Second thoughts

[serafina20]

I'm having second thoughts about taking the apartment. The security deposit is just so much, and it'll throw me back financially a few months. I don't know if it comes with a fridge or stove, I don't know what utilities are going to be, and I'm just not sure of anything. I haven't worked since the middle of July, and while my first paycheck will be a lot, it's kind of going to suck having to scramble to make sure all the ends meet.

My darling brother whom I adore and worship offered to lend me some money. If he lends me part of the security deposite, my parents can lend me the rest, so I won't be as strapped. However, I'd then hve to pay them back as soon as possible, and it'd prey on my mind.

So, I might not do it. I haven't signed anything or sent the landlord any money, so I don't think it'll be a problem. I'll tell him that it turns out I can't move until October. It'd be nice if he could keep it for me, but I know that's not going to happen.

I'm just so conflicted. I want someone to tell me what to do, but know no matter what, i'm not going to be perfectly satisfied.

Comments

[sullivanlane.livejournal.com]

You should call the landlord and ask if it comes with a fridge and/or stove. That might ease your mind a bit.

If it doesn't, then maybe you really DON'T want the place. Good luck.

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

I was going to, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it made more sense for me not to move out. In two months, I'll be able to afford most apartments I'm interested in easily. Or, I can spend two months paying off my credit cards so I can have a "clean slate" when I do move out. It's not my ideal situation, but then, ideally, I was supposed to work all summer in order to bring down all my credit card balances. But, the woman at the placement agency is a moron (I told her in June I was only avaliable until the 13th of August. I reminded her every time she called. She called about an hour ago with a position open for the next two weeks and was surpised when I said I was only avaliable until Friday).

The main reason I got so excited about this place was because a couple friends lived in the complex, but, deep down, I'd rather live closer to my school district. This was only 15 minutes away, but in another city, so I'm going to wait.

The landlord, though was really nice about it. He even offered to bring down the security deposite.

[sullivanlane.livejournal.com]

That was really nice of him. I'm glad you were able to think it through. :)

[beet]

Lol! I can't help myself when you post apartment questions - they are so near and dear to my own heart!

If you don't think your landlord wants to keep the apt. empty for an extra month, you could ask if he has another unit in the same building that would be opening in Oct. I don't imagine he'd have a problem with switching you to another unit.

Moving is expensive no matter when you do it. There are lots of little things that add up. If this place isn't your ideal apartment, it may not hurt to keep looking. If, on the other hand, you love the look, location and everything else about the place, snatch it up!

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

Moving is expensive no matter when you do it.

That's true, but I won't always be this poor. I'm goign to be making about 42 thousand a year. This year? I made maybe 2 thousand. And then I didn't get to work all summer, so my credit card balances didn't get paid off like I planned. So, it'll always be expensive, but if I wait, it won't be such an overwhelming burden.

As much as I liked this apartment, I think I'm going to look in the city where I'm working. I'll check to see if he has any openings in November or so (I'm going to use my first two paychecks to pay bills), but I'll look elsewhere as well.

Thanks for the advice!

[ishtar127a.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'd make sure of the money part first. If you have a secure place to live at the moment. You can always move next year. I don't know where you live or what the economy is like there, but I do know that, overall, most people spend more than they should, and our economy encorages those who can least afford it to spend every cent they make, and that it's the normal, "American" thing to do. I hate the sick feeling that having nothing to fall back on brings, and... well. No matter what planning you do and buffering you have in your account, there's always unexpected surprises coming. In a related case, I took a short-term employment relocation with all sorts of promises on compensation, but when I got there, they backed out of a lot of it, leaving me with several thousands of extra expenses, no place of residence, and no transportantion arrangements or computer resources to get the damn work done! Well, initially no problem; when I do such things, I try to make sure I have some funds to fall back on immediately, and so I used those to cover the shortage while the "misunderstanding" with my employer got sorted out. Then a major emergency came up also affecting my job, which my personal savings would have ordinarily been there for but now was not. And my oh-so-charming employer's only comment was, "Well, you can't blame us for this one!" And the original dispute has never been resolved. I'm not saying your employer will do this; I just offer it as an example of how things can go horribly wrong. And as a reminder that, economically, things are not all that healthy right now, and so if someone shafts you, chances are they will do all they can to make you pay the price because they don't want to use up their hoarded funds either. Even friends--my bosses were my friends and I decided to trust in their integrity. Seems trust in anything is a matter to be exploited these days; mine's certainly taken a rare beating this past 12 months! So, if it feels questionable, I wouldn't do it, not yet.Stay wherever the most frugal budget is for you, build up a bigger reserve, and move later.

You know, when I was doing a major apartment hunt, one place tried to assure me that it was totally reasonable to commit half my gross salary to rent, in order to live in their fine facilities, simply because I was single. How ridiculous is that! Suffice to say, I don't live there. Just like any other vendor, landlords are trying to sell you something, at the highest markup they can get to make the most profit, and they will use sales techniques to convince you that you are getting the deal of a lifetime. Sure, it sounds nice! I bet it's a lovely place. But you'll be miserable there if you can't afford it in the long run.