House Hunt

It's been months since I last posted anything here, and now Blogger is all different. It just took me a full minute to find the "New Post" button. I guess that's my punishment for never writing.

I decided to write tonight, though, because I'm cranky and want to vent. I'm moving to the Bay Area in less than a month, and I do not yet have a place to live. I have moved many times, sometimes to places far away. It has always worked the same way, whether I was there in person or negotiating things over the phone and internet. I find a place. I like the place. I apply to live in the place. They approve me, and I sign a lease. Done. It's always sort of been on a first-come-first-serve basis. Since I was willing to take the leap on a lease first, then I get the place.

Apparently, that's not how it works in San Francisco. Instead, they will take your application and hold it. And hold it. And hold it. They won't tell you that you're not getting the apartment, but they don't let you sign a lease either. When you ask for a timeline, they say things like, "well, we're having another open house on Thursday." Um, why would you need to have another open house, when you have me sitting right here, ready and willing to sign a lease and give you money?! My application says that I am about to start a faculty position at Stanford. It says that I've never been evicted, declared bankruptcy, etc. My landlord's info is all there, so you can obtain proof that I'm a good tenant. Why would you not just go with it and get the place leased? Apparently, they want to have a "pool of applicants" to choose from. Really? Is this a job application? Leasing a home seems sort of like one of those threshold things - you're either a good tenant or you're not. I'm not sure how you choose the best one out of a group of people who all have perfect rental histories. "I'm sorry, you're great credit score is not quite AS high as this other person's great credit score, so I'm going to go with them."

Or maybe it's my dog. Applicant A has a stable job, good credit, clean rental history, and no pets. Applicant B has a stable job, good credit, clean rental history, and a dog. Any landlord is going to pick Applicant A. I understand this perspective in terms of risk for damage to property, noise problems, etc. Even a dog with great references is technically a risk - cause what if someone lied? So I get it. But it still screws me over. "I understand that you are a great tenant, pay your bills on time, keep your home clean and well-maintained, but since you have a dog, you really should just go live in a van by the river..." Or that's what it feels like people are saying.

I currently have 4 applications in on various properties. I've been trying to get an application for a 5th one, but he keeps ignoring my emails. I've never had to put in more than 1 application during home searches before - I just apply to the one I want, get approved, and then I have a home. Not so much anymore. In 3.5 weeks, I will be living in the Bay Area, but I may not be living there in my own home... Anyone have a van by the river I could check out?

Damned if you do... Damned if you don't.

I'm selling a lot of stuff tomorrow. I realize that I have so many things that I have never even touched in the 4 years I have lived in Oregon, so clearly they would be better off in someone else's hands. Plus the hand-me-down furniture from my mom, while super-cute, has never really been my taste. So I'm taking this as a good opportunity to lighten my load a bit before the move down I-5.

I have listed a few things on Craigslist in anticipation of the garage sale tomorrow, and I am stumped as to how I should be pricing things. I decided to price dirt-cheap because I need things to be gone and I didn't want to scare anyone away with too-high prices. I figure: people will see a really great deal and jump on it. Better scenario than: people think it costs too much do not bother following up on it. But what has happened? I have people wanting to haggle me down even lower. I want to say, "Dude, I'm selling this 9' x 6' wool rug that originally cost $150 for $25. You're ALREADY getting a deal..." So maybe I should have priced higher so that people can THINK they're getting a better deal when I drop it lower for them? That is why I hate car salesmen, though. I don't really want to be like that.

In other news, I went to get some shoes resoled only to find out that they are pretty much a loss (I should have gone in sooner, but I wore them down too much). BUT the shoe guy suggested this to me. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm excited to see if it works. Wow, my life is sad if I'm getting excited about a product called "Shoe Goo." Note to my sister: this seems like something George could be into...