Friday, April 17, 2009

Apartment Search has Begun!

This week has been exhausting. After much discussion, C and I have decided to move in again in September. We've spent much of the week looking at apartments, unsuccessfully. We're looking for a two bedroom or a large one bedroom apartment under $1550 (that probably sounds insanely expensive to people who don't live in a big city, but alas...). We live in a big college town, which makes things difficult, since neither of us is keen to live in an area/building full of college students. Nothing against them, but we're in our mid-twenties, it's time.

We're having trouble finding an apartment that's 1) large enough for both us AND 2) in a clean building that isn't full of college students AND 3) that is in an area that is an easy commute to downtown, where we both work AND 4) that meets our budget. We're willing to compromise a little on the size if it's in a great area, or pay a little more for a slightly larger apartment (i.e., we'd be willing to pay more for a 2 bedroom if the perfect one came our way). So far, though, we've not really seen anything that meets even two of those specifications. I think our realtor hated us because she thought we were too picky. I don't see how it's picky to know what you want and be annoyed when your realtor is showing you tiny apartments in shitty buildings, though. Bah. Anyway, we have a couple of appointments lined up for the weekend, so we'll see what happens.

I'm still definitely interested in buying something, but I feel too rushed waiting on the apartment search while I seek out a condo/house. Anywhere I can afford is going to be in a less desirable area, so finding that perfect gem is going to take time. Renting for a little while should ease up the pressure a bit and allow me to save more money, while also keeping up the search. I also need to look into what kind of financing I qualify for. I have a good idea of what I want to spend (although every realtor I've spoken with thinks I should be spending $50,000 more than I want to), and I'm just crossing my fingers for a great deal on a bank-owned property or something. We'll see.

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