As made obvious via my Facebook posts from today and yesterday, I am completely worn out. Work plus apartment hunting has totally wiped me out this week. Physically, yeah, but emotionally as well.
At work, it's hard to concentrate on the actual work because all I can think about is looking at apartments. Will we find something? Will we be forced to settle? What happens if we can't get out in time? Do we have enough money for this? Will the guarantors be accepted? And on, and on, and on... Constant stress. On top of a catalog season that hasn't quite started yet, but will certainly keep me busy for a while.
After a disappointing experience Wednesday night, Matt and I met with a new realtor and company last night. And she's absolutely amazing. As I explained to a few people this morning, we told the first agent, "We'd like A, B, and C." And they were like, "Meh... How 'bout X, Y, and Z?" They told us we couldn't afford what we wanted and that we basically had to go up hundreds of dollars in our already tight budget to get even close to what we're looking for. They took us to three places, we couldn't get in one because they didn't have the right keys, and we sneaked into another that the landlord specifically told us we could not see. And the ones that we did see just weren't... worth the money we would have to pay for them.
The first company insisted that for our budget, we'd need to look at studios. They didn't show us a single "true" one bedroom and they didn't even take us to the Lower East Side, which is where we really wanted to be. That is our ideal location. However, we're extremely flexible. We just need Matt's commute to not be stupid long anymore.
So previously that day, I'd gotten an email, a text, and a phone call from an agent from a different company who I had emailed two days earlier. I texted her while we were eating Wednesday night after seeing the disappointing apartments with the first company. By 11:00 that night, she'd already given me a full list of properties we could afford—all true one bedrooms—and most were LES. So we set up an appointment for Thursday and I left work early to meet her at 4.
We saw seven apartments on the LES last night. Seven apartments that, according to the first company, were not in our budget and didn't even exist. And what's even more, the agent took us to open houses. So anyone could've seen them. So it's not like the first company didn't know about them or didn't have access to them. Ugh. Whatever.
Of the seven, we really liked two. One was directly across the street from Matt's restaurant. The other, three blocks away. We got really excited about them, got our hopes up really far, and decided to put applications in. So we went back to the agent's office on Union Square and by the time we got there, someone else had put in an app for the apartment across the street from wd~50. Bummer. Big, old, bummer. So we went in as a back up and said if we couldn't get that one, we'd want to apply to the one three blocks away. We left the office at 9:45 last night.
Well, we didn't get the first one. And then while we were putting paperwork together and exchanging phone calls and everything else today, I remembered to ask about the second apartment's move-in date. We need a move-in date of February 15 at the latest because new tenants will be in our apartment March 1. Well, of course this place was March 1 move-in. And none of us knew that (agents included) because last night, two apartments in the building were open. And when we heard one was February 15, I guess we all thought the other was, as well. So, we didn't even bother applying for the second one because we can't be homeless for two weeks.
So... we're both totally, completely disappointed. Distraught. Stressed even worse. I couldn't concentrate on my work, and I had planned on staying at the office until 7 or 8 tonight to catch up on the hours I missed when I had to leave early to meet with the agents this week. But at 4:30, I got a text from the agent asking if I could meet her on the Upper East Side at 6:30. And of course I said sure.
And I'm so glad I did. Because I saw three apartments in one building—and I'm positive we'd be happy in any of them. Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen with new appliances, updated bathroom. In all three. In an awesome part of UES. We wouldn't even really have to get rid of much of our furniture. I think we could make it work. So... I texted Matt like mad while he was at work and we decided to apply for them. I was at the office with the VP and my agent until 9:30 again, filling out forms and getting information for the app. It's ridiculous how hard it is to rent a place in NYC, but... I understand it. I do. But that doesn't make it any less of a pain in the ass.
So, our apps are in for that apartment. But... the work is not yet over. And neither is the waiting game. We won't find out if we get any of them until Monday. Tuesday at the latest. So in the meantime, I'm meeting with our agent again tomorrow. And we're seeing a few more places on the UES. So far, I've spent about four hours filling out paperwork in this woman's office. And eight hours looking at places. And I only just started working with her on Thursday. She's awesome. She listens to us. She understands what we want and she's not pushing us toward anything we don't want and aren't ready for. I can't wait to find a place so I can write her a great review on like, every website I can find.
So after I search tomorrow, I'm headed to the office to work in peace for a little while. No phones, no emails. Just need to knock a bunch of stuff off my to-do list. And then, depending on what I get accomplished tomorrow and how tired I am at the end of the day, we'll see if I go back in on Sunday.
For now, I'm going to cuddle up on the couch under a bunch of blankets, watch some TLC wedding shows, and maybe sleep until Matt gets home... in like, two hours. Gross.
So tired. And it's not over yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment