In a lot of ways, Disaster story #1 is an incorrect title, because there hasn't been a disaster story #2. This is a precautionary tale for all those who rush into a rental without properly thinking about it, and to those who don't follow their gut! Please, please don't do this. It cost us time, money and stress. We did end up with a great place at the end, and we've just signed on for our 3rd year there.
Staying with friends was great, but we really didn't want to overstay our welcome, and we had just enough money for bond and the first month's rent. I had just got a job and we'd seen a place that I loved. It just felt right. Beautiful wooden floors, great open, sunny kitchen but right at the top end of our price bracket and no cupboards except in the kitchen and 1 linen cupboard. We applied for it, and got it, but we were told it wouldn't be available for another 2 weeks, even though it was advertised as an "available now". The reason being, they were finishing off the bathroom. Great, was what I was thinking, new bathroom, nice little place, outside area, but Marty didn't want to wait and we didn't want to be over stayers. Then, through a private landlord found another place. It was the top level of a house that the floors had been split into 2 apartments. It was huge, loads of cupboard space, cheaper, 5 minutes from work, but no outside area. Available now. Thinking practically and dismissing the intuition that was kicking in and jumping up and down inside of me with a big, red, flashing sign saying, "NO!NO!NO!", we said no to the 1st and yes to the 2nd. Big mistake. Huge.
Through all of this remember our cats are still in New Zealand, and we're only able to get them back when we have a place. We go to sign the lease and the landlord says -"You know you can't have any pets right? I don't think it's fair on them or us." And we lie of course, because no one allows you to have pets - another reason the place was better because there was an outdoor area. And I can just feel the stress and tension welling up and that frenzied 'NO!NO!NO!' reaching fever pitch. Yes we signed the lease, yes we moved in with no furniture just an airbed (loaned), sheets, pillows, duvets (borrowed), plastic cutlery, crockery, a camping fridge and a computer in the week of the actual Melbourne heatwave. Our things hadn't arrived yet and we didn't have an ETA as yet. Ken and Penny took us to the airport to pick up the moggies. The temperatures hitting 42-46 5 days straight didn't help a situation with high tension. We fought about everything, and to top it off money was running very low and neither of us was working. I was starting in February and Marty was doing intermittent days.
The landlady and her husband lived down the road, he managed the downstairs flat and she managed ours. They'd said they would come and water the gardens occasionally. With the heatwave he was there everyday and we'd catch her wandering around and checking up on us. If you don't know, this is a breach of the tenancy contract because they're supposed to leave you private, uninterrupted living. In one of her snooping exercises she caught the cats, rang and told us to move them out ASAP. Back to the cattery they went for about 4 weeks until we could get everything sorted out, and that was another few hundred dollars. We decided that:
a) we needed to get out
b) we needed some money quick because we'd have to come up with a bond, 1 month's rent, as well as rent for the month we were going to have to go into at our current place and the cost of breaking the lease.
Hence why I'm not recommending this course of action to anyone!
House hunting resumed, bank loan applied for. Now banking in Australia leaves much to be desired. After 5 business days from my application I was on the phone trying to find out what was happening, only to be told that it would take 3 - 5 days to process, and no one seemed to understand that it had been longer than that already. I completely lost my cool, and after eventually demanding a manager, my loan was miraculously processed within a couple of hours. After some false starts in the house department we found 1 that Marty went to and liked. By this stage we'd both started working, and it was getting tougher to get out to places. After applying, I realised we hadn't put our written reference in with the application, so not our best foot forward. A lesson to be learnt as 2 days after the inspection it went back up again for inspection. Obviously we hadn't got it, and here's where a little tenacity and persistence paid off. I ran the property manager dealing with the rental, told her about the reference, faxed it through and we were approved in 3 hours. We were seeing the the light at the end of the tunnel and not a moment to late! It was our rental anniversary that day and on the way to work - and all this faxing drama - I had dropped off our notice to vacate to the landlords.
I believe very strongly that when you make a decision to do something and really act on it, the whole universe conspires to make it happen and works for you, particularly when this decision is based around positive energy and good karma. No, I'm not getting all spiritual and incense-burning on you, but when you do things that you know are wrong and hurtful, don't you notice how the enjoyment is gone, things go wrong and haywire. Whereas wen you make a positive decision to take a step forward then things start to work out. I mean we wanted to throw eggs at this woman, but handled it professionally and did everything that was asked of us. In turn we have a great little place with a property manager that leaves us alone except for the yearly inspections.
Within all this time, our loan had come through, we signed the lease and our things arrived from Christchurch. This was when I wished we'd brought our bed! We barely unpacked as we were going to move in 2 weeks and we wanted everything as transportable and easy as possible. Marty hired a van for the a day and we moved in on a Sunday. He'd picked up the keys on the Saturday and I met him there after work. This was to be the first time I'd seen the place and the only thing I was hoping was that the carpets wouldn't be brown! Well, he'd definitely made the right decision about the place and the carpets were brown, but I've learnt to love them!
I was so happy about the decision I could have cried! A good night's sleep and then moving day. We were up at 7am, moving by 8am and didn't stop till 8pm, but well worth it!
