one bedroom the same day at a beautiful co-op for $1600 a month, but the owner was really looking for a buyer (I’ll blog about that afterwards). It’s sad that $1600 didn’t even give me a washer/dryer hookup, while anywhere else for $1600 I could get a mansion of a house on several acres of land. Sigh.

The good news is even spending that much I can still save a substantial amount of a money a month, and after a few years I’ll have enough to buy a new car in cash, go back to school for a masters, and/or put down for a house in another state, unless by some miracle the market finally bottoms out here and reflects the actual value of the overpriced dumps that we call homes here. :tongue:

Call Me Mom wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 04:00:pm
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As I recall, my sister-in-law has the same problem in LA. I count my blessings that I live in the middle of the country.

Lincoln Adams wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 05:53:pm
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I should just thank God even when paying through the nose for rent, I can still save money for something better down the road. Sometimes it’s great not to have kids.

Sabrina wrote a comment on July 13, 2009 @ 06:09:pm
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Actually, if it weren’t for my allergies, or for the fact that it’s downstairs, then I might’ve considered it, depending on how well it cleaned up. But in this case, it’s a no go.