This may become a series. I sure as hell hope not.
Right now the number one priority is finding a studio for my wife’s two pianos. We might even rent a place just for them, instead of making this an all-in-one affair. We’re reading ads, hitting Craigslist all the time, driving by at least two or three places every day. I hate the artificial frenzy, but at least we’re learning a few things, to wit:
1. Whenever a landlord says, “it was my parents’ house,” run like hell. What that really means is that they never cleaned it out. We drove past one such place this afternoon. It looked so bad, I’ll bet the old folks were still in it.
2. The word “greenhouse” in any classified rental ad is to be regarded with the greatest suspicion. We’ve visited at least half a dozen homes with alleged greenhouses, all fakes: cold frames, a garage with skylights, a couple of sunrooms, a big window with a shelf in it, etc. Ridiculous.
3. If trying to rent your property, don’t do this: “My father bought the lot and we built a house on it… it’s rilly nice… it’s in a neighborhood that’s kinda like a little subdivision, like I grew up in in California… I’m from California, so I like to go barefoot, so the back yard is grassss… and there are lots of flowerssss… it has a wood stove in it but it’s like rilly only decorative…cuz there was this girl who lived there and she never rilly used it…” *
4. We drove past a beautiful two-story house (huge), half of which is for rent. Yes, half. The owners literally split it down the middle and constructed a soundproof wall between the two halves. Before they did this, the house was divided horizontally, and they rented out the upstairs or the downstairs. I’m thinking, how many kitchens and bathrooms does this place HAVE? By the way, the owners live in the north end and rent out the south half. Geez. We may go look at it anyway. The southwest-facing outdoor space looks gorgeous, and it’s only $200 more per month than we can possibly pay.
If you’re reading this from Taos, better grab us. You couldn’t find better tenants.
Comment by David
1 April 10, 2008, 8:57 pm o'clock |
John, I see all sorts of condos for rent - and although we don’t want a condo, they do like the only “sane” places being advertised! It is rough…and looking from here is even rougher. It outta be a fun week when we come out looking…
Comment by John H. Farr
2 April 10, 2008, 10:10 pm o'clock |
Taos is infamous for being impossible to fit into. And yet I know people who walked right into perfect situations. Most don’t, however.
But actually, isn’t it the same everywhere? When we lived in MD and needed to change houses, it was always hell. There was NEVER anything I liked. I’m serious. Basically, 99 percent of everything sucks, everywhere. There seems to be more choice if a person’s willing to buy, but the same laws apply. I have always felt this way about housing my entire life.
Geez, maybe I’m the problem.
Comment by David
3 April 10, 2008, 10:31 pm o'clock |
You are not the problem - I look at the same Craigslist listings and stuff like that. A lot of them are dumpy…if the owner ever bothers getting back to you. And if I can tell they are dumpy from 900 miles away, well…