I ALMOST had a flat. Almost. It was huge (practically a one-bedroom), in the location I wanted, AND wonder of wonders, it had a washer. I REALLY wanted it and am still sulking over the loss while quietly cursing my agent.
The story goes something like this. Agent sends me pics of a flat to look at, which is decidedly out of my price range (and if I'm honest, it was kind of not that nice looking in the pictures). However, agent said he could get the landlord to negotiate the price closer to what I could pay so I agreed to have a look.
The paint was peeling on the outside of the building, the street was really noisy, and I had to walk up about five flights of stairs, but then we opened the door and the heavens smiled upon us. There was a HALLWAY and A SEPARATE KITCHEN. The studio room was beyond huge and the bed was nowhere near the stove. And it was QUIET. No more listening to cement trucks barrel over speed bumps, or my personal favourite, listening to the recycling man throw bags of wine bottles into the back of his truck at 6 am on a Saturday.
I tried to play it cool but we agreed I would make an offer via email when I got home. We spent all afternoon farting around over price, and I finally capitulated and agreed to pay the top end of my price range WITHOUT BILLS. Mind you, the price I originally offered was WITH bills but nevermind. I was willing to sell my soul for this one. Eating is overrated anyway (kidding, it wasn't that bad).
Sadly, after four hours of back and forth via texting, blackberry email, and phone calls, the agent wrote me and said the landlord wasn't so willing to negotiate on price like he thought. (Remember, this apartment was WAY out of my price range and I only even looked at it because the agent said it was negotiable).
Dumbass. He's on commission and would've gotten a fat check from me, so I know he tried. But still. He's a dumbass. Maybe so am I, because I think I was punching above my weight on this one. That place was totally out of my league and worth what the landlord was asking...
However, I have made a massive breakthrough in that I've come to the realisation that I can no longer live by the "I'm not spending more than 1/3 of my income on housing" rule. Apparently this doesn't actually work when you live in a big city and your salary is so low that people do a double take when they hear what you earn.
If I'm really broke and/or really miserable after 12 months of studio life, I reckon I'll re-evaluate when the lease is up. But in the meantime, when else am I going to be able to selfishly spend money like it's water? Maybe never again. I've saved a lot of money walking to work this past year, not to mention living with four other people is relatively cheap as well. So here goes nothing. I'm upping my search criteria and not even going to CONSIDER living in a basement apartment where the oven also doubles as a headboard.
Stay tuned... :-)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Indonesian treats!
One of my flatmates is from Indonesia and was kind enough to bring all of us pressies back from her last visit home. She hand-picked gifts for everyone, so we all got a mix of stuff depending on our tastes. My packet of goodies included:
The cutest wooden spoon/fork set - the handles are fish!
Tim Tam chocolate cookies
Sesame seed cookies
Plus the coolest ramen noodles I have ever eaten
Seriously. I eagerly busted into the package that I couldn't read, boiled the kettle, dumped the water and the noodles into a bowl, and realized...I don't remember how to actually make ramen. I know it's not hard but I think I missed out on a critical step, like boiling them on the stove or something.
Any way, it didn't matter because the noodles eventually cooked and I was able to mix in the FOUR packets it came with:
Peanuts
Chili powder
Some sort of sauce
And some other sort of sauce
It tasted really good and put Instant Ramen right to shame. Even if the flavour hadn't been so good (which it was), I actually had quite a fun time just assembling the ingredients. I reckon I might be easily entertained...
The cutest wooden spoon/fork set - the handles are fish!
Tim Tam chocolate cookies
Sesame seed cookies
Plus the coolest ramen noodles I have ever eaten
Seriously. I eagerly busted into the package that I couldn't read, boiled the kettle, dumped the water and the noodles into a bowl, and realized...I don't remember how to actually make ramen. I know it's not hard but I think I missed out on a critical step, like boiling them on the stove or something.
Any way, it didn't matter because the noodles eventually cooked and I was able to mix in the FOUR packets it came with:
Peanuts
Chili powder
Some sort of sauce
And some other sort of sauce
It tasted really good and put Instant Ramen right to shame. Even if the flavour hadn't been so good (which it was), I actually had quite a fun time just assembling the ingredients. I reckon I might be easily entertained...
Monday, November 1, 2010
oh, the joy
while jen's motel has certainly been a comfortable home for me over the last 12 months, there comes a time in every girl's life when she just wants to be able to take a shower. no seriously. i have been showering at night for the past month in order to avoid the grumblings and the queues that take place in the third floor hallway each morning. it's a bit ridiculous.
when i was looking for a flatshare last year, i used sites like moveflat.com and gumtree.com where you can find loads of people looking for a housemate. it was relatively safe because you could tell right away whether something was the real deal when you showed up at the front door (either there were people living there looking for a housemate or there weren't).
however, looking for a studio is different. there are lots of scams aka people just posting pictures of pretty apartments online and claiming they have a flat to let. there are elaborate schemes to take your deposit before you even view the flat, and then voila, there isn't actually a flat and you're out £700. i had heard about these scams but had never witnessed them myself until last week when i got the SAME strange email from two SEPARATE potential landlords:
---
Thanks for your reply.I would love to meet you, get to know you and show you round the flat so that you can see what you are renting but I have had problems with time wasters who could not keep to there end of deal despite the fact that i have made the rent so low considering the economic climate.Its really time wasting because i am a very busy person and do not really have much time to waste. Please understand that i am NOT asking you to pay for what you have not seen.People have told me that they will pay upon us meeting if they are satisfied but mostly they don't have the cash at hand to pay me,everyone of them is looking for a free or cheaper flat to rent despite the fact that i have made the rent Cheap.
Can you please answer the following questions?
-Are you really serious about the renting the Flat?
-If you love the flat when you see it and interested in renting, will you make the payment to hold it against your move in or would you like to move in the same day?
Kindly get back to me about an idea on what we can do so that we can arrange a meeting for viewing.
---
seems normal enough (except the "move in the same day" part), if i was willing to overlook the fact that, like i said, i got this EXACT email from another dude the morning afterwards. i replied back that i was serious, etc., etc. (to both dudes actually) to see what would happen and i got THIS back from BOTH of them:
---
I was discussing with my colleague about the idea on how i will be so sure that i will not be disappointed and to avoid time wasters.She advised that we can work out something via Western Union.
All i want to know is how sure are you to pay me the money if you intend to rent the Flat and just an evidence that you have the money because i need a surety that my tenant will pay me at least the first month rent and deposit.
She adviced that you can visit any Western Union outlet by sending the rent and deposit in your friend or partner's name to your name as the receiver in London Via Western Union which you would cash after viewing. The relevance of this transfer is to show that you have the agreed rent or deposit at your disposal to cash after viewing.
The transfer charges would be refunded to you when we meet at the point of viewing whether you decide to take the property or not.
After viewing, if satisfied with what you see, then we would both go to the nearest WU outlet, you will collect the money out and pay me in cash in exchange for the keys to the property and all other documents signed.
NOTE- No monies would be sent to me, it would be made between you and any of your friend.I just need the transfer as a proof that you have the money available.
I was made to understand that you can send me the WU transaction proof for confirmation on WU website so as for me to be rest assured that you have the money to pay me available at WU.
https://wumt.westernunion.com/asp/orderStatus.asp?country=global
PS:I am sorry for the lengthy mail.I only want to explain myself better.
---
everything from the "i was discussing with my colleague" to the "PS" was identical!!! sigh. needless to say, i didn't write back.
i then came to the conclusion that i must go with an agent to find a property and quickly learned that:
1) most properties on agency web sites have already been let
2) i am not of much value to anyone given the tiny amount my rent would be AND the fact that there are 1,000's like me looking for the exact same thing
i think i've contacted about 10 agents over the last few days, some have been helpful, some not so much. i spoke to a really lovely guy today and told him i wasn't keen to rent a studio where the bed is like, in the kitchen. he promised to email me a property later that day, which he did...and sure enough, the bed was in the kitchen.
so, we'll see what happens but i have to say i'm not too optimistic about the search. at least i'm not on a deadline like i was last year...
when i was looking for a flatshare last year, i used sites like moveflat.com and gumtree.com where you can find loads of people looking for a housemate. it was relatively safe because you could tell right away whether something was the real deal when you showed up at the front door (either there were people living there looking for a housemate or there weren't).
however, looking for a studio is different. there are lots of scams aka people just posting pictures of pretty apartments online and claiming they have a flat to let. there are elaborate schemes to take your deposit before you even view the flat, and then voila, there isn't actually a flat and you're out £700. i had heard about these scams but had never witnessed them myself until last week when i got the SAME strange email from two SEPARATE potential landlords:
---
Thanks for your reply.I would love to meet you, get to know you and show you round the flat so that you can see what you are renting but I have had problems with time wasters who could not keep to there end of deal despite the fact that i have made the rent so low considering the economic climate.Its really time wasting because i am a very busy person and do not really have much time to waste. Please understand that i am NOT asking you to pay for what you have not seen.People have told me that they will pay upon us meeting if they are satisfied but mostly they don't have the cash at hand to pay me,everyone of them is looking for a free or cheaper flat to rent despite the fact that i have made the rent Cheap.
Can you please answer the following questions?
-Are you really serious about the renting the Flat?
-If you love the flat when you see it and interested in renting, will you make the payment to hold it against your move in or would you like to move in the same day?
Kindly get back to me about an idea on what we can do so that we can arrange a meeting for viewing.
---
seems normal enough (except the "move in the same day" part), if i was willing to overlook the fact that, like i said, i got this EXACT email from another dude the morning afterwards. i replied back that i was serious, etc., etc. (to both dudes actually) to see what would happen and i got THIS back from BOTH of them:
---
I was discussing with my colleague about the idea on how i will be so sure that i will not be disappointed and to avoid time wasters.She advised that we can work out something via Western Union.
All i want to know is how sure are you to pay me the money if you intend to rent the Flat and just an evidence that you have the money because i need a surety that my tenant will pay me at least the first month rent and deposit.
She adviced that you can visit any Western Union outlet by sending the rent and deposit in your friend or partner's name to your name as the receiver in London Via Western Union which you would cash after viewing. The relevance of this transfer is to show that you have the agreed rent or deposit at your disposal to cash after viewing.
The transfer charges would be refunded to you when we meet at the point of viewing whether you decide to take the property or not.
After viewing, if satisfied with what you see, then we would both go to the nearest WU outlet, you will collect the money out and pay me in cash in exchange for the keys to the property and all other documents signed.
NOTE- No monies would be sent to me, it would be made between you and any of your friend.I just need the transfer as a proof that you have the money available.
I was made to understand that you can send me the WU transaction proof for confirmation on WU website so as for me to be rest assured that you have the money to pay me available at WU.
https://wumt.westernunion.com/asp/orderStatus.asp?country=global
PS:I am sorry for the lengthy mail.I only want to explain myself better.
---
everything from the "i was discussing with my colleague" to the "PS" was identical!!! sigh. needless to say, i didn't write back.
i then came to the conclusion that i must go with an agent to find a property and quickly learned that:
1) most properties on agency web sites have already been let
2) i am not of much value to anyone given the tiny amount my rent would be AND the fact that there are 1,000's like me looking for the exact same thing
i think i've contacted about 10 agents over the last few days, some have been helpful, some not so much. i spoke to a really lovely guy today and told him i wasn't keen to rent a studio where the bed is like, in the kitchen. he promised to email me a property later that day, which he did...and sure enough, the bed was in the kitchen.
so, we'll see what happens but i have to say i'm not too optimistic about the search. at least i'm not on a deadline like i was last year...
Summer post, a few months late
Yes, I know my visit to Cincinnati was five months ago (!) but I found some cute pics that I thought y'all might enjoy:
Happy Halloween
No dressing up this year, but Adam and I did celebrate Halloween by carving the world's smallest pumpkin! Our little friend lasted about 20 minutes before we roasted his seeds and made a pumpkin risotto out of the rest of him. Mmmm...
Monday, September 13, 2010
the ives in st. ives
september has been an action-packed month so far! my dad, pam, and tim came to visit last week and got the whirlwind tour of london plus a trip to st. ives (get it?) thrown in to boot. i had never been to cornwall before and wow. it was like a whole other country. rather than boring you with the usual picture + explanation, i'm trying my hand at something new...exporting my iPhoto pics into QuickTime movies. yes, i know it is very small but that is all i can get to upload for now. it has an exciting soundtrack, if that makes it any better?
also, for your romantics out there, the pub shown in the last 20 secs or so of pictures is where adam and i had our first date seven months ago. :-)
also, for your romantics out there, the pub shown in the last 20 secs or so of pictures is where adam and i had our first date seven months ago. :-)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
36-hour reunion in barthelona
my friends jenifer and jule, who i have known since i was five, crossed the pond to spend a few days in spain and france. the spain part of their trip fell during the august bank holiday, so i flew to barcelona for a whirlwind, fabulous reunion. we were so busy catching up that i don't think i saw one famous landmark. unless you count the naked guy standing on the corner by the beach a landmark?
i arrived saturday night around 9 pm, took the bus into the city, and met my girls at their hotel. none of us had eaten dinner yet, so we put on our finest and went in search of the perfect paella. i was planning for it to be an early-ish night.
however, every time i hang out with these chicas, we always accidentally end up staying up way later than planned. dinner ended around 11, followed by a cab ride to the beach (i was able to have a conversation in Spanish with the driver the whole 10 minutes!), drinks by the beach, then dancing at a random club with some Frenchmen the girls had met the night before.
after a few hours of mind-numbing techno music and G&Ts, i ended up in the mediterranean for a quick dip (in my clothes) before we headed back to the hotel. the paella we ate wasn't really holding us over, and we were all starving! but nothing was open at 5:30 am for us to munch on, so we pled with the hotel manager to feed us.
kind soul that he was, we got a nice (albeit random) plate of chorizo, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and ciabatta bread. i woke up at 9 am at the foot of the bed, covered in egg shells. this is what the "snack" plate looked like the next morning.
we finally got out of bed at 1 pm, at which point i poked my head outside to see what the rest of the world was doing.
despite not seeing any famous landmarks, i did get to see the side streets and back alleys of barcelona on a our long, lost walk to lunch, which were pretty cool in their own right.
we finally ended up in a tasty cafe around 4 pm, where we gnawed on crepes and sarnies (that's English for sandwich).
we spent the rest of my first/last day in barcelona relaxing at the beach. i had to hold the camera up really high to take this shot, because everyone on the beach except for us was naked.
i arrived saturday night around 9 pm, took the bus into the city, and met my girls at their hotel. none of us had eaten dinner yet, so we put on our finest and went in search of the perfect paella. i was planning for it to be an early-ish night.
however, every time i hang out with these chicas, we always accidentally end up staying up way later than planned. dinner ended around 11, followed by a cab ride to the beach (i was able to have a conversation in Spanish with the driver the whole 10 minutes!), drinks by the beach, then dancing at a random club with some Frenchmen the girls had met the night before.
after a few hours of mind-numbing techno music and G&Ts, i ended up in the mediterranean for a quick dip (in my clothes) before we headed back to the hotel. the paella we ate wasn't really holding us over, and we were all starving! but nothing was open at 5:30 am for us to munch on, so we pled with the hotel manager to feed us.
kind soul that he was, we got a nice (albeit random) plate of chorizo, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and ciabatta bread. i woke up at 9 am at the foot of the bed, covered in egg shells. this is what the "snack" plate looked like the next morning.
we finally got out of bed at 1 pm, at which point i poked my head outside to see what the rest of the world was doing.
despite not seeing any famous landmarks, i did get to see the side streets and back alleys of barcelona on a our long, lost walk to lunch, which were pretty cool in their own right.
we finally ended up in a tasty cafe around 4 pm, where we gnawed on crepes and sarnies (that's English for sandwich).
we spent the rest of my first/last day in barcelona relaxing at the beach. i had to hold the camera up really high to take this shot, because everyone on the beach except for us was naked.
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