Finding a house in this small colorado town is proving to be challenging. The town has about 15,000 people, it does have a walmart and a small college, and is mostly a farming community, and most importantly--is only an hour away from a great ski resort. I have looked into EVERY rental available in july or aug (there have been 7 total--3 rented while we were still trying to decide if we were moving there for sure--and 1 was in crappy neighborhood where we drove right through, 2 were nice neighborhoods, but disgusting houses, the last 2 were decent houses in decent neighborhoods that would not rent to us because we have a pet. I have resorted to asking friendly looking strangers at McDonald's if they knew of any houses for rent (which they did, and led to some of these leads), and I also called just about every reasonable house currently for sale asking if they would rent instead. I also called a random stanger (a friend of a friend of a friend) and begged them to take pictures of houses and give me the real lowdown of what they are like--since I am now having to pick a house from long distance. This girl has turned out to be amazing, more proof that the people there are so nice, and if I ever do move there I am sure I will meet lots of great people.
It started when Sam told me to drive to Colorado and take our daughter and see if we would be happy living there. At that point, he was also considering a job in New Mexico and I was supposed to help him choose between them.
I liked the schools better in Colorado, and I met so many friendly people that said they loved this town and it was great to raise families in, so I was feeling really good about it. While I was there, he was officially offered the job so I decided to talk with some realtors. They said I should snatch something up ASAP, because pretty soon the college students would be looking and everything would disappear. Mind you, this is about 2 hours after Sam was offered the job and he doesn't have a start date yet (has to wait for a license to be approved in that state before he can work--we guess he should be able to start in august...but aren't positive), we still have a house in Arizona that we are *trying* to sell--but hasn't sold yet. The realtor says there are 3 houses available for rent, they are vacant, and they expect them to rent in a matter of days--so if I want them I need to pay the deposit and the first month's rent today. They hand me the keys to the 3 properties and tell me to go take a look. (that's right--no one actually showed me the houses--they just sent me on my way).
- House #1 & #2 --in a nice neighborhood, both 3BR but very small (1050 sq feet) and there are rocks in the front yard and dirt in the back yard. (I am not super excited about the move at this point, but trying to get excited about moving to a place where there is better weather and more greenery, so rocks and dirt just isn't cutting it). One is a new build though and both are nice--translation--no pets. If things don't rent for a while, the owner's start to consider pets---but since this is high season and they are renting hours after they are listed, we don't have much of a shot, and I am not loving either of these enough to snatch it up or beg, so I decide to pass.
- House #3--3 BR, not in the area of town I had hoped for-but ok, it's an older/more run down house, tub is stained dirty, there are bugs crawling around, (owner was outside doing yard work and was really nice--said the only bad part is the bugs but they will work with the renter to try and get rid of them, they come due to the trees that are planted--but don't bite, just kind of annoying.) The property is huge and full of trees and he even tells my daughter he would let her build a tree house--So I think, well, maybe I could live here....
I decide to head home (I have a 10 hour drive in front of me) but first we stop at McDonalds, where I confront two moms who have several kids and seem happy/nice. I make small talk, and just drop in that I am looking to move there--and ask if they know of any rentals. They give me a few ideas and then leave my number with them and get their numbers as well.
I head back to Arizona, about 15 miles later, the realtor calls to say another house is coming available so I drive back to town to look at it...only to hate the neighborhood (down a dirt road on the outskirts of town--looks run down, and the houses are so spread apart there is no way I will be seeing neighbors, let alone making friends with any of them).
When we get back to arizona, I decide to stop stressing out about it now, because our decision is still sinking in and we don't feel comfortable about paying rent and deposits only 24 hours after taking the job.
- house #5--realtor calls about another house, but we decide to wait (in retrospect--it was a nice house in a nice neighborhood, wish I would've had the guts to just pay the deposit)
- house #6 More expensive, and has been listed for a few months so he says he will consider pets, so my new very best friend drives over takes videos of the front yard, and surrounding houses, and the back yard and takes pictures of the inside. The layout is awkward (the "front door" walks into the master bedroom) so you could use a side door to enter home, but clean and updated inside, wood floors throughout. She also reveals that the house backs up to a major road, and it turns out there is a bar 3 houses down. Hmmm.... I found another house in the newspaper so we decide to wait and go see that one.
- house #7 -- 3 BR 1300 sq feet, good neighborhood, decent backyard, hideous wallpaper in many rooms, showers are stained dirty. Detached garage has been converted in an extra space--with a mysterious (sketchy looking) sound-proof closet???!! wierd. My friend says the other place is looking better and better (even considering the busy traffic and the bar).
So--this is how I am spending my summer vacation. I leave tomorrow morning for camping where I have no internet and no phone service, I can't decide if I am going to be relieved--or completely stressed out.
Wish me luck--and stay tuned :)
2 comments:
oh my gosh good luck that is SOOO stressful!!! and i can definitely relate, we bought our house without seeing it but had great people who knew houses and we could trust to help us (Patricia's parents!!!). goodluck and keep me posted. it will all work out. what town? oxoxo
Oh dear--that is frustrating. Sounds a lot like where we live--college town, with a Walmart. And rentals get snatched up like crazy. We had six weeks between the offer and our move date, lined up 6 places to look at, came down two days later and only 3 of the 6 were still available. Luckily the first one we looked at was perfect and we even ended up buying the house. Good luck!
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