Book Review: The First Apartment Book

A while back when I was waiting for the Young House Love book to come out, I began perusing the DIY/Design section at the bookstore which I had previously never visited. I was mostly a Psychology/True Crime/Women's Studies/Sociology section visitor. It wasn't until I stepped out of that zone did I find this book, The First Apartment Book: Cool Design For Small Spaces by Kyle Shuneman. 

Source

In the book he chronicles apartments from all over the country of different types and shows their unique designs aesthetics from Bohemian to Rebellious to Art Lover. 

One of the featured apartments was here in Seattle. 

Along with pictures and layouts of the apartments, each section contains different project instructions like for DIY art, curtains, etc. 

This book was one of the first places I really saw temporary wallpaper (shouldn't all wallpaper have the ability to be temporary?! What an awesome idea!). 

Ever seen those awfully dated mirrored closet doors that tons of apartments have? By adding some decals you can change it from gaudy to classy. It actually looks like a planned part of the room now.

I love this example of working with some dated bathroom tile and making it look pretty instead of trying to mask it. With the choice of shower curtain, it actually makes the tile look like an attractive part to the room. 

I don't care how trendy globes and maps are, I will always love them!

I love these spray painted plaster busts (and I love how cheap they are found here).

Every room, every piece of furniture is listed in the resources. Some pieces are obviously going to be thrift finds or such but the others are listed to find easily. Love that. 

I love this book because it features so many different types of apartment homes. There's a place for apartments where you can paint and projects to go with that and there's also projects that are entirely temporary for those of us that can't paint or change things. There's both masculine and feminine designs, a wide range to appeal to all readers. I also loved seeing apartments from all over the country and how different they are. I really wish I'd had this book when we got to our first apartment because it would have really helped me decide early on what designs appealed to me and what I was drawn to. It's a helpful book for apartment first-timers as well as those of who have been apartment/rental dwellers for a while who are looking for some interesting design ideas. 

Apartment Woes

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I feel I must apologize for not doing any Fall or Halloween crafts this season... it's just that with this move coming on, I don't have the time or money to rationalize spending on something seasonal that I don't really need right now. Believe me, it's killed me to not buy a pumpkin this year. I get so excited every Fall when I see the stores start to roll out the pumpkins and it's been so hard to resist buying one. I almost, ALMOST cracked and bought a craft pumpkin, rationalizing that I could use it next year because it's not going to rot... But alas, I couldn't pull the trigger. 

And I'll also apologize in advance that the posts in November and December are going to be cah-razy sporadic. I'm going to try and schedule them to go up ahead of time so we'll see how it goes. I count on at least maintaining three posts a week if I can schedule them. 

I feel extra-anxious because yesterday we told the rental office that we'd be out in 30 days or so. They didn't like the "or so" but they wanted it set in stone that we'd be out the 30th... (as if there are millions of people clamoring to move into this hole). I was feeling defiant at the office lady's insistence and said coldly, "Fine, we'll be out the 30th." Probably just shot myself in the foot because Russ' last day of school IS the 30th. So... yikes. The 30th is when we'll have our move out inspection at noon and then Russ will have to leave the cats and me at a hotel and rush over for his graduation ceremony (or maybe I'll be able to come?).

But yeah... freaking out.

And you know what's weird? On Friday of this week we have a "Pre-Move Out Inspection." Uh, what? Our last place, which was infinitely nicer than this one didn't make us do that so I don't even know why it's required. It kind of makes me annoyed. It feels like we haven't even packed a box yet and the next renter is elbowing her way in to measure for curtains. Or... we're still eating at a restaurant and the server comes over and says we need to scoot over for the next customers. 

We also received this paper for "Resident Move Out Instructions." The joke is that when we moved in, the place was filthy.

The stove was dirty and also didn't work.
The lint trap in the washer was dirty and filled with foul-smelling lavender lint. Awful.
The a/c was busted on our first day of living here.
There have been a consistent amount of nails that we find hidden in the carpet (yet they were supposedly "professionally cleaned" before we moved in.
The outlet in the living room was missing a cover, exposing wires. 
The tub was dirty. 
The blinds were dirty. 
The butcher block counter would have been cleaner had I used to surface to prepare mud pies. 

I'm sure there's other things I'm forgetting as well. 

One thing on the instruction sheet that makes me want to giggle is, "Please do not attempt to patch the nail holes unless you are a professional plasterer. A poor patch will result in a higher charge than a normal hole repair."

Strange, considering these "professional plasterers" they employ leave their patch jobs worse than they stumbled upon. And since our rental agreement states that over three nail holes in the wall is considered excessive, I'm totally going to patch those beasts. 

That being said. I can't wait to be out of Virginia and out of these apartments. 

No more bad parking jobs by neighbors. 
No more overhearing arguments outside my window. 
No more creepy homeless men hanging out behind the church near our windows. 
No more dumpster fires.
No more door dings.
No more balloons hung by the office to advertise the apartments getting caught on the car as we leave...

It'll be nice. 

Sorry if I sound all complain-y but I guess I'm just anxious and I need to vent. 

Apartment Hunting Is Soul-Crushing

I've got around 60ish days until we're going to be officially living in Washington. I've been looking for apartments for quite a few months now but, of course, haven't been able to decide on anywhere because of how far off the move is. I've emailed and talked to quite a few places and spent countless hours researching locations, crime, reviews, floor plans, and matching them against our budget.

One of my biggest gripes: Daily/Hourly Changing Rent

Okay, seriously who came up with this? So... I could be paying more or less than my neighbor who lives in the exact same place?! Apparently, apartment websites generate different rents prices throughout the day. Which, I think, is a terribly deceitful and dishonest practice. I'm telling you, rentals are a real racket! 

And... if you call to move in at a certain time, rent prices don't match what their website says.

Another one of my biggest problems, aptly titled "Pet" Peeves are the extortion-like cost of having a pet. 

After finding one apartment for a reasonable price of $885 for a two bedroom, one bath, I emailed them to find out more information (and I will say, everyone in Washington that I've corresponded through numerous apartments has been extremely polite and helpful). 

Here's some snippets from the emails between me and Lovely Apartments (names changed to protect the guilty):

Lovely Apartments:

This home is currently leasing for only $885.00 per month for a 12 month lease.  I am sure once you see our community, you will love to call Lovely Apartments your new home!

You also inquired about our pet fees.  You will be happy to know that cats do not pay any monthly pet rent. (dogs do)  Our pet fees include a $300.00 pet deposit, along with a $300.00 pet fee, per animal.  You four legged pets will feel right at home with our many other community pets. 

Ashley:

Thanks for getting back to me so soon. 

I also inquired about the utilities and am wondering what, if any, utilities are covered in rent as I have to factor that into my rent decision as well. Also, what is the apartment deposit and do you waive it at times based off of a tenant's good credit? We're currently living in Virginia which has a significant military population so many apartments feature a military discount so I thought I'd just go ahead and ask, do you offer that as well? 

And the pet fees... am I to understand that the deposit is $300 initially PLUS $300 for each animal? So my fee would come to a whopping $900 because I own two cats? I must admit and not to be rude but, it did take a while for me to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw that. I loved Lovely Apartments (and I was happy to find it after weaving through hundreds of terribly reviewed homes) but the pet fees have made me have to significantly reconsider. 

Lovely Apartments:

You will be happy to know that we do offer a military discount.  It is actually a 50% savings of our your security deposit.  

I can see that you are concerned with the pet fees.  I do understand that this is a big expense. The pet fee for 2 cats is actually a total of $1200.00, that is $600 per cat. ($300 deposit, and $300 fee).  By charging this amount, it does allow us to keep our community looking beautiful.  We want you to feel like there has never been a pet living in your home when you move in, even if the previous residents were pet owners.  It also allows us to maintain our grounds and provide pet stations.  Charging fees and deposits allows this to happen, and in turn, keeps our reviews high, as we maintain a higher standard of community here. (Ashley's note: Did that sound a tad uppity to anyone else?...)

I have had some residents offset this cost by perhaps adding a cat to the lease a month or so later, if they are not moving with you initially.  They can be added at any time during the lease term. You just let us know when you need to ad them.  

I have yet to respond to this email because I have only recently awoken from my fainting spell. I probably won't respond because what I want to say is kinda snarky and probably unnecessary...

What Ashley Wants To Write Back:

Thanks for getting back to me! I don't think Lovely Apartments will be working for us as we've decided to save our money and instead rent our two cats, Ian and Zelda, their own condominium complete with their own household staff. 

Thanks so much for your time!

Grr. 

How can these cuties be so expensive?...

My Trials and Tribulations of Apartment Hunting

A while back I found out that the area we're moving to in Washington has PPV (public private venture) housing. It works the same way as base housing does but it's not within the confines of the base. Supposedly, it costs your entire housing allowance but covers everything from electric to water and even yard maintenance (yay!). 

Here were my two lovely options that I found near our base. 

1.) Townhomes 

2.) Beautiful Homes 

Be still my heart! Hubba hubba!

So... from the caption, you can tell which of these lovely places was my cup of tea. I dreamed on and off for days about what I'd do with three bedrooms (hence, the office mood board that I did earlier...), of having a garage, all the storage... the back yard... of NOT sharing a wall with anyone... the possibility of PAINTING! 

After finally deciding I had to stop procrastinating I sent the local housing office an email and was crushed to find out...

"Then if you are E-1 to E-7 and have only one child or less, then [the townhouses] is your PPV area... We do have [beautiful homes] with 3 and 4 bedroom units. There are no extra forms for them.  Pets is another issue up here.  If you have any pets please include them on the application: size/weight, breed, and how many.  [The townhouse] has a pet deposit/fee cost of $400 per pet, just FYI."

Cue the sound of an air blowing out of a balloon. 

I can't have a beautiful home because not only do we not have a brat kid, but we'd have to have TWO brats kids to qualify. 

And... $400 PER pet. I'm sorry, WHAAAAAAT??????

After having a heart attack and fighting the urge to throw a toddlerlike temper tantrum, I decided to write down a pros and cons list to The Townhouses versus a regular old apartment. 

Here's what I came up with:

Townhouses:

PROS-

*designated and safe parking

*no utility bills (covered by housing allowance except for cable)

*no monthly extra pet fee, flat $800 (*gulp*)

*driveway and garage

*1.5 bathrooms

CONS-

*staggering $800 pet deposit (not sure if any was refundable)

*takes ALL of housing allowance (whereas an apartment we might have extra left over)

*only washer and dryer connections, might have to rent appliances?

*possible gas & electric bills depending on usage

Apartments:

PROS-

*possible 3 bedroom for the same price of townhouses

*pet deposit wouldn't be over $500 with half refundable

*possibility of living closer to family or base

CONS-

*questionable parking

*additional monthly pet payment of up to $50 extra on rent

*pay for electric (and some places water and sewage)

So, for a while it seemed like they were both pretty even and I was leaning toward The Townhouses before I decided to Google some reviews of the place. 

It was horrific. It has a 0% recommendation on Apartment Ratings and 47 reviews. There hasn't been a 'Yes' recommendation since 2007. Uh oh. 

Here's a sample:

"cheaply built, everything falls apart, plumbing is a joke, make sure you get a plunger first thing, you can hear everything next door because the walls are paper thin, i could actually hear my neighbor doing the nasty and people snoring, vandalism, break ins, random people who dont even live there walking around"

"I will make sure to get the word out about this place to stay away. How can management treat our military members and dependents this way while we serve."

"Parking sucks, it's very noisy complex, kids running around everywhere. I also suspect the units are infested with mice in between the walls.

Don't let the units fool you with how nice they are, this is a terrible place to live."

KIDS.. everywhere. I figured as much seeing as it is a bunch of military families and my fears have now been confirmed. Sorry, I can't stand children. If we happen to have kids someday, I'll like them but other people's kids? No. 

We already have an annoying child problem where we are now, they are actually screaming outside near my door this very moment, and I wish we were able to live in a 55+ community. 

And I have learned from past experience that you have to take Apartment Ratings with a grain of salt. There's reviews about our current complex that are so blatantly wrong, (i.e. drug needles in the parking lot) that I have never ever seen substantiated. 

I'll just have to keep digging and rooting through the dumps to find a place where we can actually live and feel relatively comfortable leaving our Jeep outside and that no one will rob us blind. 

Apartment hunting is a dirty, awful, terrible business. Especially when you've never been to a place nor can actually see the property until a few months from now. 

So, welcome to my housing nightmare. 

Your Apartment Isn't Perfect Vol. 2

Welcome to another addition of: Your Apartment Isn't Perfect! Here's a few lovely pictures to make you feel better about your own home/apartment!

This crumbling light fixture I found when I tried to change the bulb on the overhead fan in the kitchen. Um, is this a fire hazard???!!! And... I'm not paying for that. 

I found my apartment's version of a time capsule when I glanced at the back wall of underneath the sink and discovered this horrendous wallpaper. And also, water marks. 

And finally, a glance inside my toilet. I know, I know... eww. But seriously... uh, this screw has been flushed a bazillion times and it comes swimming back to us. I am also NOT getting it out. No. What's in the toilet must stay there, if you know what I mean.

Déjà vu

So yeah, this happened again last night. Now, in the span of about three months, both dumpsters have taken their turn being on fire. I'm glad it was a dumpster and not anything else but, still! I don't want anything on fire here!

Who is the moron who keeps putting flammable things in the dumpster and/or throwing their cigarettes into a bin full of trash?!