Apartment Hunting

It took some adjustment, but we've settled into a very nice time. We did errands all week. Mostly doctor appointments for The Man. We had dinner with friends on Friday, and now The Man and The Boy are in New York, apparently having a good time, and some father-and-son bonding I hope.

Me, I am always alone, and catching up on my reading, catching up on e-mail, catching up on laundry, catching up on gardening. You'd think for a woman who isn't employed, I'd be on top of things. No, I run around town a lot.

Take yesterday for example. I went apartment hunting with a friend. After taking various factors into consideration, she's determined she needs her apartment to be near her son's school, on the transit line, in a duplex. The apartment needs to be new, at least a two bedroom but preferably three, and preferably under $2000.

Around the $2000 mark, the quality of apartments out there rises a few notches from the basement apartment I am trying to rent to students for my mother. They are well maintained. Even in apartment buildings, the hallways don't smell of old, musty people. They are looked after by property management companies. There is a formal application process.

Our task for the day was just to visit apartments, gauge what's out there, and check out neighbourhoods. We visited several apartments. While the quality of the apartments was good, the space you get varies. For the same money, you can get small two bedrooms, or very large three bedrooms.

The first apartment we saw was a spanking new two-bedroom, brand new floors, washroom, appliances, really cute layout with a joint dining-living room. But the bathroom and bedrooms were small. The agent and I recognized each other from somewhere, our names were even familiar to each other, but neither of us could remember where or under what circumstances we had met.

It was a beautiful apartment. My friend wanted to take it right away. I said, But this is the first one you've seen, and I think it's a bit small. True, she said, If only there's an extra bedroom. But she arranged with the agent to apply for the apartment. Thank god no rent was exchanged and the agent had other showings in the afternoon. When we left the house and calmed down, we decided that was not the apartment for her, as nice as it was.

We went next to an apartment building to see two penthouses. My goodness, they were big, bright, and spacious, with neat trimmings. But it had the feel of an impersonal, factory apartment, and though I would love to live in such a place for a while, I couldn't really think of it as home for anyone. My friend's concern was it was the penthouse, and her son has trouble with heights. It means he won't be able to look out the window or use the balcony. And while she wanted an apartment near his school, this building was right next to the school. It means if he were to look out the window or look down from the balcony, he would see his school below. And the rent was $2300.

We visited a few other neighbourhoods and eliminated some. Then we made an appointment for a 5:30 viewing of a basement apartment. I wasn't keen on it. But we drove by the building. It was in fact a house. Three houses to be exact, melded together with the same brick so that it looks like one large house. The grounds were well maintained. It was in a great area, a ten-minute walk from her son's school. Very nice from the outside. But a basement?

The landlord took us in from a side door. The apartment has its own entrance and garage. We stepped into a charming, new, spacious three-bedroom basement apartment. It was even bright as far as basement apartments go, freshly painted, with new fixtures. The master bedroom had an en suite bathroom. There was a cute nook for an office where the ceiling goes up about 12 feet. It had a separate living room and dining room and its own laundry/storage room. There were three "windows" that open from the hallway into the dining room. We loved it.

Turned out the agent renting out the apartment works with my friend's cousin. And even though there was already an offer on the apartment to move in in July, my friend put in an offer to move in in June. By evening, the apartment was hers. And she came in at $1800, less than what she's paying now.