One Last Stroll Through the Neighborhood

A little while ago, I just got back from a walk around my current, but soon to be former neighborhood. It has its charming characteristics, yet some things are left to be desired. This is the basic layout of the neighborhood: to the east and south is the business and commercial district. You have a bunch of apartment buildings directly east of my building, then kiddy-corner to the building, you have a dairy. Then, due south is a commercial building that comprises a variety of offices. To the north and west, it's all residential (except closer to the highway). Due west, there are some very beautiful homes located along the street - and if any of those homes were for sale while I was looking, I would've considered relocating here. But that never ended up happening. North of my apartment building is more residential, but not far down the street is township jurisdiction.

When I first moved into this building nearly three years ago, I definitely found the atmosphere much better than the apartment prior. It was newer, for one thing, and the rent for being in this city was the lowest I could find. It also provided me a bit more space. However, the exterior and the lot around the apartment is basically comprised of concrete and asphalt. There's no physical lawn, if you will, to really sit out and enjoy the weather. The landlords here have not provided a public green space for its residents and that is kind of a detraction to the place. Don't get me wrong, the landlords here have been nothing but kind and considerate. But I just think they could do more to make it more tenant-friendly, if you will. Sure, there's a small parcel of land in the back of the apartment, but it's only a little more than ten feet in width. I would rather go to the park than spend some time out back there.

As for the neighborhood itself, it's a mixed bag, really. The row of houses due west of the apartment building are quaint and well-kept, except for one. Several old oak trees line the roadway and the leaves drape over the street and the lawns of the homeowners. Many of the lawns are well kept and the grass is a beautiful green; absolutely no weeds to be found. The people here really take great pride for their homes and it's truly a pleasure to walk along the street and to marvel at their properties. The apartment complex due east of my building is a well-maintained complex. They provide such a wonderful atmosphere for their tenants with park benches, plenty of green space, and even a fitness center within their complex. But then everything beyond that is pretty plain and city-like, complete with parking lots, busy streets, office buildings, and retail stores. It's definitely not a walkers or sight see-ers paradise to be sure. But having those businesses, particularly the retail store that close by has certainly been handy. I even lament the fact that I haven't taken advantage of going to the dairy just across the street from my building at all. I was there once when my sisters visited one time, but that has been it. They sell a variety of dairy products at their store and I can't tell you how many times I've kicked myself for not getting milk on the way home from work - only to realize later they sell it right across the street! Oh well, you can't always be perfect.

When I first moved into this building almost three years ago to the day, at first I didn't do hardly any walking. That first year I basically stayed inside my apartment or drove to other parts of the city to do my walking. But in the two years since, I've ventured out more and more and have grown accustomed to my surroundings. Where I'm moving, it'll be more of a country-setting. But the conveniences of the city are not that far away. I'll miss certain aspects about living in my current building, but all of the aspects about owning a home far outweight the prospects of renting. It's been an enjoyable three years here, overall. And despite some of the early drama about this apartment back in 2006, I'd say living here has been worth every month's rent I've been paying. But after this coming weekend, it's finally time to embrace a new setting, one that I can call all to my own.

Sale Pending

YAY! It finally says "Pending"!

There it is, folks - my new home. After about a half-month of searching, I located the home that I will be purchasing. Last week I submitted an offer, which was counter-offered by the owners. They came down only $500, yet, I still felt it was too good of a deal to pass up. What might have complicated things was someone else submitting an offer only one day before I did, meaning I had to compete and didn't have the luxury of submitting an offer at least 1o% lower than the asking price. I didn't want to insult the current owners, either, who've been described to me as cautious and stubborn when accepting offers on their home. With that being said, in a competitive bidding process, you have to go with your gut. And that's exactly what I did. Am I a bit disappointed I couldn't land this home at a bit lower price? Sure ... but only a small fraction because I feel I got a tremendous house for a great price. When I toured six houses including this one, this was by far the best that I had seen. Important updates were made on the home meaning all I have to do is move in and it's all set. Eventually I'd like to do a few small changes to the place - but really nothing dramatic because I feel it's good the way it is. Now all I have to do is wait until the end of this month for my deal to close.

Tomorrow is a pretty important day regarding my new home as I get it professionally inspected. The current owners are still there - they are not scheduled to leave until the end of the month. However, as a buyer, I have the right to have the home inspected during the sales process. I have been told I will learn a lot about my home this way - which makes it very necessary for me to be there in case the inspector comes across something significant to the structure where repairs may be needed. This is my "out" clause, if you will. If I find something structurally deficient, I can cancel my sales contract or require that repairs be made prior to me moving in. There is no fault against me if I wish to move away from this home. However, I have a good feeling that won't happen as I saw nothing out of the ordinary the previous two times I went and saw the house. It'll take about two to three hours to go through the home, which sound pretty lengthy. But in the end, I think it'll be worth it.

That's not to say I don't feel a tad bit sad about leaving my apartment. It was strange as I entered the building where I currently reside. I began to feel sentimental about things; you know, I've grown to like my apartment. Its become my home away from home, if you will. But I am running out of room and when you pay rent, it's basically like throwing your money away. It's time for me to move on. I have a stable-enough job at this point where I am able to buy a home and not have to worry about a foreclosing. So at the end of this month, I will be packing up and moving about 10 miles south of town. I am sure I'll have mixed emotions about everything - but in the end, it's all for the better. I am getting a great home and moving into a place that's relatively maintenance-free. How can it get any better than that?

A Year of Adventures in this Apartment

I have lived in my current apartment for over a year now and all in all, it's been a positive experience. I haven't had any major mechanical problems occur, the neighbors are generally problem-free (although I'll add more to that in a bit), and I live right in the heart of the city, close to any kind of store, business, or restaurant. I have been a witness to some pretty strange events at times, however, and some of those experiences I will share with you. Not only that, but something that has developed lately that is driving me insane.

A pet peeve of mine is when someone exits or enters the apartment building the same time as you going in the opposite direction and not even making eye contact or leaving the door open for you. That has happened to be on a couple occasions here and it bugged the crap out of me. I mean, talk about rude. Generally that occurs with the younger, college-aged people that live here (and I think a few of them have moved out over the past year). I don't care whether the person is in a huge rush and is late for an engagement (more often than not, they are in a hurry to the bar anyways). How much extra time does it take to say hi or leave the door open for you? Not even 15 seconds! The majority of the time, though, I usually don't run into anybody going in the opposite direction as I.

One neighbor of mine that lives across the hall from me is an older gentleman, probably in his 50's. I haven't really dealt with him much, but on a couple of occasions I've bumped into him. He doesn't seem like the friendliest person in the world. He does seem to get frequent visitors and even a young girl stays with him at times (I'm guessing it's a grand daughter of his). Her bicycle is even sitting out in the hallway as I type, where it's parked pretty much all of the time (which I think should be stored in his apartment if she's not around). There have been a couple of nights where he's drunker than a skunk and he's got the music cranked up really loud. It generally doesn't bother me because I usually sleep with ear plugs anyways, but I hate to be living above or next to him. And it's not like it happens all of the time, just once in a great while. Still, it's the middle of the night and he's got the music blaring (one night, it was country songs) and he's singing along, quite terribly. I have to wonder if he's been smoking dope during those nights, too. And don't park too closely in front of the steps of the building, either. Otherwise he'll go on a profanity-laced tirade, in front of his grand daughter, no less (which I witnessed one time, seeing that my window is right near the front door). Just stay out of his way, is my best advice.

Another incident occured probably in May of this year. A younger couple, probably early 20's, was coming home from a night at the bar. The guy was driving, and the girl was incredibly drunk. She stumbled out of the car and was sicker than a dog. All of a sudden, she leans ontop of the hood of her car and starts throwing up. And naturally, they had to park right in front of my window, although I did have my blinds closed. But hearing the commotion, I had to see what was going on. So I did catch the tail end of what she was doing, with her boyfriend helping her into the building after she puked outside. And don't you think if something like that happened to you that you would clean up the puke the next day or the next opportunity when you felt better (something as simple as throwing a bucket of water on it)? Well she didn't. The next day, crows were even picking at it. The puke stayed on her car and on the sidewalk until it was washed away by rain. I don't think I had ever been more disgusted at the human race after being a witness to that ordeal. I just can't believe some people can be so piggy and disgusting. She basically swept the incident under the rug and probably thought no one else knew it was her. That's where she was wrong. Thankfully, she has since moved out of the building.

Now recently, someone's smoking has been driving me crazy. I don't know if it's been the people in the apartment next to me (which I know they smoke) or the person above me. But the smoke smell wafts into my apartment and it really starts bothering me. I even smell it during the middle of the night and it's hard for me to sleep when I smell it. I don't mean anything negative to anyone reading this who might smoke, but I wish the people who live in this building could at least wait until the next morning to light up a smoke rather than to do it during the middle of the night when people are asleep. The smoke smell hasn't been a problem for me up until the last couple of months. And it's not like it's an everyday occurance, but it does happen two to three days a week (and sometimes more).

One final incident occured in the fall of last year. A younger couple must've had a disagreement of some sort and the guy locked the girl out of the apartment upstairs. She was knocking, beating on the door, crying and pleading for the guy to let her back in, but he wouldn't let her. This went on for up to a half hour before finally the old guy across the hall from me shouted, "shut the f--- up!" He never seems to be afraid to say what's on his mind.

So there you have it, some of the most note-worthy situations in this apartment building during the last year and two months. My goal is to stay here until at least next summer or fall, and then start looking for a permanent place of residence. That's when the house hunting will begin and then I'll have a place all to myself. But until then, I'll stay situated in this building. Like I said, it isn't all bad. The majority of the time, things are pretty peaceful and I never seemed to be bothered. It definitely could be a lot worse.