Thumper Thinks Out Loud

So. We get this notice from the apartment complex office. It tells us that the market rate rent on our apartment is $100 more than we’re paying, but if we renew right now, we’ll only suffer a $40 increase. If we choose to go month to month, the rent will be market rate + $150.

Um. No.

We can rent a house for less than what we pay in rent here. A house with closets that make sense, not these little triangle shaped things in which nothing really fits. A house with a real kitchen and a living room bigger than a postage stamp. With a 2 car garage.

Oh, the garage…

This place has 1 car garages available for rent. There’s a waiting list, but they have them. We got onto the waiting list the day we signed the lease, and were told it would take about 30 days. In the meantime, because we needed the storage space, we rented a 10 x 20 space a few blocks away for $135/month. But it would only be for a couple months, so that was ok.

Here it is 10 months later, and no garage.

A few days ago the Spouse Thingy went into the office to inquire about our place on the list; we’re up to #2. We got on the list at #8.

However.

It seems that someone in the office has been giving new tenants garages, because she supposedly didn’t know there was a waiting list. So while we’ve been paying for storage elsewhere, newbies have been walking in and getting the garages.

I am not happy. And no, I don’t believe that this rental agent didn’t know about the waiting list. I suspect people did exactly what we should have done: said they would rent elsewhere unless they got a garage right away.

Generally, I like this apartment. The loud, headboard-banging people from upstairs moved a few months ago and were replaced with much quieter tenants. It’s in a great location. Two of the bedrooms are big enough. It’s got great high ceilings. But between the lack of storage, the living room that is too small for us to all hang out at the same time, and the kitchen being the typical apartment sized kitchen, we’re ready to push on.

That letter, telling us our apartment will cost us about $400/month more than it would to rent a house, pretty much lit the fuse. So next month the Thumper family will be looking for a house to rent.

I hate the actually moving, but the idea of a bigger place and a garage is kind of exciting. And hopefully, it’ll be the next to the last move…the last one being the purchase of a house of our own. By then, maybe it won’t cost half a million dollars for a starter home.

One can hope.