The joys of apartment hunting, with Suu.

[Suu]

Now, most of you all know that I live in Providence. Providence had a rent drop about 2 years ago which was FANTASTIC...Unfortunately, someone said the recession was over or something, and now rent prices went up on average $200 in the past 6-8 months and are still climbing. I really cannot afford to pay over $600 for a one bedroom apartment these days. It's not happening. I pay $525 now and it's in a horrid part of town.

I found a place today on the Eastside, which is very desirable, for $475. Unfortunately, it's a basement apartment, no windows, surrounded by natural gas boilers for the upstairs units, and only one exit. (Richter told me you need 2.) It does, however, have a full bathroom, which is better than the 3/4 I have now, and a larger kitchen that looks like a slop sink surrounded by hastily installed cabinets, a stove, and full size fridge. I _CAN_ walk to work and school, but it would take me a half hour, and I won't be able to get much of a bus ride after 10pm when classes end. The big plus on this sucker is that it includes a garage. Even though I don't have a car, that would save me money on the storage unit. It doesn't include utilities, and it's almost too small for me to sew in. They'd be better off knocking down walls and making it a studio for the size of this one bed. My dad made a valid point when I was telling him about it, "Cool, you can put shit in a garage...but you're not living IN the garage, so think about your own comfort FIRST."

Meanwhile, across town on Federal Hill, about 3 blocks from Richter and the monastery are, is a 1 bed in a not-so-hot looking house on the 3rd floor. There are no eaves (thank. fucking. god.) and there's a bathtub, even though the bathroom is smallish. It's all newer hardwoods, baseboard heating (which I think is electric though) and a nice galley kitchen. It's also easy walking distance to work/school and the gym. However, it's $600 a month including natural gas. I may try to haggle on this one, even though it's in a hot college rental area, and rented by a realty company. If I could get them to knock $50 off, it could be worth dragging shit up 3 flights of stairs for. Other than that...meh.

I'm so mad I lost that other apartment on Broadway. Fuck me, that would have been awesome.

I dunno, it's getting me kinda depressed. I may have to hold out til March instead of February...I mean, yeah, I'm living in a shoebox in the ghetto, but it DOES include gas and electric. I'm getting really sick of looking on Craigslist, the scams are unreal sometimes. The Apartment Guide here only shows complexes (1 beds in complexes here typically go over a grand) so I gotta keep with the multi-family houses and hope something comes in within my range. I'm thinking I'm going to have to continue to sacrifice the idea of walking downtown again from where I lived at the Monastery when it was Suu Casa, and go off into the more [ugh] suburban areas, and continue to have to take that fucking bus to the main university campus for a half-price bus pass once a month.

I dunno...ideas? Encouragement? "You are fucked forever?"

Any of you spags ever haggle rent before? Think I should even bother?

[the last yatto]

Rent dot com gives you a hundred dollar prepaid visa for the referal

[Suu]

Rent dot com gives you a hundred dollar prepaid visa for the referal

They only list complexes here, and because my rent range is so low (it's just me, no GS or roomie) the only places I can afford to live are out of state up in Mass, and because of my financial aid, I have to stay in RI. 

[the last yatto]

Any greek houses?

[Storebrand]

Try roommates.com or roommates4you.com?

http://www.roommates4you.com/us/RI/Providence-roommates/29473.html

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Any college co-op housing?

[Suu]

Any college co-op housing?

Not for my university up here. Plus, I have 10 years on most of these students, and a URI student living in a house of PC hens is walking into the lion's den. Johnson and Wales will only rent to their own kind, and for what they want to co-op up on the Eastside with Brown or RISD I may as well buy house and pay a mortgage.


...And why the fuck would I pay to room in co-op for $500-600 a month with no utilities when I can get my own damn place for that?

Try roommates.com or roommates4you.com?

No roommates guys, seriously. The last roomie I had that wasn't Richter or my ex-husband I almost killed. This is not a joke nor am I exaggerating. I almost threw her off a balcony for fucking with my computer, and after the last experience renting rooms in a house owned by an older couple, I'd rather stay away from that situation too.

-Suu
Does not play well with others.

[Suu]

A couple more tidbits about college housing in RI:

A lot of houses up here for the Providence schools have age limits and require proof. This limit is usually 25.

I run my own business from my home. I need more than one room, which they won't give me unless I pay double.

You have to be out by June 1st, in the summer they double the rent for tourists. Where the college housing is for URI down by the beaches, they triple if not quadruple the rent and charge it WEEKLY.


There are a couple of places near Brown that's graduate students. I did look into it, and they said I couldn't sew. I found another place that had a RISD grad student that would have gotten me studio space, but since I'm not enrolled at RISD, I was not eligible.

Trust me, it's a pain in the ass. That basement one is looking better and better, even though the lack of windows, 2nd exit, fire alarms, and CO2 monitors makes me question it a lot, but hey, it has a garage, right?

[Jenne]

Wow.  What a lot of restrictions.  Well, I guess it's pro-and-con weighing time, and you've pretty much already done that here.  I don't get the "can't sew" at the graduate student dorms...seems an odd thing to legislate.  *shrug*  But I hope you can either settle into what's already open and available to you soon or elsewise find something else in timely fashion.  I know how much it sucks to not have a good, solid living situation.  I once slept on my friend's floor for 6 weeks waiting for a house I was set to rent with 2 others open up for the Fall.

[Suu]

I just shot an email to the one on Federal Hill. Gonna try to haggle the rent a bit, here's why:

Listing said 2nd floor, that unit was rented and I was shown the 3rd.

I don't have a car, yet the rent includes parking.

I'm not a 21 year old party animal. I'm 28 and studious, and won't be a slob like the last tenant (the realtor actually felt bad showing me the unit before it was fully cleaned and scrubbed out.)

I can provide good character references from my job, current landlord, and 2 back landlords.

I can sign a 1 year lease, not a 6 month like most college students.


...Worst he can say is no.

It's also a better location for me to sublet in the summer when I go away to Pennsic, because I want to do that.

[Suu]

Haggled down to 575. Still workin'.

[Reginald Ret]

I hope you get it down a bit more, it sounds like the best option.

[Sister_Gothique]

Good luck with the apartment, Suu. I know it's a real pain in the ass (just moved, myself).

[Suu]

I'm taking it regardless, because I don't think I'm going to do much better right now. It's a waaaay safer area (though more congested) than where I am now, and within walking distance to downtown for work and school. I'm going to be about 3 blocks away from Richter.

The strike team has been assembled, now after I sign for it this week, I have to get out of this shithole ASAP so I don't get stuck paying more rent here. My landlord isn't going to be happy since he wanted a month's notice, but I *DID* tell him WEEKS ago I was planning to vacate for February 1st. Now it's just definite. I can have it all clean by Sunday night, crash for 2 nights at a friend's house where I'll be storing my stuff, and trickle in to the new place after the 1st.

And of course, once I sign, I gotta work on getting the electricity on over there and getting the cable transferred. I still don't plan on having a TV, so that makes it easy. I also have like ZERO furniture except for a metal shelf and my computer desk. I'm not keeping the futon after the bedbug extravaganza I had here, even if they're "gone". So I'll be planning a trip to IKEA once the tax refund comes in, and furnishings I can get from safe secondhand sources.  I'll be on a cot or air mattress until then. Yay.

I can also obtain my drafting table, pots and pans, silverware, blender, and all sorts of other goodies from Herbert's clutches up the street. (Sorry, Richter, you knew this day would come...and so did he.)

[Suu]

Yep, he won't go lower than $575. Damn, oh well, still a good snag!