April 15, 2013

• Desi’s Place

  So I spent the day with my daughter, checking out rooms and apartments for her.

  Despite my calm demeanor, this was a MAJOR deal.

  But some background first. Desi currently shares an on campus apartment. Since September, said apartment building has experienced a number of false alarms (fire), a flood over winter break, and one REAL fire…that made the evening news in Boston. Desi’s housing is one of the largest parts of her school bill each semester. When she began, we broke it down…65 dollars PER night. Yes, heat, AC, and power was included…but still. Pretty damned expensive. We got word last week that they were upping the tab. Now understand…Desi shares this apartment with five other girls. The new price? One thousand dollars A MONTH.

  That is a WTF moment.

  Now the apartments are closed during Winter and Spring break. But simple math tells you that the tab for 9 months is NINE THOUSAND dollars. It’s not a private school. So each year, the humble apartment nets 60K.  There are 77 apartments in her residence hall.  That’s $4,620,000 annually. Not counting summer use, or the OTHER buildings on campus. Her room is a single…and well…small is a word. (Tiny could also fit.) Due to a series of unfortunate events, Desi was not going to be able to have the same group of girls she’d hung with all year, and would have to start all over again, with a new batch. Being a Senior, she didn’t relish the idea. And being organized, she started looking around for other options.

  Now unless you live in a high rent major city, 9K annually is quite a chunk of change. She wasn’t looking for an apartment…just a furnished room nearby.

  She had two options. Both were FAR cheaper than her current digs…one was 750 a month, all inclusive…the other 625…same deal. Now mind you, that’s laundry on premises, power, heat, water, cable, and internet. She wanted kitchen privileges—not a nuker and a fridge. For the last year, she has been learning to cook. She manages a modest food budget, and is learning to do it all herself. We looked at two places. One was older…built in 1850. It was in ok (not great shape), and might have done in a pinch…but the landlady was…well…odd. While insisting she wanted the place filled by May 1, (which is two weeks) she still showed us the place that she continues to run an ad for. She also claimed to have “several interested parties”. Ummm…calling BULLSHIT. If she had any takers, the place would be filled…no need to still show it. Most people need more than two weeks to move…so she was full of it.

  And…she wouldn’t answer one question. “How many people actually LIVE here?” That’s a basic question. It should not have required much thought, or calculation.  Desi and I had been counting. As near as we could tell, at least five people were living there, each with a private room…but also sharing a TINY kitchen. She kept changing the subject. This bodes ill. She also insisted on an “at will” lease. (Month to month). There was NO parking…and when we visited, all the tenants were out. Either none of them had cars—or all of them did. Desi would have made six. The town tickets cars without stickers, and the street was quaint, but skinny. If you visit the North Shore, you will notice something interesting. Most towns have blue lights on poles with signs on them indicating that they are “snow emergency lights.” That means a NASTY snow storm. When we get hit by one, in most smaller towns, you are NOT allowed to park on the street. (Logical…the plows have to come through.) But that raises the question…where the HELL are you supposed to park? Desi goes to school in a LARGE college town, with a tourist industry. That’s a few thousand cars that need shelter from the storm. But Miss AT WILL sort of shrugged that off. We had plenty of snow this past season, so it’s not a question you can take a vague answer on.

  So much for the $625 apartment.

  A small editorial, if I may.

  Some people who rent rooms are out of their FUCKING MINDS. I know this from experience. I used Craig’s List to find my place…and the owners either demand ridiculous amounts or rent, (If you have 1100 a month, you can afford an apartment—not a “room”.) Or have some strange ideas about what the property is worth. Sometimes, they post pics that look like crime scenes…dirty, cluttered, and badly run down. They do weird shit like FORBID cooking. (They may allow you a small fridge and a microwave—but no cooking. One winner is a nudist who’s been looking for a tenant for the last 18 months. The rent’s cheap, but you have to be “comfortable” with his…ummm…shortcomings.

  One ad I remember was very nice looking…but was accompanied by a VERY detailed list of HOW you were expected to treat everything…i am not kidding…two pages single spaced. I’m pretty sure unevenly hung towels were a handing offense. NO thanks.

  I remember corresponding with one woman—who said defensively “Well, you’re going to be living in my house…I have to be sure you’re not crazy.” Fair enough. But if I am living in your house..how do I know that YOU are sane? The trust thing cuts both ways.

  Some demand credit checks, background checks, references…and THOUSANDS of dollars in security. Again…we’re talking a ROOM…not a condo on Beacon Hill. I understand that they want to be cautious. But I have no information on THEM. How do I know they are not in foreclosure? About to lose their home? Or worse…last year, a man in Salem was renting homes he didn’t OWN. They nailed him, but his victims lost thousand of dollars, and got nothing for their money.  So this was the world I was trying to help my daughter navigate.

  Desi is pretty easy going. She ignored the “420″ friendly ads. She doesn’t really care what people do…she’s not judging…but anyone stupid enough to put that in a public ad…well…they might not make the best kind of room mate.

  Now if you’re following the math. you’ll note that 9K can cover a 12 month lease—with money left over. A much nicer deal than a thousand a month. And as a plus, there is no “kick out” quotient. (On campus housing CLOSES for breaks. If you don’t want to leave, that’s too bad…you still have to.)

  Well boys and girls, the OTHER place was a find. Absolutely lovely…and the landlady wasn’t insane. That alone would have impressed me. Instead of a tiny shoebox, Desi was getting a room nearly three times as large—painted beautifully. There are hardwood floors, covered with soft space carpets, a king sized bed, instead of a twin. There is a large tv, flat screen, cable, internet—the kitchen…whimper…gorgeous. Laundry room in the basement—lots of bathrooms. The landlady was looking for a reasonable tenant, who would pay their rent, not mess up the house, and practice reasonable caution about safety.

  We offered references—but she was more interested in Desi and I. Apparently, the fact that we are close impressed her. Her current tenant is leaving in the summer. When would she need a deposit and a lease…and what kind of lease? She said she would appreciate us letting her know by JULY.

  Thank you, Universe.

  I think Desi will be happy there…and her landlady has no issue with visits. We ohhed over her pics of her children, and admired the cat.

  So…Desi has a new home.

  I’m coming to grips with my “new” daughter…so grown up now, and mature. The world is baffling…but it’s not a bad place for her…if she’s careful. And she will be!

   

   

  • 1:03 am
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