Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Apartment Hunting

This past weekend, the Risk family made a trip to Baltimore to scope out an apartment. And let me tell you, there is no shortage of apartments in a big city. Every where you turn, you could find an apartment complex. What there is a shortage of is an affordable apartment in a safe area. We were amazed at how little you get for your money in the Baltimore rental market.

Here were our criteria:

3 BR or 2 BR w/Den
Safe secure neighborhood
Pets (we have two cats)
Washer and dryer in unit (with James, an outside laundry is not an option)
First floor (so that James does not disturb the Neighbors below us)

We did not feel that these were unreasonable. Of course we also wanted maximum space for the least money, but hey doesn't everybody???

On Friday, we looked at five complexes, one of which we didn't even stop and get out to look at because the area was that bad. On Saturday, we looked at at least a dozen complexes and finally decided on one of the last ones we viewed. It was perfect. Everything we asked for at a price we could afford and space that was larger than our house. Still not as nice as the apartment we looked at in Greenville, NC for about $900.00.

The apartment we chose was at Cascades Overlook in Owings Mills, a Baltimore suburb. 2 BR with a bonus family room that could serve as our den, first floor, with washer/dryer, pet friendly, semi-gated community and all the normal amenities - pool, clubhouse, playground, etc. 1500 sq foot, all for the great price of $1,275. The remainder of August's rent was free and according to the leasing agent, September's rent was also free with a 13 month lease. This would give us a chance to move and have the house sell before having to pay rent and a mortgage. The complex was a short commute to work and school and within a mile of the grocery store and the local mall. Perfect.

On Sunday, we turned in our application and waited for the reference check. That afternoon, we returned home to Morgantown knowing that another piece of the puzzle was about to be put in place.

On Monday, we received a call from the apartments that we had been approved for the apartment, but that the apartment would have to be a different one than was offered on Saturday. Apparently, the leasing agent on Saturday had given us som bad information and because we had pets, we would have to take an apartment in another building. The new apartment was $1,330 per month and on the second floor. It was a newer apartment and had a fireplace - two things that were very low on list of priorities. (So low that neither actually made the list.)

I called on Tuesday to find out what was going on, and told the apartments that I felt they were pulling a "bait and switch" on us. The agent assured me that they were not and seemed very sincere in offering this new apartment at the lower price of the original apartment. While the price was part of the issue, a bigger part was the new apartment was on the second floor. This was the sticking point. We would never have applied for the apartment had we known the apartment was on the second floor. Therefore, we asked to have our non-refundable application fee of $70 returned. We have not heard whether the company plans to return the fee. I have to call the company's regional manager tomorrow to see what we can do.

So we are back to square one. We will be making another trip to Baltimore in two weeks to try again. We researched about a dozen other apartments today and hope that things will work out.

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