(Excerpted from Cindy’s blog)
Today we spent most of the day touring houses for rent with our relocator. I think we saw 7 homes. A very good selection in 3 different school zones. The first one was an older home from the twenties. It had a decent sized yard with garden, 3 small bedrooms, a very sunny family room that opened up onto a deck; a small kitchen and one updated bathroom. But we thought it would be too much work to keep up and it was rather musty. The second house was great. It had a very sunny front room with hardwood floors, 3 bedrooms (one very tiny) and one split bathroom. It also had a private small backyard and patio; with two entrances to it from the house. Very charming. A definite possibility.
The third house was a no show. A mis-communication with the realtor. So on to the fourth. A seventies style townhouse; high ceilings, a circular staircase, two full baths and close to desirable shops. It also had pool access and was right on a lake. But I did not like the style and it was more expensive then the others.
The fourth was a newer townhouse set off of the street, located in Milford on the North Shore. A very nice patio in the front, a very nice kitchen, 2 full baths and a half bath, 3 nice bedrooms and a garage. We loved this one and it was in the area that has the school that is Max’s first choice. And only 3 miles for Rick to ride to work. And close enough for Max to ride his bike to school as well.
In no particular order, we also saw a house tucked into the trees, very secluded but more room then we needed and it was fairly shabby. Another house was also a seventies style that overlooked a small park. Not our taste. We saw a small brick cottage that appealed to us and had a very nice view. It was a bit far for Rick to ride his bike to work. Then yet another house we looked at had fabulous views, was bright and airy and had a pool. But no garage and we would have to maintain the pool and the rather shabby yard. Plus it had a few issues like broken doors and also came with another tenant. And it was the most expensive of the bunch. All were fairly close to schools and walkable shopping.
Let’s see, I think that was it. So, did we make a go for one?
Yes! We ultimately decided to take the newer townhouse with the patio. We also loved the second one which also had a wonderful view. Even though the second one was very close to Navman, Rick’s new company, it was in a school zone that was not our first pick. It was a tough decsion, we really liked them both. The property manager told us we could have it if we were interested. So tomorrow we sign the papers. Phew! The current tenants don’t vacate until October 17 so our move date is Ocotber 22.
After we made our decision, we signed our final car papers and took our new car home, stopped at the grocery store to spend more money then collapsed at the apartment.
Tomorrow we go back to sign the final rental agreement, turn in Max’s school application and then?