Finding a Home: Revisited

We have decided against living at The Vista.  We entered into negotiations with the landlord, and she was completely inflexible.  We really only wanted to sign a one year lease to give us some options next summer, but she was unwilling to budge--even if we paid more in rent.  The situation made us uncomfortable.

We happened to run into a veteran ISHCMC teacher on Monday when we were checking out the campus.  He suggested we look at his building which is a little further away, a little older, and a LOT less expensive.  Originally, Derek had wanted to stay within walking distance to the school, but now that we've been here a few weeks and are a bit more comfortable, a 12 minute bike ride does not sound bad at all.  So we went over to his flat to have a look.  It was wonderful!  It felt so much more "homey" than Vista did.

We also met a new realtor named Mr. Hien.  He is the most B.A. realtor I've ever met.  Seriously.  He's awesome.  And he raises chickens.

Mr. Hien showed us several 4 bedroom places. We fell in love with one on the 22nd floor, but found out the evening it was already spoken for.  We went again the next day and found two units with similar floor plans.  They are 4 bedrooms, but the master bedroom has an extra space attached to it, so it is really more like 5 rooms.  One unit is on the 7th floor, has great furniture, an okay view, and is $850 per month.  The other is on the 11th floor, has okay furniture, great views, and is $1000 per month.  Both landlords are willing to sign a one year lease.

We are meeting with Mr. Hien again today, but I am 90% sure we are going to go with the unit on the 7th floor simply because it is cheaper and has better furniture.

Here't the thing:  if we hate it, we can lease another $1000 four bedroom unit and still be paying less than we would have at The Vista.  I can't get over the price fluctuation here.

(Sorry no photos.  I'll try to take a couple today when we go again.)