3 posts tagged “seattle”

Ever have one of those days / weeks / months where you chip away at a project and just don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere?  Or have you ever purchased something that seemed really great, but the reality was, well, not great at all?  This is a fair description of what I’ve been going through for the past month or so.

Example: *one ringy dingy…..two ringy dingy…*  “Oh, yes, is this the We Are Fabulous apartment homes?  Oh good!  Well, my son and I would like to stop by this morning and look at an apartment so we can see what your upcoming vacancy would be like.  That apartment is $799 a month, correct?  Ok great, well we’ll be there around 10.  Thanks!”

So Josh takes time off from work (he’s self-employed but still), comes over & picks me up and off we go to see the FABulous apartment.  When we get there 20 minutes later, though, there is no vacant apartment for us to look at, and no upcoming vacancy that she’s aware of.  And the price for a 1 bedroom is now $879 a month.  HUH???  Turns out that when I called I was talking to their headquarters or wherever they have their 866 number, & I wasn’t speaking to the actual property at all!

Ok, well, there’s another place to see.  But just to be on the safe side, ‘cause we were driving 20 minutes back to Seattle and then another 20 minutes SOUTH, I called the 2^nd complex.  *one ringy dingy….(hee hee snort)….two ringy dingys….*  “Hi, is this Lindsay? (I’d spoken to Lindsay the day before).  Oh it’s not?  Well, ….”  And I go into my schpiel about that I'm disabled, so I'm looking for a first floor one bedroom, and what price Lindsay quoted me, yadda yadda yadda.  Then I tell her “So my son and I are on the freeway right now and are on the way to view the apartment.”  “Ma’am, that apartment can’t be shown yet.”  “Oh really?  How come?”  “Well we’re still painting and cleaning that apartment so it’ll be ready to rent”.  So I’m TRYING to be patient…my son IS sitting right next to me and doesn’t need to hear me go OFF on this twenty-something girl who seems a bit clueless.  “Ok, well, do you have a model we can see?”  “Oh yes, we have a lovely model.  It’s a 2 bedroom, but I guess it’ll give you an idea.”  “Great, ok, well as I told you I’m disabled.  Is the model on the first floor? “No ma’am, but it’s just on the 2^nd floor.   It’s really nice!”  “Yes, but I’m disabled, you see.  I can’t get up and down those stairs without excruciating pain.  You have nothing else you can show me?”  “No ma’am, I don’t think so…well I could check & see what the one we’re working on looks like”.  So she agrees to do that and call me right back.  When she called, no, the apartment wasn’t in “viewing condition”.  “But as soon as it is we can call you!”  That was 2 weeks ago.  No one’s called me back.

I’m looking for a first floor or elevator accessible apartment with a dishwasher, garbage disposal, and in-unit washer /dryer for $800 a month or less.  This is very common around here and having those things would make a WORLD of difference to me.  I’d be able to do my own laundry and dishes, and not have to hire someone to come in and do it for me!  The roadblocks I’m finding:  it’s an upstairs apartment with no elevator, it’s too far away, they don’t take cats, or it doesn’t have the amenities I need.

Today I received messages from two complexes, both about 30 mins. drive from Seattle.  Miracle of miracles:  they DO have a 1 bdrm ground floor apartment!  YIPPPEE!!  So then I go and look at the independent apartment reviews for each of the properties.  One is called “Rock Creek Landing” in Kent, WA and the other is called “Copper Ridge”, in Renton, WA.  I’m giving the links here so you can see the reviews for yourselves.  Just an excerpt of one of the reviews:  “Car alarms go off at all hours of the day and night. There is a routine alarm that goes off at 10:15pm every night like an alarm clock. Depending on your location, there are parties and music that can be heard at times until 3-4am. Courtesy patrol is a joke, and nothing is ever done about noise issues. Fireworks can be heard at all hours of the night from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. They are shot off in the parking lot and on the paths throughout the complex right outside apartment windows. Management says they are illegal on the property, but nothing has been done about them either of the past 2 years”  And from a female Copper Ridge tenant” “constant break-ins, TONS of ghetto families that do nothing but collect DSHS and smoke pot in the stairwells and the apartment did indeed have mold… When I would walk down the stairs the nasty gangster looking kids would harrass me with sexual remarks. One time I couldn't take it anymore and said something to them. Lo and behold, 2 days later my boyfriend’s car was keyed so bad!  I lived in the BB building, and a few times a month, you could hear gun shots within the community”.  And I want to live on the GROUND FLOOR??  Alone and disabled??  About 15 years ago Josh and I were living in a ground floor apartment.  It was summer time but, for whatever reason, I closed and locked the sliding glass door and all the windows one night. Someone tried to break in around 1am, and I was right there sleeping!  I ran and turned on the patio lights (the blinds were closed, thank God) and they jumped back over the patio wall and took off.  When the cops came they found the screen half pulled off and scratches around the sliding door lock.  And they didn't even bother to  get fingerprints.  So you can see why I might be a little concerned! (The reason why I'd prefer the first floor is that, in case of a fire, you're not supposed to use elevators & I'd have a lot of difficulty getting myself and the kitties out.  There have been dozens of fire alarms where I'm living now, and I practically have a panic attack every time).

SO ANYWAYS, if anyone reading this knows anyone who lives in Seattle or the general area within about a 15 mile radius, and is really happy where they live, PLEASE let me know!  I would rather try to rent somewhere where someone feels safe than just go for a pretty place that has what I need.  And if you DON’T know anyone, maybe you could pray / send positive

vibes / consult your chakras for positive energy for me please.  I WAS just disappointed and frustrated.  But after reading those reviews now I’m paranoid! 

Oh by the way, one of those places I was supposed to see?  I called the police department in that area to inquire about crime in the area, asking “if your daughter or sister were looking for an apartment, would you feel like she was safe if she moved in there?”  And for THAT location, the officer said yeah, it's great.  That MAY be what I’ll have to do if I find a place I want to take a chance on.

CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY!!!!  :-O  (No, really...click on that link for a laugh. 

Click on THIS link and send for a free Calgon sample!)

Battening down the hatches here in Seattle.  We're getting a storm with hurricane force winds, people!  Northwest storm  Check it out! *looks for flashlight, candles, matches, bankie, kitties...* 

Ah, kitties, bankie, reading Oprah magazine by candlelight.  All's right with the world.

(Yes, Aubrey... I know I have to list a quote.  I'll come up with something before the power goes out. And can anybody tell me how to fix the $#@! formatting below so everything doesn't get all discombobulated?)

....but there is some trivia listed under my profile, if you're curious.  The photos are of myself, my 2 furry children Tipper and Pooh, and my REAL boy, Josh! 

Check back again later and see if I've had a burst of creativity!