Red Flag???

[8 Bit WWBG]

So lets see... what should cawiau look for when he does the quick walkthrough.

- Water issues (flush all toilets, turn on the shower, sink, dishwasher...)
- A strange smell
- oddly patched wall/ceiling/other area
- electrical issues...

What could make someone want to move last minute?


Also, what happens if cawiau says "no". If the LL is asking because he is trying to get his sister off his back, there might be some passive-aggressive repercussions too. "Oh the A/C is broken? Yeah.... I can get someone over next week."

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"...restaurant on the ground floor, and 2 apartments on each floor, so 4 apartments all together...":::...

I just re-read this. Who is the other neighbor in each case? That could be the clue.

[Deleted]

Ok truck loaded, movers have left. Waiting on my wife to get here so we can leave.

He has called me twice so far and I answered the second time. I guess he thought I was already in Oneonta and I told him I was just finishing cleaning up my current apartment.

Anyway, he said he doesn't want to inconvenience us and if it will be a problem he understands since that would mean he would have to spend all night moving his sister out of her apartment into ours and cleaning hers up.

I told her we were still open to it and would be getting there at 8 PM (2.5 hours drive) and he said that was ok and he would let his sister know. If we are ok with it, he would have no problem pulling a all nigher getting the apartment ready.

Our concerns are the following:
a) what is wrong with the sister's apartment
b) we were already worried that he would not have the apartment clean up to par, which is why I have a hotel reservation at the Holiday Inn till Sunday, this way we can spend tomorrow, saturday cleaning the apartment again oursleves.
c) Yes WBBG, that is the same thing I told my wife. What he might think is nice might just get an eyebrow raise from my wife. After all in her mind she is already downsizing (no granite, hardwood floor, stainless steel appliances, etc).
d) Someone mentionned it, the sister lived there I don't know for how long. Might need some costmetic fix, even a new coat of paint.

Anyway, I guess we will see when we get there.


ETA: My wife was so worried about the clealiness of the apartment that she asked her mom to come with us for the first two days. Her mom is more OCD when it comes to cleaning than my wife is, to the third level.
My current apartment that looks right out of a catalog and my wife spend endless hours cleaning, she managed to find fault with.

Yep, Sunday cannot come fast enough

[Deleted]

May 31, 2012 16:15:53 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

...:::"...restaurant on the ground floor, and 2 apartments on each floor, so 4 apartments all together...":::...

I just re-read this. Who is the other neighbor in each case? That could be the clue.

I don't know. I only knew about his sister because he mentionned her when we first saw the place and ask if we would have an issue with the noise.

The second time we went to see it, she just happened to be coming home with her daughter so he introduced us to both of them.

[constanz22]

Carl, in this area, with this type of apartment, usually the third floor has CHEAPER rent, so, unless it's like an additional bedroom, keeping the same rent as the second floor isn't any great deal, IMO. I would almost bet money that sis is already on the second floor apartment that you were supposed to rent. It would be virtually impossible to pack and move with a days notice...I'd be curious what is really going on too and I'd be direct with the landlord and call him on it...I would HATE to live on the third floor, lugging groceries, laundry, taking the dog out...ugh...but, you're young and it's only for a year. Having said that, I hated having people living above me, especially with a kid.

[hoops902]

"It would be virtually impossible to pack and move with a days notice"

1 floor in the same building? You have too much stuff! That's a couple hours of work.

Cawiau- Have you actually asked why she would want to move into that apartment?

[Works4me]

Just glad you are staying at Holiday Inn!!!

[NastyWoman]

Carl, unless utilities are included -and I don't think so from what you wrote- consider this: top floor hotter in summer colder in winter. That could cost you a pretty penny.

[MarleyKeezy78]

We lived on the third floor for 5 or 6 years and we had a raised timber ceiling, it was awesome! Sure it's a pain to lug everything up but you don't have to hear stomping over your head ;D I will say once we had DS, it was time to move! Only one opinion, but for apt. living, top floor is the best! If somehing is wrong, have them fix it pronto!

[wvugurl26]

My top floor apt was much warmer in the winter than my ground floor one. It got warmer faster once it started getting warm though.

[simser]

I loved living on the 3rd floor and never hated having to carry my groceries up the extra flight. I wish I could now but I just can't move a piano to the 3rd floor unless I was staying permanently!!

But I would also bet it's too good to be true.

[TheOtherMe]

If you don't find any problems, my experience tells me to live on the highest floor. This comes from living on the bottom floor of either 2 or 3 story buildings. I heard all the toilet flushing, laundry running, kids running, etc.

Heat rises so in the winter you'd be getting heat from below. In the summer, you'd need more a/c.

The kicker for me was when the tenant on floor 2 when I lived in the 3 floor apartment moved without telling landlord, temps went below zero, pipes froze and burst--in to my 1st floor apartment.

If I ever live in an apartment again, it will be on the highest floor.

[Sharon]

Any decision on which apartment it will be?

[wvugurl26]

I was happy at my old place when the couple with the kid above me moved out. Nice people but they never ever took the kid outside to run off steam. They were replaced by the people with the large dog that sounded like an elephant running around above me. It also howled when left alone.

I much prefer the top floor even though I have to carry my stuff up a flight of steps.

[Deleted]

Thanks everyone... At the Holiday Inn now and we saw the apartments.

They still haven't painted ours and the cleaning was descent (we will still need to spend the weekend cleaning it more thoroughly). Do you think we can just ask him to provide us with the paint or the money to paint and we will do it ourselves? We were thinking about painting anyway ... first time I am allowing my wife to paint one of our apartments in 4 years as a trade off for what she had to give up.

His sister spent the day scrubbing and cleaning our apartment and she told us what we knew already: the people that lived there before were slobs/pigs. She could not believe people would live in such filth. I will be honest she did a pretty descent job cleaning up it up... just need a little more elbow grease to be up to my wife standards. Tonight was the first time my MIL was seeing the apartment and she was not too happy/impressed with it; and said something about how can we can go from such a nice place to living here. I just ignored her.

We went to see her apartment upstairs; I was wrong, her layout is the totally opposite of ours except for the living room. Her kitchen is more open (we have a galley kitchen) and she has an actual dinning room. My only issue with her apartment was that you had to go thru the master bedroom to reach the living room. yes our bedroom is always spotless but something about my guests always passing thru my living room to get to the living room just doesn't seat well with me unless we just turn the living room into our master bedroom.

Her apartment is really nice and she reminded me of my wife because she did a great job decorating it. Her reasons for wanting to move downstairs are:
a) when she gets home late with her daughter and she fell asleep in the car she has to carry her all the way up to the third floor. Second would be easier.
b) She would like to not have to tell her daughter over and over: no running, be quiet, etc.

She is really a nice lady and I kinda like her already. She loves Max and offered to dog seat anytime we need it. But we both agree it would be too much for her to have to move tonight and have her apartment available for us by 9 am tomorrow morning. She was all up for it (her daughter is with her ex husband tonight) and so was my wife... but I will be honest: the whole bedroom/living room arrangement was just not for me.

I can see turning the living room into a master (she is currently using it as a living room / her daughter room) but that is the only place with windows in the whole apartment (they take that whole side of the building and are floor to ceiling windows); I would rather have that as a living space instead of a bedroom. But yeah her apartment was not a , actually nicer than ours... at least for now since my wife head is about to explode with millions of ideas; I can see my bank account draining already. Also bigger: actual dining room instead of a corner to put our table and chairs; but her master was smaller than ours.

So maybe same size or within 20 sqft bigger : smaller kitchen and dinning room but bigger master bedroom; living room same size, so is bathroom (but in a total opposite direction). Her layout totallt shocked me, I would not have expected it to be so different from the second floor.

All said, we will be staying on the second floor and I guaranteed her that her daughter could run all she wants. Haven't bothered us before and doubt it will now as long as she is OK with my dog barking from time to time and she was OK with that; the tenant on the same floor as her has a dog.

[weltschmerz]

May 31, 2012 20:27:19 GMT -5 simser said:

I loved living on the 3rd floor and never hated having to carry my groceries up the extra flight. I wish I could now but I just can't move a piano to the 3rd floor unless I was staying permanently!!

But I would also bet it's too good to be true.

I lived on the 4th floor with no elevator. What is it with healthy people not wanting to move their keisters? Seriously, it boggles the mind. People who work out at the gym would cheerfully mow down a grandmother in the Walmart parking lot so they can nab a closer parking spot and don't have to walk a few extra feet. I don't get it.

[TD2K]

People who work out at the gym would cheerfully mow down a grandmother in the Walmart parking lot so they can nab a closer parking spot

Or sit waiting for a close spot to open up while I squeeze by them, park my car and walk past them into the store.