Friday, November 24, 2006

Out of Place

Hmm, so, I saw one place last night and four today.

The 1pm appointment was a waste of time. It was one out the paper, and I had a poor impression of the landlord from the off. Having arranged an appointment for 1pm today, he'd asked me to phone him 30mins in advance. Why should I be having to phone him!?
Anyway, I did so, and he said the tenant was out or busy so I couldn't see at at 1 after all. "Forget it, then," I said. He rang back a minute later to say I could go "now" if I wanted after all for some reason. So, the current tenant showed me around - a shy Indian lady who was busy looking after two children and probably hadn't been expecting to do this.

I saw two with one agency after that. Should have been three, but there was a problem getting keys for the third. First one I discounted very quickly. Poorish state of affairs, and there was a large dent in the bathroom door where presumably someone had lost their anger with it at some point in the past. Second one I saw with him was alright, bit small for the money, but includes free use of a pool and gym.

But, there have been two I liked - one last night, one first thing this morning.

Last night's:


I returned during daylight in case you wondered ;)


Would have this view out the window.

Good: Fully furnished down to even cutlery, literally just been redecorated, nice view over the town (as opposed to where we currently are where we're facing the wrong side of the hill ;) ), landlord seemed a nice enough chap (spoke to the owner, he has it as a "pension fund")
Bad: Perhaps a little small, but fully furnished makes up for it. Quite steep getting up there, might be a pain come ice in the winter. Might get knackered carrying shopping up from the car climbing the steps up to it ;) (You can park closer than I have taken the pic, but the steps aren't really visible) And: I haven't actually SEEN it yet. I saw the place next door which his partner owns. The one I am looking at is in the middle of being decorated, so all I have seen is the wrong side of the door (I am mildly concerned by this, but he said should be fine to see next week).

This morning's:


Sorry for dodgy angled+sun in lens pic :)


Would have this view out the window.

Good: Pretty spacious, well decorated, have enjoyed my dealings with the agent who manages the property (they've actually contacted me very swiftly each time and felt pleasant to deal with, unlike most others, surprisingly!)
Undecided: Somewhat more "estatey", in the middle of a whooole lot of identical houses.
Bad: Unfurnished, and at the top end of my budget for which I had originally been thinking furnished.
The problem with unfurnished is the hassle of organising things, and being left with a bunch of stuff I might not want. On the other hand, might be nice to know it's my own things and to do it the way I'd like.

1 is closer to work by a "minute" according to AutoRoute, although on a bad morning or evening I reckon that could turn into 20 ;)
2 is closer to town, and may be in a slightly more pleasant area (My wife prefers the look and area of 2 from what I showed her just now - I've no idea what areas are "rough" particulary)

Despite being unfurnished, I do quite like the size of 2 at the moment, I think, which makes it quite tempting. I've e-mailed them for a 2nd viewing and some more details.
I can get a viewing of the 1st (as in, the actual one I'd be in) next week if I want one.

Time to sleep on it :)

I am KNACKERED :)

5 comments:

  1. They both sound like they have very good points. I think getting along with the agent is a big plus.

    My sister once rented unfurnished and she slept on an inflatable guest bed for two months with some bean bags and a portable TV she had loaned from mum. After we'd all pitched in with various impromtu items, it did look quite homely.

    Ended up looking like an arty New York apartment.

    However, when i used to rent, i prefered furnished. Easier.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I must say, i do love the view you have with number one!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unfurnished might be a touch expensive to set up. Charity shops often yeild good bargains. And it is nice having your own stuff.

    Apart from the hill, number 1 sounded really good. As temp accomodation while you find your feet it would probably be ideal.

    I think all I've done is summarise what you've said. Not at all helpful. I'm going to go away now and take pictures on buses.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The problem with furnished in general is that there aren't too many around at the moment, which is why I'd expanded into looking at unfurnished.

    It's a difficult one. Being fully furnished = no hassle with that sort of thing at all. On the other hand, it does seem kind of a shame that it would ALL already be there, and part of me would quite like to choose some stuff to get, and that sort of thing.

    I'm going to see unfurnished number two again this evening. Might try to find out whether I can see number one tomorrow, even if it is in a half-finished state.

    The view would be nice - I can certainly imagine gazing out at it in contemplative thought with the lights out of an evening :)

    It'd be quite nice to get this over-and-done with so I can stop worrying about it. I could move forward on the unfurnished one tomorrow, but the furnished one is real tricky having not been able to see it yet.

    Hmmmmmm!

    ReplyDelete
  5. For me personally, I like the thought of being high up, and looking out over my "world". When I go out for walks in the New Forest, my favourite places are those where we're walking along a ridge. It kinda makes me feel like I am "above my circumstances" rather than under them. ;o)

    Having said that, the other one looks "tucked away" and "safe", and still with a good view. And it's a big plus that the agent has been so available, reliable and amenable - bodes well for any future dealings that the tenant might need to have.

    The thought I just had was that if you feel any leaning towards the separation being longer-term, and/or permanent, rather than temporary, then unfurnished might be better, because you might then want to have your own choice of things around you, rather than someone else's.

    For secondhand furniture, you could try Central Aid, in West Richardson Street, HW. They sell 2nd hand furniture; it's priced for people on benefit, but they also sell to members of the public with a mark up of 50% on the price. It's also worth checking your local free rag for things that people are selling cheaply or giving away.

    But, either place looks promising from what you've said. I'd suggest you go for the one that felt right, or better, the one where you'd feel most comfortable when it's just you and the 4 walls (and the PC!)

    ReplyDelete