Mortgage Monday: Taking A Chance

This was the first attempt... really glad it fell through!

I am going to take a step back for a moment in this series and actually talk about a few months prior to us moving into the house. By the time the summer was coming to an end, my wife and I had a big decision that we had to make. Our lease was set to end today and while we had been looking at houses for some time, and we were under agreement on a property, there were no guarantees. While we usually take a more careful approach to situations, we decided to take a chance and give our notice that we will be not renewing our lease. So, when we sent our rent check in late August for the month of September, we included a note that, in accordance with our lease, we were not going to be renewing.

Technically, we had a place that, at the time, we thought we would be living but, as September slowly trudged on, that reality quickly dissolved and we soon found ourselves without a place to live come December. It was an interesting feeling of uncertainty and one that had us contemplating whether we should try to extend our lease but it was also freeing in the fact that it was one less thing to think about as we continued to search for a home. If anything, it certainly served as a motivator to get things done and step up our efforts to find a home.

Things do happen for a reason and our house hunt definitely proved that point. Within a week of terminating the agreement on the first house (based on inspections), we reached an agreement on a second, far superior, home. After talking with the bank the following week and shortening the escrow to 45 days, we knew that we would be moving and would be making the transition from a house to a home by the end of November. As it turns out, taking that chance in late August was going to pay off.

Contrary to the first ordeal which was rife with misleading statements and answers that didn’t match up with the facts and documents from the county, the process for the second house went as smooth as we could have hoped for and now that second house is now our home. No more renting, no more moving, and no more uncertainty about where we are going to be living this time next year or the year after. We are home.

Not Welcome!

Last night my wife and I decided to again take our apartment building up on an offer that was made to us shortly after moving in… we decided to attend a board meeting. We had attended a meeting sometime during our first few months after being encouraged to do so by board members and management but haven’t been to one since. While we are not shareholders, the meetings have always been promoted as open to all residents but we really had no real motivation to attend until this month. Having handed in our request to terminate out lease last week and no hearing anything back as of yet we were hoping to at least get an answer.

Before heading down to the basement, we went up and finally visited with a couple of residents that we are very fond of. Regardless of the issues that we have had with the building, there are many great people that still live there as well as many that work there too. What we were able to confirm is that we were not the only people that have had issues and do not agree with how things are being managed. And this was coming from a former President of the board.

After catching up for about 20 minutes we all piled on the elevator with someone else heading to the meeting. We walked into the room and quietly shuffled into the back row not saying a word to anyone. We were there to listen not to cause a ruckus (other residents had already planned on doing so making there no need for us to say anything). My wife and I had just settled in and were chatting about other things that we needed to get done when the current president made her way to the back of the room.

It didn’t come as a surprise that we were asked to leave. After all, I didn’t bow and kiss her ring when we walked in the door. The new rule (declaration might be a better word) is that the meetings are only for shareholders… a complete change from our last experience nearly three years ago. Again, we were not there to make a scene so we got up, let our friends know what was going on, and made our way back to the apartment without any answers or even an acknowledgement of our formal request.

For now, we have to keep waiting until we receive notification. However, given the length of time that has passed, I am starting to plan on taking alternative action with regard to our lease. Nothing drastic, just putting all of the hard facts on the table and allowing them to speak for themselves. I guess we will just have to keep preparing and see what happens from here.

Three Years Later…

In addition to everything else that has been going on in our life recently, we have also been looking here and there for a new place to live. This really isn’t a surprise given the issues that we have had with our current residence especially over the past year. Well, we have finally found a place and we are busy packing the apartment. Between the other things that are on our schedule this month, we will be packing and moving everything about 45 minutes away in Chester Springs.

The new place will significantly shorten my wife’s commute to work while it will cut about 5 minutes \off of my drive despite being a few more miles each way. However, the biggest change will be the drastic increase in the amount of living space. The apartment that we have spent the last three years in has approximately 700 square feet while our new dwelling is 1400 square feet plus a finished basement. And, better yet, we will go from one bathroom to two and a half (those of you who are married understand the importance of this upgrade).

However, at the moment we are carrying two leases. We are attempting to ‘play nice’ in our request to terminate the lease for our apartment and hopefully that will come through. Although I am planning for the usual cluster that has become increasingly commonplace during our time living in the building. I guess we will have to wait and see if they want to play nice as well.

In the meantime, we are not going to let that stop us from moving forward (westward actually). There is a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, and a few other upgrades in the new place that we are looking forward to and I will have my own office and workbench area in the basement. The move has already begin with a few dozen boxes stacked in the corner and even more boxes packed and piled in the apartment. Once we have some more time, we will get a few movers and finish the job.

So, with the year coming to an end there is another change happening. We would have liked to have done this sooner but some things you can’t really plan for and you have to just let them happen. It’s not an easy time to move but nothing that we can’t make happen. And while no one enjoys the process of moving, we are looking forward to settling in to a new space and starting the next stage of our life.

Stop The Timer!

Last week my wife and I had some time off for Rosh Hashanah and while I would have preferred to spend the day in reflection of the previous year and planning for the upcoming changes there were other things that had to be done. It is just one of those times that we had to take advantage of the time that we had and make sure that certain things got done. It had already been too long and we weren’t left with any other option. Finally, we were going to have access to our entire apartment as, after two and a half months, the work to ‘fix’ the leak was done. Albeit a halfhearted budget cut remedy, it was done.

In the middle of the afternoon, one of the guys from the building came over with the carpet cleaner, filled the reservoir with tap water and dish soap (the building refuses to pay for carpet cleaner) and proceeded to take his time going over the 6x6 area in the corner of our living room. In the past the building had brought in professional cleaners when there was a leak in the office but things have obviously changed. This time it took half a dozen letters to management, countless stops at the front desk, two work from home days, a day off, and more patience than I thought I had to make sure that the work was complete but it was finally done.

This process pretty much epitomizes the drastic changes that have occurred since my wife and I first moved into the building in late 2011. Nearly half of the apartments in the building have been bought and sold, the board has been completely overhauled, management has been outsourced, and only a handful of staff remains from the time our first lease began. One positive is that the only thing that hasn’t changed is our rent.

While the apartment has served its purpose, things have changed so drastically that it no longer fits our needs. This would be the case even if nothing had changed and the ‘luxury’ tag that people like to plaster onto the building actually meant something. And while things are holding together at the moment I am constantly thinking and worrying about that which is on the other side of the ceiling tiles and behind the surface of the walls. Having lived in, worked for, and knowing the guys still dealing with the various issues on a daily basis, I know what condition the building is in and it leaves me very uncomfortable. But, right now, I am happy that the work is ‘done’ and that we finally have access to our entire apartment!

Just Above Our Heads

I knew that yesterday was going to be a long day and a late night at the office. I could tell by the times reserved on my calendar and the work that needed to be done that I wouldn’t be getting home at the usual time. With this fact in the back of my mind, the day was already beginning to drag as midafternoon came around to smack me in the face. In a series of texts from my wife, it was made very clear that the refrigerator was not the biggest maintenance problem in the apartment. When my wife got home she noticed the same subtle noise that we heard last summer in the office… dripping.

Off in the corner of the living room, the saturated ceiling tile was now bathing our bookcases in a stale staccato of water coming from one of the many possible sources in the maze of pipes hidden by the flimsy barrier above. After notifying the front desk, maintenance was in the apartment to assess the mess created by one of their many predecessors. Essentially, what happened was that the many cans of spray foam encapsulating the pipe had given way and the bucket semi permanently secured below this quality piece of craftsmanship was overflowing into our living room.

A couple hours later nearly all the foam had been chipped away and the totality of the failed fix was revealed. While I am not certain as to the exact nature of the issue, it was very clear that cutting corners was made a priority in the past and we should, hopefully, have a proper remedy to the problem. But that is going to have to wait as the area needs to dry, parts need to be purchased, and our patience needs to be tested further. Fortunately, while they were in the apartment, they called a service company to come out and fix the fridge… a problem that was consciously being ignored by the new management company, Camco, for nearly two weeks. After phone, verbal, and written messages there is no doubt in my mind that we were ignored. At the opposite end of the service spectrum, as soon as maintenance found out that the issue wasn't resolved, they took care of it right away.

So now, as we wait for the leak to be fixed (not just a finger in the dike), we are left assessing what needs to be cleaned, what needs to be thrown away, and whether or not we want to keep the furniture in the same places knowing what problems keep surfacing just above our heads. More work that I really don’t have the time or energy to deal with at the end of the day. Needless to say, we will definitely be resuming our apartment search in the new year as the problems and inconveniences are beginning to outweigh the rent at this point.   

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!

Finding Our Geography

For me and my wife, our next big milestone in our marriage is to find a place to live, some place that we can call home. It is something that we have been searching for over the past several years, really since the day we got married. We have taken a few chances since our vows to achieve this dream but nothing has worked out up to this point. Some places haven’t been satisfying for either of us while others were a split decision. But, in the end, finding home is something that we have to both agree upon.

Over the past several months we have been traveling to various parts of the commonwealth, we have seen numerous small towns and driven down countless streets. While there have been a few that have piqued our interest, there hasn’t been any place that has met all of our expectations for a place where we could see settling down for the long haul. It is not an easy decision to make so we are trying to take our time to find a place.

Our latest debate is whether to stay in our current apartment where the rent is quite reasonable and save for a home or do we incur the expense now to rent in a location where we can feel more at home. We keep going back and forth in this discussion as we are eager to move on from the congestion and confinement of our current surroundings but, at the same time, it would be nice to finally move somewhere when we can have the pride of ownership waiting for us when we unload the truck and open the door. Essentially, do we postpone long term happiness for short term satisfaction and comfort? Either option would be a financial struggle

So, with this back and forth still part of our everyday life, we have been looking for a place that meets both the requirements we have for ‘home’. It has taken a lot of time and a lot of errors but we may have finally found that place. Where? I am not going to divulge that information at this point as nothing is ever final until a move happens. Plus I know of at least a few realtors that read this blog and I am curious as to the theories that will eventually surface as to the locations in the area (the area of consideration has not been mentioned to any of them in the past). However, it is safe to say that it is in-between where my wife and I work and within an easy train ride of Philadelphia.

It should be an interesting time of consideration and weighing our options as our lease is set to expire at the end of May. There may be a lot of changes to start the summer or there could be a continuation of the status quo. I guess you are just going to have to keep reading to find out what happens in the coming months.