Last Chance To Find An Apartment

Throughout the week my wife and I kept scanning the maps on Trulia and Zillow with the hope that a new listing would pop up. While there were plenty of listings that came to market during the week, there was nothing that fit the criteria that we were looking for, most importantly, the price. With nothing to show for our efforts and our MIL Realtor not having any better luck, we did not make it out this weekend to tour some other spaces.

In an owner’s market, this just hasn’t been a good time to try and find an apartment within the budget that we set for ourselves. I guess we will be staying where we are for now with the hope that we can build up our bank account enough to get a nice starter home around this time next year. The other part of this year long project will be to improve our credit. It’s not that we have bad credit, it is rather good in fact, but there is always room for improvement and it would make things a bit easier when the time comes in trying to secure financing. The basic game plan is simple… build up our bank account, pay down debts, and continue being successful in our jobs (i.e. promotions/raises). How we achieve all this is also simple… work hard and work smart.

So, when the day comes, what will we be looking for in a starter home? The list is a little longer than a rental but, in an ideal situation, here is what the check list would look like:

1. 3+ bedrooms
2. 2+ baths
3. 2+ acres
4. Office
5. Basement (finished or unfinished)
6. Good schools
7. Montgomeryville/North Wales/Lansdale area (there is a little flexibility there for the right place)
8. Reasonable commute time to work (under 60 minutes for me, under 45 minutes for my wife)
9. Garage
10. Not on a main road  

I know what you’re saying… that is why it is called a wish list not a list of requirements. Some of the things are reasonable, some may be fantasy when considering that we will not have much to put into the home but it is a start and it is nice to have a goal.

The most important thing that we need to do now is to make do with what we have and the space in which we currently live. The basic translation of that statement means that we have to clean and organize both of which we have been putting off for way too long. We have a good spot at the moment, not ideal but it is a good apartment at a good rate. And while we may complain at times about various things relating to the building, location, people, and variety of other aspects we have a plan of action and we are better off than most. We have gone through a lot in recent years and we can make it through some more knowing what awaits us just on the other side of the hill.

So, until next year, the hunt is over.

Another Weekend Apartment Hunting

Today was an interesting day of apartment hunting as my wife and I drove around our target area quite a bit. We left the apartment around noon and made our way to a development that we had already seem two apartments in before with no previous success. They are nice apartments, condos actually, and we even demonstrated interest in one of them before the owners pulled it off the market in favor of selling. This time around, the place met most of our needs but it was priced above our comfort level. It would be possible to pay the rent but it just wasn’t enough to motivate us to move.

From North Wales we headed over to Lansdale which was actually closer to Hatfield to take a look at a two story townhome. The price was right if not a little high but, again, it wasn’t a place that motivated change. It was a solid home but it was at the top end of our budget, too far out, and wasn’t really an increase in usable space over what we have now. Time to move on and go a little further away from where we started our search and look at a house in Hatfield.

Driving up to this next location you could see the potential that the property clearly has but once we entered we both could tell that this was not going to be the place for us. With ragged furniture still scattered throughout the main floor from the evicted tenants, the owner was in the back of the house cleaning the kitchen area and slowly moving the overflow out the door. Heading upstairs, the ‘second bedroom’ was unusable as the roof got in the way of being able to actually utilize the space (turns out that there was no head up there either). So, after looking around, this would have given us a lot more outdoor space but would have been a downsizing in living space and a higher price over where we are now.

One more chance and one more trek across the area as we drove from Hatfield down to Dresher to take a look at the last property of the day. The converted farmhouse offered a lot of the quirks that make 150 year old properties interesting but it was the smaller of the two units in the old house. Perched above a busy street and across from an old hotel it was rather quiet for the location. It was clean and the layout was pretty good but, in the end, the square footage was lacking and the storage space was nearly nonexistent.

We managed to see four properties throughout the day but nothing that would meet our needs. It is looking more and more likely that we will end up renewing the lease at our current apartment building. Again, not the ideal, but after to failed attempts to secure a new place and numerous tours this seems like our best option at this point. We still have another full week and weekend to find a place but we are fairly certain that there will be no move this year.

Again, not ideal but we knew that this was a possibility when we started this weekly search. It also makes me more curious to wonder where we will be next summer. Maybe we can save enough to buy a house. I guess we will have to just continue waiting and see how things go but I am guessing that we will end up having better luck finding a rental this time next year. By that time we will really be ready to find a new place.

Real Estate Round Two

For the second weekend in a row my wife and I got in the car, headed north, and met with my mother in law to see a few places. While we both would prefer to move when our current lease is up at the end of May, we are still trying to find the right place that would fit all (or most) of our needs while keeping us within budget. We found one such place last weekend but were quickly rebuffed when the owners of the spacious apartment decided to pull the rental off the market and put the unit up for sale. With the past week still fresh in our mind, we headed out with some understandably lowered expectations.

Our first stop in Lansdale justified our curbed enthusiasm as both the neighborhood and the property were the complete opposite of what we are looking for to gain greater comfort in our surroundings. We could tell that this was a possible reaction based on the listing but pulling up to the house and walking in the door confirmed every lackluster expectation. Put it this way, it was so bad we didn’t even bother walking upstairs, we walked around the first door, around the chair holding the back door closed and met back at the front door where the sunlight was scattered by the cracks in the windowpanes.

House number two was a bit on the older side but was a solid standalone home with nearly an acre of land. The house met many of our needs and even had a single car garage as a bonus. However, it was at the top end of our budget and had many uncertainties regarding utilities. In the end, I think it would be a great first small home if we were looking to potentially buy (no ideal but solid) but it was a little too much of s stretch with regard to renting.

The final showing of the day, which we found thanks to Zillow, was a little bit further out than our original target area but still within a reasonable distance from both our jobs and the major arteries running through the area. It was the next county over but checked off many of the things that we were looking for in a new place. However, what really motivated us to go a little further and consider the apartment/condo was the fact that, after factoring in the additional expenses, it would be the same monthly cost as our current apartment but with more space, a better layout, and a little outdoor area for ‘relaxation’. Moving would still be a little financially tight but this at least seemed to be manageable.

So, after discussing the this last showing over a late lunch and running through the pros and cons when we got back to our current apartment, we decided to put in an application and see what happens. Actually, I will be sending the application in the morning as I have long since blocked out how involved this whole process can be and pulling together all the necessary information is proving to be more work than I wanted to add to my weekend. Once this is sent in, it is then out of our hands. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens… again!

And The Process Officially Begins…

Today began early this morning. Well, at least early for me as I slowly staggered out of bed at 8:00 am. Because of a few issues at the post office yesterday (on top of the fun I was having at the office) I had to get out the door early, stop by the post office, and see if the Saturday morning shift could find the invisible package that eluded the staff yesterday. So, following a few grumbles from my wife for my alarm cyclically sounding, I was out the door with plans to meet her at Barnes & Noble in Montgomeryville for our weekend activity, our regularly scheduled program.

Surprisingly, when I got to the empty post office, there wasn’t a single issue getting the mail as somehow overnight the packages had rematerialized. With mail in hand I headed across the street to the lodge and got the couple hours of work done that was about a week overdue at this point. Still, it didn’t take as long as I was expecting so I was on the road and heading north with about an hour to make the 30 minute drive. Thirty minutes if I didn’t miss the turn(s) and the large bookstore in front of me. With that said, I was still about 10 minutes early.

After grabbing a quick coffee and a horrendous quiche (never again) we made our way to the first apartment on the list where my mother in law was waiting to show us the space. It has been over two years since we last seriously did some apartment shopping and I can’t say that I missed the process. While I do enjoy seeing the different spaces and attempting to envision how it might work for us, it is still a lot of effort with no guaranteed outcome.

We saw four places throughout the day. The first was the second floor of a duplex situated next to a library with a young owner living on the first floor who seemed to be in over his head. While it is more space than we have now you could tell that it was the second story of a converted single family home. On top of that it was a little way from the main road so, while a decent start, it wouldn’t work for us.

The second stop was at a single family home in the next town over. It was a quirky little house with double the space of our current apartment (including an extra half bathroom) but there were a few things that didn’t really work for us. First and foremost, there was a commuter SEPTA line running right behind the house (maybe 10 feet away) and, like I said, the amount of usable space was far less than the square footage due to low ceilings and odd walls. The property was also much further from the highway. If it were in a different location it would have been perfect but, as it stands, it doesn’t work. Next.

The final two stops of the day were in the same development. Both apartments were mirror images of one another with the first stop having not been updated in some time with the second seeming like there were newer fixtures but still dated. The second was, overall, in better shape but it was also more expensive and the previous occupant had a cat which does not bode well for my wife’s allergies. The first apartment of the two, while it had a few issues, is a great space for what we need. With 50% more space than our current rental, faux hardwood floors throughout, and all the ancillary aspects that we have in our current building this place was clearly our first choice and the one we will pursue a bit further. Clearly it wasn’t my mother in law’s choice but it was the decision that my wife and I made and we will see how things progress.

After a few hours, it was time to call it a day so we all went out for a late lunch and discussed what we liked, what we didn’t, and the things that we would like to see in future showings. The quick lunch behind us, we headed back out into the rain and headed in three different directions. I guess we will just have to wait and see how things progress on this front over the next month. I will keep you posted and hopefully have a few pictures the next time around.