Looking for a New Home!

After 4 years in my current apartment, I'm ready for a change. Heck, I've been ready for at least half the time I lived here! The main reason I want to move is because there is basically NO storage space! I have ONE closet -- a small walk-in in the bedroom. In my previous apartment, there was a pantry type closet in the hallway (5 or 6 very deep shelves), a built-in linen cupboard in the bathroom (equally as deep), and a "sliding door closet" in the bedroom with a ton of storage space on the shelf above the clothes rod. Then I move here ...

 My move to this complex wasn't entirely by choice, but that's another story ...

I have long thought these apartments would be great ...

... mainly because they have 4 closets! There's a coat closet near the front door, a huge pantry in the kitchen, a "sliding door closet" in the dining area, and a decent-sized walk-in closet in the bedroom. There's also a funky "linen closet" which is a couple of shelves with doors built into the wall. This complex isn't exactly an easy commute to where I'm working now, but I thought I could make it work. I was also delighted to learn that I could rent a 2 bedroom apartment for $40 less per month than I'm currently paying for my wee 1 bedroom apartment!

However, the more I thought about it, I've managed to talk myself out of moving here. Sometimes it's the "silly" little things that do that, such as the bathroom sink in the bedroom in the 2 bedroom apartments. WTF? The toilet and tub are in a room by themselves and there's a sink on each side of that space. This made the master bedroom feel like a motel room ... and a cheap one at that ... not to mention the bad feng shui! So as long as I'm in search of a 2 bedroom apartment, this isn't the place for me. By the way, the 1 bedroom apartments are just fine and completely "normal" in the bathroom department!

A week ago, a friend and I were driving around looking at some apartments I'd found online the day before. Being Easter, of course the apartment complex offices weren't open. I went back to this one ...

with another friend on Saturday. The office was open this time and I was able to view their "model" apartment. I'm really digging this place!! It's centrally located, convenient to where I'm working, as well as Midtown, downtown, shopping, a gazillion restaurants, etc. The model I was shown was the 2br/2 bath style, and I'm wanting to rent the 2br/1 bath; I just don't need that second bathroom! The leasing agent told me they will have one of these available for rent the first of May. I've paid a $200 "holding deposit" which will be applied to my first month's rent and yes, I passed the background check with flying colors! Pamela (who shares her last name with a well-known actress) has assured me that she/they will do "whatever it takes" to make me happy in my new home. Trusting strangers (and salespeople at that!) is a bit challenging, but I'm giving it my best shot this time! Pamela did show me another 2br/1bath apartment so I've seen the layout of the apartment style I'll be renting. The only difference I'm possibly envisioning is if it were a mirror image; most apartments around here are "back to back" meaning the bedrooms are next to each other (hope my new neighbors are the quiet type!). Pamela said that the only thing she thought might be different would be if I already had a white ceiling fan in the dining area, and she has offered to provide one if it turns out my apartment still has the brown wood-grain fan. The kitchen cabinets are white, so a white fan would coordinate better with them!

I went back yesterday to scope out the actual building/apartment that was mentioned on Saturday and it seems like a decent location. It's away from the pool, laundry room, playground, etc. so it should be relatively quiet. I almost knocked on the door to see if the current tenant would let me take a peek, but decided against that because even if they would let me in, I'm thinking I wouldn't feel too comfortable walking into a stranger's home ... nor would I be likely to let someone enter my home under the same circumstances! I'm rather disappointed that I haven't yet been able to view the actual apartment. They say that's because the current tenant is still living there, however I know (from experience) that management only needs to give 24 hours notice before entering an apartment for pretty much any reason.